Question:

I was told that my child needed to have a picture schedule and I'm not sure where to start?

Answer:

Picture or visual schedule systems are an easy way to provide students with consistent cues about their daily activities. They provide a structure that allows a student to anticipate what will happen next, reduce anxiety by providing the student with a vision of his/her day and promote calmness between transitions. They are especially important for students who have a profile that includes difficulties with the understanding of oral language and directions. Visual supports can also provide motivation to work through a less favored activity knowing a favored activity is to follow. The ultimate goal for all of our students is the development of independence and the enhancement of self esteem. This can be an automatic result of allowing students to participate in the design of their day. The ability to look at a schedule, find the materials for the next activity and get started with that activity without adult support is a big step toward a student's independence. Visual supports can be a way to work toward this goal. For example, using the First This /Then That strategy in visual form can provide high motivation for the student to work through one activity to get to a preferred activity. When dealing with students with behavioral difficulties, this can be a powerful strategy in maintaining appropriate classroom behavior. For non-verbal students a visual schedule can be a way to introduce symbols that the student can eventually use as an alternate form of communication. Through the consistent use of the schedule, the student can begin to pair the symbols presented with the activities that are occurring. A sure sign that this association is developing is seeing the student begin to rearrange their schedule to include all of their favorite activities. Establishing a visual schedule can also provide a structure for the student to begin to do some choice making as they are encouraged to provide some input as to the order of some of the day's events. The student may also be introduced to choosing a specific activity from a teacher-selected group of activities.

The following are some examples of picture schedule systems.

This particular system is designed to fit into a three ring binder. It allows for portability for both the student and the educational team. This is important when the student is moving between classrooms and/or environments and is finding these transitions difficult. This system contains a break symbol, located on the inside flap, which is always visible and available to the student to indicate when he/she needs a break. Very often, additional symbols are stored on the back of the schedule or on subsequent pages in the binder.

This pocket chart schedule system contains calendar information as well as the student's schedule. The assembling of this student's schedule for the day can be combined with a calendar lesson and/or discussion as an initial morning activity. Assembling the schedule, as a joint activity between student and teacher or teacher assistant is an excellent way to ensure that the student understands which activities he/she can anticipate throughout the day. This schedule includes morning and afternoon activities, which are clearly labeled.

Sometimes a pocket chart can be used to house a schedule system. This system is designed for a student who is developing literacy skills. As vocabulary is mastered, symbols can be removed leaving just the written word.

It is best if schedules include written words on the symbol cards. This ensures consistency of language and promotes literacy. The use of consistent language, especially when working with a student with a language disorder, promotes the development of language comprehension and use. Written words also provide cues for consistent language when new staff join the team or when substitutes need to be called in.

With some students, using a schedule system needs to begin slowly. As an initial step in learning to use his schedule, the student is handed the symbol for his favorite activity which he matches to the symbol where the activity is stored. Initially, this is done with lots of prompt support from his teacher or teacher assistant. For example:

Each of these activities has the symbol attached to it. Using the skill of Match to Same, the student matches the symbol on his schedule to the symbol on the container. This process begins with the simple pairing of the activity and the symbol.

This student has removed the symbol for snack from his schedule and put it on the desktop while he eats his snack. His teacher assistant points to the symbol and names the activity several times during snack time. This helps him learn what the symbol stands for.

A finished box is an essential element in any schedule system and in this example an envelope labeled with an "all done" symbol was the most successful solution. Having a formal ending to an activity is a necessary component of the routine.

This finished box can double as a storage box for the symbols. The most effective schedules have well thought out symbol storage procedures.

Effective symbol storage is evident here. The symbols and symbol words are stored in a binder in the order in which they occur. Photo album pages work well for this system.