Students with Autism thrive with the use of visuals and structure. When we expect our students to complete work, whether in the general education classroom, special education classroom, or community, we need to remember to use visual structure to help them understand and know what is expected of them. By using visual structure, we incorporate visual cues into a task or activity.
WHY USE VISUAL STRUCTURE
- it promotes the use of visual strengths
- increases meaning and understanding of activities and tasks
- increases attention and engagement
- allows for the incorporation of student interests and motivation
- decreases the need for prompts
- increases independence
THINGS TO CONSIDER
- visual structure can be used across all settings, activities, and staff
- train staff to refer to the visual structure
- must be explicitly taught to recognize and understand the structure
- student’s level of understanding (abstract vs. concrete)
- visual structure defines the expectations
- need to add visual structure to materials before the student uses them
COMPONENTS OF VISUAL STRUCTURE
Visual Instruction: Tells the student what to do and in what order.
Examples:
- jigs
- lists
- picture lists
- written instructions
- product samples
Visual Organization: Organizes materials and space.
Examples:
- containing task materials in/on a tray
- limiting the number of parts or pieces (complete just the odd problems, complete the top half of a whole worksheet)
- setting up some of the tasks for the student ahead of time
- drawing lines to break the task up into sections that the student completes sequentially
Visual Clarity: Visually highlights the important information to draw attention to those relevant details and removes unnecessary or extra materials.
Examples:
- color coding
- labeling
- making the obvious MORE obvious
