We use visual helpers all the time - road signs, logos and calendars being just some examples. Most children with social communication difficulties are visual learners and we can take advantage of this learning strength.

Visual helpers include Choice Boards, Picture Schedules, Self-Help Boards, Communication Books, Social Stories, real objects, photographs, drawings, writing. Some of these things will work better for your child than others. Real objects or things that look like real objects (e.g. a toy swing) will benefit your child if he does not yet understand pictures or photographs and is not interested in looking at books.

Use visual helpers to help your child understand and make choices. Show your child real toys/food items or use Choice Boards for your child to tell you what they want.

Prepare your child for what is going to happen, using Now/Next Boards and Picture Schedules. It may be helpful for your child to hold the visual while they are carrying out the activity or step of the routine. For example they might hold a photo of the car while walking with you to get in the car.

Use visual support to help your child do things independently. Break down a routine (e.g. getting dressed) into small steps. You could lay out clothes in

order on the bed or order photos/pictures on a strip for your child to follow (see below)

Using Visual Support

Put pictures on boxes/doors/hangers to help your child find things and tidy up.

Your child can see what they have done and will have a sense of achievement when they put the picture or the object of the finished activity in the ‘Finished’ box.

Help your child talk about the past. Put pictures/photos/drawings or real items such as food wrappers, in a Communication Book to help you talk about what your child has done during the day.

Help your child understand emotions. Show your child a picture of a facial expression to accompany your emotional words, such as ‘happy’, ‘sad’, ‘cross’. Always provide a situational context for the emotion, for example ‘Oh! You have put the cars in the box. Mummy is happy’. Use your own facial expressions to illustrate feelings.

Teach your child what they need to know about difficult situations using Social Stories – your Speech and Language Therapist will help you make a personal Social Story for your child.

Handy tips: Put visual helpers in the places where they will be used. Add the printed word so that your child can gradually see the connection between

pictures and written words (when your child is ready). Try to say the same thing every time you talk about a picture. Keep your language short

and simple. Draw your child’s attention to the visual helpers by bringing them into the child’s line of

vision and pointing to them as you talk about them. You can also guide your child’s hand to touch or point to the pictures.