How do I create a visual timetable for my autistic child?

Match the format to how your child understands the world

Before you print anything, work out what your child can actually read. Start by choosing the format your child understands best (objects, photos, symbols or written words), then lay these out in order on a board, using Velcro so your child can remove each card as the activity finishes. A younger child or one who is very literal often needs real objects or photos of the actual places and people; an older or more able child may cope with symbols or plain written words. The National Autistic Society is clear that a visual support has to be personalised to the individual, so pitch it to the child in front of you, not to a template.

Build it small and lay it out in order

You do not need specialist kit. A strip of card, laminated picture cards, and self-adhesive Velcro (or Blu Tack) is enough, as the NHS Autism Space guidance sets out. Do not start with the whole day. Begin with two cards, a now and next board, showing what is happening now and what comes immediately after.

• Now and next (two cards) for a child new to timetables, or at high-anxiety moments.
• A short sequence (three or four cards) once two cards are working.
• A longer strip only when your child copes with the shorter one. Some children manage seven or eight pictures; many do better with two or three.

Use it the same way, every time

A timetable built once and used unevenly fails. The point is predictability, so use it consistently:

1. Show your child the board and talk through it together.
2. As each activity finishes, take the card off and post it in a "finished" pocket or box, so the change is something your child can see.
3. Keep the same images and the same words everyone says. Ask school to use the same pictures and language at home and in class so they reinforce each other.

Plan for when things change

Real days do not go to plan. Once your child is used to the timetable, the charity Caudwell Children suggests adding a single "oops" or change card (often a grey card) to signal that a plan has changed and a different card is going in its place. Introduce this only after the basic routine is settled, so the change card means something. If the timetable stops working after a good run, that is usually fixable rather than a sign it was the wrong tool. For the common reasons and what to do, see when visual schedules stop working.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.