Let’s talk about using visuals in a self-contained classroom!

Visuals are a super important part of my learners’ day.  Visuals help my students understand their environment.  There are many types of visuals that I use in my classroom but for now, I want to talk about what my favorites to use are.

Schedules

First things first, visual schedules are a must-have for any autism classroom.  There are many variations of visual schedules and it’s common to have a few different types of schedules in my classroom to support my learners.  I have made new and different schedules every school year.  Some examples of visual schedules are object schedules, wall schedules, picture schedules, and written schedules. Additionally, visual schedules are used to show upcoming events to help students process their events for the day.  Schedules also help my students be more independent with their center rotations.  Finally, some students may need mini schedules for their centers to break down the steps within each center.  It’s always a safe bet to use a schedule no matter what – they can’t hurt!  

For more information regarding visual schedules, read this post from Heather.

Classroom and Behavior Expectations

Up next, some super helpful visuals in my classroom are the classroom and behavior expectation visuals I use.  My class and I go over these every day during our morning meeting time.  I generally have to revise my classroom for each school year (sometimes the day) depending on my learners.  Visuals for behavior expectations show my students how they should behave in school.  Check out the Ultimate Packet of Behavior Management Visuals for Children with Autism here.  I sometimes have to be very explicit when teaching my students the school expectations.  

• You may notice that some of my rules say “No biting” instead of quiet mouth or nice mouth – this is because my learners are young and benefit from explicit instructions with visuals. 

In addition, my team and I like to take a visual necklace on a key ring so that we always have our visuals with us. Finally, I like using the Visuals for Common Classroom Routines in many areas of my room as they are extremely helpful to my students.  

Bathroom

Last, the goal in my classroom is always independence so that means my students need visual support in the restroom, too. To help with independence in the restroom, I love using the bathroom visuals that I get included with the Professional Development Membership.  My students have had some great independent successes with these and I would not want my students to have to use the restroom without these visuals!  To conclude, if you are not part of the professional development membership yet, the Visuals for Common Classroom Routines and the Visual Social Story Packet for Children with Autism are great to use as well.

That’s it for my visuals in the classroom.  Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions or comments please reach out and I will get back to you.