Visual+Schedules

Kellie Snowden  SPED 843  Dr. Aronin  Spring 2011

 Visual Schedules

 __Description of Intervention Method__  Visual schedules, or activity schedules, are visual support systems that place pictures or symbols in a sequential format to represent the sequence of an activity or student’s day. Visuals used in these schedules range from photographs and clip art images to line drawings and even written words. The format of the visual schedule varies and depends on each student’s skill level. There are two different types of activity schedules: between activity and within-activity schedules. Between activity schedules are pictures of each activity for the day placed in sequential order. Within-activity schedules are pictures of the steps of a particular activity in order. There needs to be a way for the student to show the completion of a step or whole activity such as removing the picture that is attached with Velcro and placing it in an “all done” basket or drawing a line through a picture in a page protector using a dry erase marker.

 __Types of Students Who Benefit from the Method__  Visual schedules can be used with all ages of students from early childhood to secondary students. They can be used with male and female students with a variety of diagnosis, including Young Child with a Developmental Delay, autism, intellectual disability, and emotional disturbance. Visual schedules are helpful for students that have difficulty with receptive language and understanding auditory stimuli. They can also benefit students with relative strengths in visual skills, students with difficulty understanding abstract concepts, students with difficulty transitioning, students with difficulty accepting change. Visual schedules can also be used for English language learners because they are a way to visually relay information from the teacher to the student. Picture activity schedules would also be beneficial to students with memory and attention difficulties because they provide a visual reminder of the current activity or task analyzed steps of the activity the student should be working on.

 __Qualifications for Using the Method__  There are no specific qualifications for implementing visual schedules. A basic understanding of the method and the student’s level of development is all that is required.

 __Costs of Using the Method__  The biggest cost associated with using visual schedules is the time necessary to construct and implement them. The monetary costs of implementing visual schedules can vary depending on the materials used to create the schedules. If teachers wish to draw their own pictures or write words, the most basic form of visual schedules simply requires pencil and paper, two inexpensive items. If teachers want to use other pictures, such as clip art images, that type of schedule would require the use of a computer, printer, ink, and paper. As individuals make visual schedules sturdier, the use of lamination, Velcro, binders, and sheet protectors may be needed. Frequently, school districts purchase the Boardmaker software from Mayer-Johnson to create symbol-based visuals. This software costs $329.00 and is often used with younger students.

 __Potential Risks with Using the Method__  There are not many risks with using visual schedules. Visual schedules can be portable so they can be taken with the student. One potential risk is not having a visual to represent a specific activity. However, individuals may draw a picture or use a “special activity” visual. Some students have difficulty responding to change in a predictable schedule when using a visual schedule. This can be overcome by occasionally changing the routine and indicating change on the visual schedule. Students also need to practice this before a big change actually occurs in their schedule.

 __Benefits of Using the Method__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 1in;"> Visual schedules help students with skills related to predicting and sequencing activities and their day. They teach students about time awareness, flexibility, and how to transition between activities. Overall, picture activity schedules decrease the amount of instructional time wasted on repeating verbal directions and allow students to complete activities and transitions independently.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 1in;"> __Settings for Method Use__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Visual schedules can be implemented in all classrooms. They can be designed to stay in one location or travel between locations. They can be used in regular education, special education, art, music, and P.E. rooms. Visual schedules can also be used at home, if the parents are instructed on how to implement them. They can also be used at daycares and other community settings.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> __Field’s Attitude Towards the Method__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> Many teachers use visual schedules for students. They are very commonly used with younger students and students with autism spectrum disorders. The overall attitude towards visual schedules in the field of special education is positive.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;"> Summary of Research Study

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Bryan, L.C. & Gast, D.L. (2000). Teaching on-task and on-schedule behaviors to high-functioning children with autism via picture activity schedules. //Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders//, //30(6)//, 553-567.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">__Description of Subjects__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">The study was conducted using four elementary-aged children from 7 to 8 years of age with high-functioning autism. All of the students were functioning at or less than one year below grade level in reading and were served half time in a general education classroom and half time in a resource classroom for children with autism spectrum disorders. The participants also needed adult supervision and verbal prompting to complete academic tasks.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> __Description of Research Design__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> The researchers used a graduated guidance procedure, or a system of prompt fading, to teach the students to use the picture activity schedules. The activity schedules used in the study were line-drawn pictures of academic activities placed in a plastic photo album that represented four literacy centers throughout the classroom. The drawings were placed in the order that the students were to complete the activities. Data was collected for each student for his/her on-schedule and on-task behavior during such conditions as generalization pretest, baseline, graduated guidance, picture activity schedule only, no picture activity schedule, and generalization posttest. During each condition, the experimenter gave the instruction, “We will begin literacy centers now.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> __Dependent Variable__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> The dependent variables were on-schedule, off-schedule, on-task with scheduled materials, on-task with nonscheduled materials, and off-task behavior. Definitions of each behavior are defined in the report.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">__Independent Variable__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> The independent variable was the visual schedule, or activity schedule.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> __Summary of Results__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">During the generalization pretest, the range of on-schedule behaviors was 3.3-21.5%, and during the posttest condition the mean performance for all students was 100% for four consecutive days. Similarly, the pretest range for on-task behaviors was 5-31.5%, and the posttest range was 99.5-100% for four consecutive days. The study supported the use of visual activity schedules for students with high-functioning autism.