It's no secret that visual supports are extremely useful for hyperlexic and autistic learners, from graphic organizers and visual schedules to social stories and scripts.
Keep in mind, though, that visual supports can benefit all kids, not just hyperlexic and autistic learners. So, while some of the following tips focus more on these types of learners, the tips will still be helpful for and applicable to non-autistic and non-hyperlexic learners as well.
I do want to mention that there's absolutely nothing wrong with using premade visuals. I mean there's a reason why you'll find tons here and in the shop. But, sometimes, you can't quite find what you need, especially if your child needs support with something super specific or has really unique interests such as traffic lights or lawn mowers.
So, if you're wanting to dive into creating some visuals yourself (even if it's only from time to time), then you're going to find these tips for creating your own visual supports helpful. Let's dig in and take a closer look!
Tips for Creating Your Own Visual Supports
Obviously, you're thinking of making your own visuals for your child (hence, why you're here). We're going to cover 9 tips in total to help you make effective visuals.
1. Visuals don't have to be fancy
Remember, visuals don't have to be fancy with all the bells and whistles like specially selected fonts and clipart.
Sometimes, low tech options such as scribbling things down quickly on an index card or sticky note can often do the trick. Even just opening up the notes app on your phone to quickly type something out can go a long way.
Seriously, index cards, sticky notes, whiteboards, a Boogie Board (a must own tool for all hyperlexic learners, in my opinion!), and even a label maker (here's the one we have) can make for effective visual supports.
2. Use technology & templates to help
I've already mentioned using the notes app on your phone, but there are also lots of great apps and websites that you can use to create visual supports for your kids, whether that's visual schedules, checklists, or social stories.
Let's take social stories for instance. You can use an AI tool such as ChatGPT to help your brainstorm ideas and/or write the story. Then you can pop it into PowerPoint, Canva, or even our free social story templates and then add some pictures, and voila, you have a custom social story.
Learn more about these templates
3. Break concepts down into specific steps or individual parts
When creating visuals, it's important to consider all of the necessary steps to include. I'll never forget the toileting social story that someone created for us years ago and it didn't include the important step of flushing the toilet...
Additionally, you want to make sure you explain the why behind the steps as our kids often want to know why certain steps are important.
Finally, be sure to consider what "done" looks like. For instance, when brushing teeth, does done mean just brushing teeth? Or does it mean brush, floss, and mouthwash AND put everything away after? Then make sure that whatever "done" looks like is properly communicated via your visual.
4. Include relevant images
Text on its own can be great, but pairing it with relevant images will be so much more effective. Plus, it can better support comprehension and boost engagement.
Ideally, you also want to use real photos as much as possible, especially for personal or familiar items (e.g., a picture of grandma, a photo of the dentist's office that you will be going to, a photo of the child with their pet).
5. Incorporate the child's interests & passions
If you want to increase engagement and interest, consider using themes or visuals that align with their interests and passions. For example, I created these video game themed posters for my youngest son to help with writing complete sentences and he loved that he could pick his favorite controller to use.
Another example is this ABCs of problem solving poster which incorporates a hyperlexic child's interest in letters.
6. Incorporate the written word as much as possible
Remember, for our hyperlexic learners in particular, they're drawn to the written word and can decode. So, when we include the written word in our visuals you're not only playing to their strengths, but you're also including their interest in the written word.
7. Keep the design simple
It's best to avoid hard-to-read fonts, busy borders, lots of colors and images, etc. that are visually distracting, busy, and overstimulating (honestly, it's my biggest complaint with a lot of teacher-made visuals and assignments). Instead, you should opt for plain text, a clean format, and uncluttered designs to avoid overwhelming the child. Doing so makes it much easier for the child to focus on what's important.
A good example of keeping visuals simple are these social scripts (one example pictured below), which use one line of text per card with a simple font and nothing else. There's also this free visual schedule, which pairs an image with short text or our social stories that pair a real photo with plain text.
8. Tailor it to the individual child, their needs, & situation
Remember, visual supports should be individualized as much as possible. That means considering their learning style, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, and interests when designing a visual support. If possible, you could include the child in the creation process and let them have some say in how it looks and what it includes.
You also want to consider the situation. For example, does the visual need to be portable? Does it need to be waterproof? Is a digital version okay or does it need to be printed off? Depending on your needs and your answers to these questions, you might want to consider the size of your visuals (will they big or small?), laminating them for durability, adding them to a keychain, storing them on your phone, etc.
9. Make it interactive and hands-on, if possible
Think of how satisfying it is to check things off of a list. That's what we're talking about here. So you might want to consider brainstorming different ways to make your visual support interactive whether that's using velcro (like this emotions chart) or magnets, adding a checklist, using a dry erase surface, adding flaps that can be closed when completed, using a pocket chart so that things can be rearranged as needed (see here or below), or similar.
A Quick Recap of Tips for Making Visual Supports
In case you're a skim reader, here's a summary of the tips that were discussed above:
- Visuals don't have to be fancy so don't forget to consider low tech options
- Use technology & templates to help
- Break concepts down into specific steps or individual parts
- Include relevant images
- Incorporate the child's interests & passions
- Incorporate the written word as much as possible, especially for hyperlexic learners
- Keep the design simple
- Tailor it to the individual child, their needs, & situation
- Make it interactive & hands-on, if possible
Finally, don't forget to have fun and get creative. After all, there are so many different types of visual supports that you can make for your child.
Just remember that, if you want to make an effective visual for hyperlexic or autistic learners, then you should keep the above tips for creating your own visual supports in mind.
