Visuals in the Special Education Classroom

We could NOT get through the day without visuals in our classroom! We need them to survive the tough moments and the kids need them to survive the day 🙂

Without the ability to point to the many visuals throughout the room, our day would not be so successful! Visuals are so important to children with special needs and their every day success. Sometimes words become to overwhelming, and a picture can show them the way.

Here are some examples of visuals that I use in my Autism Classroom!

Visual Keychain: This thing is my absolute LIFESAVER. When you are in the hall, inclusion, the bathroom, an assembly….- you NEED to have these visuals right on hand! They help us to be appropriate in the community and learn new skills! You can grab it HERE!

First/ Then Boards: 

First/ then boards are a staple in special education classrooms everywhere. Usually they are mobile, but this year I decided to put one at every workstation in the classroom. For students that have a tough timing knowing what is next on their schedule, I post it here. For students struggling to finish a task, I post their reward here! You can grab my first then boards HERE for free!

Visual Schedules: My students use their visuals to navigate their days, and my staff uses visual schedules to navigate theirs! It is great to have your schedules posted on a whiteboard, so anyone coming in can post any changes. This way the messages don’t get lost in a pile of post it notes on my desk!

Carry Along Schedule:

For my higher functioning students, I transition them to a mobile schedule. This schedule can be brought with them to inclusion and around the building throughout the day! This way they know what is next and can transition more independently, without being stuck to a schedule board!

Tell Me Mats:

These new AMAZING Tell Me Boards are what keeps me sane during read alouds. Keeps sensory seeking hands busy during the story, and provides visuals for when it’s time to answer WH questions! It’s a win win! You can grab them HERE for free!

Token Boards:

If you don’t use token boards already, you need to! Token boards offer a visual for what a child is working for, and includes reminders of how they can earn their tokens at the top! My students earn 5-10 tokens to earn a reward at different intervals depending on need and behavior. You can grab them HERE!

Visuals are even helpful for staff too 🙂

Hopefully you have gotten some good ideas of how to add visuals to your classroom to make it even more successful!