Visual schedules for children: a simple place to start

By Simon Reiter · Parent and creator of Tilandra

Showing a child what comes next, instead of only telling them, is a simple place to start.

What can I try at home?

• Start with three or four steps for one part of the day, rather than planning every minute.
• Talk through the week ahead: school, family commitments, activities and anything different from normal.
• Use a simple step-by-step plan for unfamiliar days, including holidays and travel.

Why I started thinking about routines differently

One thing I've learnt as a parent is that a routine isn't just a list of jobs to get through. It's also a way of making the day feel more understandable.

As adults, we rarely expect ourselves to remember every meeting, appointment or commitment. We put things in calendars, write lists and set reminders. Yet it's easy to forget that children are also trying to make sense of what's happening today, tomorrow and next week.

That doesn't mean every family needs a visual schedule. It did change how I thought about the problem: perhaps the goal isn't to manage every moment, but to make the things we already know easier to see.

Start with the next few steps

A visual schedule shows the order of activities using pictures, words, symbols or physical objects. It doesn't need to be complicated.

Raising Children Network describes visual supports as an established approach, including for autistic children, and explains how they can be used as part of broader support. That's guidance about visual supports generally, not evidence that Tilandra or any one app works for every child.

Don't forget the week ahead

Showing what's next in the morning is useful, but so is talking about the shape of the week. What's happening at school? What commitments do we have as parents? Are there appointments, activities or changes to the usual plan?

Even a short conversation around a calendar can make those things clearer. It also gives everyone a chance to ask questions before the day arrives. For us, that's one less set of details to keep wondering about.

What worked for our family

We break our everyday routines into smaller parts: morning, after school and after dinner. We've found that more practical than presenting the whole day as one long sequence.

Travel was another useful lesson. A holiday can be exciting, but it also involves unfamiliar steps: getting to the airport, checking in, boarding a plane and arriving somewhere new. We use visual plans to show the order of those steps, rather than relying on repeated explanations. We keep time away separate from our everyday routines, so a holiday isn't treated exactly like an ordinary school week.

What I've taken from it: predictability isn't about controlling every minute. It's about making the plan visible and understandable. That can be useful for anyone, regardless of background or neurotype, even though different people will prefer different levels of structure.

If you're starting out, choose one part of the day, keep it small and see whether it helps. If it doesn't seem to be working, try fewer steps or a different part of the day. Sometimes a small adjustment is all that's needed.

A whiteboard or paper schedule is a perfectly good starting point, and I've explored that choice in Paper charts or routine apps. When a day doesn't go to plan, our guide to transitions and changes in routine may help.

About this guide

I’m sharing what we’ve tried as parents, alongside information from the sources linked above. This is general information, not clinical advice. If you need advice for your child, a qualified health professional can help.

Tilandra is in development and not yet available. If you’d like to hear when it is, you can learn more or join the beta.