Visual schedules and social stories for autism: how to make and use them

A visual schedule sets out the parts of a day, or the steps of one task, as a sequence the child can see: wake up, toilet, brush teeth, bath, uniform, breakfast, school van. Spoken instructions are gone the moment they are said, and a child who processes language slowly, or whose attention has drifted, misses them. A picture stays on the wall, and the child can go back to it as often as they need.

Many autistic children find not knowing what comes next harder than the activity itself, and a schedule answers that question before it is asked. Children with ADHD use it differently: it reminds them of the next step when attention slips, and gives them something to tick off. Children with a developmental delay or a speech delay often understand pictures well before long sentences. Whatever the need, a visual schedule helps only if it is used every day, not just once the day has gone wrong.

A first/then board is the simplest visual schedule there is: two spaces side by side. First shows the task the child needs to do; then shows what follows, usually something they enjoy. First shoes on, then the park. First three sums, then the swing. It turns an open-ended demand into a short sequence with a visible end.

A now/next board works the same way without the bargain, which suits changes that are not rewards: now lunch, next rest; now the car, next Nani's house. Both boards depend on the adults being reliable. If the 'then' is promised and does not happen, the child learns that the board means nothing. Keep the first part short enough for the child to succeed, and never use the board as a threat.

Choose the form your child understands, not the one that looks best. Some children need a real object at first, such as the spoon for mealtime. Many do well with photographs of their own things taken at home: their toothbrush, their plate, their school van. Others understand simple symbols, and children who read may need only words. If you are unsure, ask the speech-language pathologist what your child reliably recognises.

Start with one routine that often goes wrong, not the whole day. For a young child, or a first attempt, three or four steps are plenty.

1. Write down the steps of the routine as they happen in your home, then keep only the ones that matter.
2. Take a clear photograph or choose a symbol for each step, and label each card with a word or two.
3. Stick the pictures on stiff card, cover them with clear tape, and put hook-and-loop tape on the back so they can be moved.
4. Fix them in order, top to bottom or left to right, and keep the same direction on every schedule you make.
5. Add a finished pocket or envelope at the end, where each card goes when its step is done.
6. Walk through it with your child at a calm moment, then use it every day for a few weeks before judging it.

Keep spare cards for things that happen often but not daily, such as the doctor, a haircut or visitors, and one card the child learns to read as 'something different' for the days nobody can predict.

Put the schedule at the child's eye level, where the routine starts: the morning one by the bathroom door, the after-school one by the homework table. A schedule in a drawer does nothing. For outings, a few cards on a ring travel well in the school bag or the car. A phone app can suit an older child, but for many children the phone itself is the distraction.

Use the schedule at every change of activity. Instead of saying what is next, point to it, or say 'check your schedule' and wait. When a step is done, the child takes the card off and puts it in the finished pocket, or crosses it off a written list. Removing the card is the point: the child sees the day moving and how much is left.

Put good things on the schedule as well as demands, and when plans change, change the schedule in front of the child before the change happens. Keep using it on good days too, or the child learns to connect it with trouble.

A social story describes a situation your child is going to meet, such as a haircut, a new class, a wedding or the school assembly: where it happens, who will be there, what usually happens and what the child can do. It is written from the child's point of view, often in the first person, and read with them in the days before, so the day already feels known when it comes.

• Write as 'I', or use the child's name, in words they already understand.
• Keep it short: a few pages for a young child, with one idea and one picture on each.
• Describe far more than you direct. Most sentences say what happens; only one or two suggest what the child can do.
• Use flexible words such as 'usually', 'sometimes' and 'may', because real events rarely go exactly to plan.
• Mention briefly and kindly what other people might do or feel.
• Use photographs of the real place and people, and leave out 'must', 'never', 'always' and anything that sounds like a warning.
• End on something reassuring and true.

Read the story at calm times for a few days beforehand, and leave it where the child can pick it up alone. Do not read it for the first time on the way there, or during a meltdown, when nobody can take in new words.

Here is a short example for a child who finds family gatherings hard, written for a Sunday visit to grandparents. Each line would sit on its own page with a photograph. Change the names, the food and the details to fit your family, and write it in the language your child uses at home.

• On Sunday, we are going to Nani and Nana's house in the car.
• The drive is long. I can look at my book or listen to my music.
• At Nani's house there will be many people. My aunts, uncles and cousins may be there. It may be noisy.
• People may say hello and ask me questions. Some people may want to hug me. I can wave or say namaste instead.
• If it gets too loud, I can show Mumma my break card. We can sit in the back room, where it is quiet.
• We will eat lunch at Nani's house. Mumma will bring my tiffin with food I like.
• After lunch, we will say goodbye and go home in the car.
• Nani and Nana are happy when I visit.

Notice what the story leaves out. It does not tell the child to behave, to sit still or to eat what everyone else eats. It describes, offers two things the child can do, and ends on something warm and true. The same pattern suits the school assembly: where the child stands, the microphone, how long it lasts, and what they can do if the sound is too much.

A child who uses one set of pictures at home and meets a different set at school, or none, has to learn everything twice. Share your cards with the class teacher and ask whether the classroom uses a picture timetable; if it does, borrow its symbols for home. Ask for photographs of the classroom, the teacher, the toilet and the place the bag goes, which also make good material for a social story before a new term.

Where a shadow teacher works with the child, they can carry a small version of the schedule through the day and use the same words for finished, next and break that you use at home. Ask the school to tell you early about sports day, exams, trips and timetable changes, so the story can be read before the day, not after it. Preparing an autistic child for a new school year covers the start of term.

If your child sees a speech-language pathologist, check with them before making any visual support. Some children already use a picture-based communication system or a device the therapist has set up, and a second, competing set of pictures at home can confuse them. Use the therapist's symbols, words and level, and take the schedule to the next session. Carrying the speech-language pathologist's targets into the day explains how home and clinic stay in step.

The occupational therapist may have set sensory breaks or a sequence for dressing, bathing or toileting. Put those on the schedule exactly as set, and when a step keeps failing, tell the therapist rather than quietly dropping it. A special educator at home often builds and runs these supports and keeps home and school consistent. Special Minds introduces vetted special educators and shadow teachers to families in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad; it does not provide occupational or speech therapy.