“Try visual supports” is advice many parents get, from speech therapists, special education teachers, child psychiatry or habilitation services. But what it actually means in everyday life is rarely as clear.
What should the pictures show? Where should they go? And what do you do if your child is older and thinks pictures are for little kids?
What are visual supports?
Visual supports are pictures, symbols or illustrations used to share information that would otherwise be given out loud or in writing. They are used widely: from people who don’t communicate verbally and need pictures to express themselves and understand their surroundings, to children and adults with ADHD, autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions who can speak but need visual support to make everyday life hang together.
For some, a visual support is first and foremost a communication aid. For others, it is a way to make routines and schedules understandable. What they share is that, for many people, visual information carries more than words do.
Instead of saying “get dressed now”, you show a picture of a jumper, trousers and shoes. Instead of explaining what the day looks like, a schedule with symbols shows what happens next. What seems obvious to someone who takes in spoken information easily can make all the difference to someone who doesn’t.
Why do they work?
For many children with neurodevelopmental conditions, visual information can be easier to take in than spoken information. Words disappear once they are said. A picture stays.
Working memory matters too. Children with ADHD often find it hard to keep instructions in mind long enough to act on them, something we write more about in ADHD and visual supports. A visual support removes that demand. The information sits outside the head and can be returned to whenever it is needed.
Predictability also plays a big part, and not only for children with autism. Many children with ADHD also feel better when they know what happens next: when transitions are clear and the day is easy to read. The need looks a little different, but the direction is the same: when the next step is visible, worry goes down and it becomes easier to act. SPSM, the Swedish National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, describes visual support as part of structured teaching in both preschool and school: it helps children gain structure, predictability and more independence.
Visual supports children recognise
For a visual support to work, the child needs to be able to relate to the pictures. It is easier to follow a schedule that shows things you actually recognise from your own day.
That is one of the reasons we have put a lot of work into the Áigi symbol library. It has clothes that look like the clothes children wear today, sports gear, electronics, food and activities. Symbols that feel familiar and relevant, not like illustrations from another era (how Áigi differs from older tools). We have seen that teenagers who previously did not want visual supports at all can react differently when the pictures actually reflect their everyday life.
Digital or printed?
It depends on the situation, and many families use both.
Printed schedules work well for fixed routines that happen in the same place every day. A morning routine on the fridge. The toothbrushing steps on the bathroom wall. The visual support is always there, without anyone having to hold a phone.
Digital visual supports suit things that happen on the go or change from day to day. The weekly schedule that gets updated when something changes. What applies today, specifically. Getting ready for a doctor’s appointment. Here it is easier to have the support in your pocket than on the wall.
In Áigi Plan you can do both. You build the schedule once, then print it on A4, show it on the child’s tablet, or both, depending on what works best.
How to get started
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with a routine that tends to cause friction: the morning, bedtime or coming home from school. Break it down into clear steps. Find a symbol for each step. Decide whether it should go on the wall or be shown on a screen. A template such as the morning routine or the evening routine can be a starting point.
It doesn’t have to be perfect straight away. A visual support is something you adjust together with the child and adapt as everyday life changes.
Try it free at web.aigiplan.com.
Autism Sverige, the Swedish autism association, gives examples of visual supports such as picture schedules, information material, appointment letters and conversation maps. SPSM describes visual support as part of structured teaching in both preschool and school.
If you’ve made it this far, we hope you feel you have a better grip on visual supports. Questions, thoughts or ideas? Don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].
Sources
All sources are in Swedish.
- SPSM (2026). Visuellt stöd i förskolan (Studiepaket NPF, Tydliggörande pedagogik i förskolan). Published 17 February 2026. spsm.se
- SPSM (2026). Visuellt stöd i grundskolan (Studiepaket NPF, Tydliggörande pedagogik). Published 17 February 2026. spsm.se
- SPSM (2026). Adhd och undervisning. Published 17 August 2026. spsm.se
- Autism Sverige (undated). Bildstöd. autism.se
