Use visual symbols to support children through change, says Gina Smith.
For a child, knowing what is happening in your day helps you to feel calm—you know you’re safe, and nothing bad is going to happen. But the unknown can catch you off guard and make you anxious. When you’re anxious, your behaviour changes. If you have a communication difficulty, spoken words can be hard to process. As soon as words are spoken, they’re gone, leaving you trying to remember what was said, and what it meant. If more words are spoken while you’re trying to process the previous words, the processing becomes much harder. Words pile up, and it becomes even harder to dig out the meaning. This can lead to overwhelm and frustration.
For those with profound and multiple learning difficulties, one simple method of communicating routines and transitions is through the use of pictures. Images are easier to process than words. If you show someone a picture such as a photo or a visual symbol, it stays there as long as it is visible and while someone looks at it and uses the image to understand what is being communicated to them. If they forget, they can keep checking back as many times as they need to. Pictures can also be portable, meaning that a child always has a consistent communication method ready to use whenever and wherever they need it.
One of the other difficulties of the spoken word is tone of voice—saying the same words but in two different tones of voice can communicate the same message but in quite different ways. This just adds another layer of complication. If you’re already stressed and anxious, then processing spoken language becomes even more of a challenge. Pictures, on the other hand, don’t have a tone of voice—they are the same every time. Using an alternative form of communication such as visual symbols can make communicating change much more achievable because it is consistent, and more straightforward for everyone. This is vital for those that struggle to process information. You can eliminate feelings of anxiety by helping someone to know what is happening, in a way that they can understand. A visual timetable is a simple list of images that show someone what is happening in their day. Display them one after the other to represent your child’s day, and then change them around each day to show what is happening.
If a whole list of pictures is too much at once, you could try a Now and Next board—a simple chart which breaks the information down into just two steps by attaching pictures showing the next two things coming up. This is great for those who struggle to process language or cope with change, and it can be used to support a child as they transition from one activity to another.
When we can effectively communicate to someone what is happening, they will feel secure in their knowledge, and therefore generally happier and more relaxed. In turn, their behaviour will reflect this and they stand a much better chance of being able to enjoy their day.
Author: Gina Smith
Gina Smith
Founder and Director of Create Visual Aids
Website: createvisualaids.com
Facebook: @CreateVisualAids
