Visual Support. Supporting Children. Bea Inclusive TV and Podcast - Episode 006
In this episode you will:
find out what’s the support visual
learn about the reasons why we should use visual prompts
see examples of visual support
find out how visual support support your child
Do you want children with special educational needs to be independent and complete more tasks by themselves?
Do you want them to be able to adjust to changes and get smoothly through the transition?
Do you want them to learn quicker and make steady progress?
Do you want to decrease the anxiety level?
Do you want to enable and help them with the communication process?
Maybe you would like to decrease child aggression related to task completion?
Children learn in a variety of different ways but researches shown that they demonstrate strength in visual learning (especially children with autism spectrum condition and children with learning difficulties.
To lay on this strength, people who help or support children with special needs developed visual supports to help children to learn easier, make steady progress and increase their understanding.
So, what we are really doing by using visual support is:
Support verbal instruction
Increase comprehension
Enable communication
Help with organisation
Support transitioning
Develop independence
Okay, what do we mean by the Visual support, strategies or clues?
Basically everything that enables learners understanding, transitioning, sequencing, accessing the curriculum or navigating physical environment, prompt and encourage socially appropriate responses or following rules.
We all using visual prompts daily to help ourselves to organise our life. We use calendars to mark important events. We create to do lists (when we have many task and we don’t want to miss any), shopping list so we make sure that we not forget anything and we can control the amount of money that we spending), check lists, pictures, notes, menus, instructions, cartoons, objects, videos, stories, texts, maps and many, many more.
When we support children with autism spectrum condition or learning difficulties our role is to supply the child with the weekly and daily schedules. This visual support will help the child to understand what is planned for the week and for the day. This will decrease confusion and develop child independence. It will help them with transitioning and decreases anxiety level. The daily schedules are very effective tools to support the child positive behaviour. Use of schedule also helps with the time concept.
Please keep in mind that the more stressful the situation, or the higher the anxiety level, the more need for the visual support. Using visuals allows the professional and parents to communicate more effectively and promote independent skills.
If you teaching non-verbal, pre-verbal or children with speech and language difficulties then using visual support it’s absolutely crucial to communicate children needs and to teach them new skills.
Let’s summarise:
When we present information verbally, the words are available for a brief moment. When we present information visually it can be there for as long as the child needs it.
When you use visual support or cues then children with ASC and learning difficulties:
Are more likely complete the task independently which will increase they self-esteem
Make more progress
Decrease level of anxiety and frustration
Help with change
Visual supports might include, but are not limited to pictures, written words, gestures, objects within the environment, arrangement of the environment or visual boundaries, schedules, maps, labels, organisation systems, timelines, step by step instructions, scripts, etc.
So, if you are parent or professionals who support children with special educational needs then using visual support will not only help your children to develop and progress but also will help you to make the teaching process less stressful.
There you have it.
Stay on your game because someone needs the special skills that you can only give.
OK guys have a wonderful weekend, stay safe and I’ll see you on Bea Inclusive TV and Bea Inclusive Podcast.
Until the next time
Love and xxx
Bea