5 Reasons to Use Visuals Now!
If you don’t already use visuals in your speech-language therapy sessions, these 5 reasons to use visuals now will convince you. If you already use them, you’ll still love the great links for resources!
Visuals Aren’t Just for Autism!
1. Visualizing is a well-known memory aid, but it isn’t an automatic skill! Practice with remembering images is one way to start. Remember those What’s Missing? pictures where kids need to remember the details of the original picture? It is a fun way to build memory skills!
2. Visuals help with auditory processing. It is easier to understand an oral message when a student has a picture. But, make sure that picture is directly related to the words you are saying. Pictures help connect the words to the concepts so your students can retain the main idea in working memory.
3. Visuals help with expressive language skills. When a student uses pictured words to formulate sentences, she can begin to see the pattern of the sentence structure. This is especially true with repetitive practice.
4. Visuals help with articulation skills. Picture or symbol sentences decrease the linguistic demands for sentence formulation. Then the student can put all his efforts into the motor aspect of sound production in connected speech and be more successful.
5. Visuals help everyone to function! What would you do without your calendar and planner?
Free Resource Links for Visuals
Creating visuals for all of the work you do with students is so time-consuming! That is why I decided to help you out. We can never have enough visual supports, even if our students are verbal. Do you have my free Getting Started with Autism Guide? It will give you practical tips and free, must-have visuals.
Here are more resources links. While some are made directly for students with autism, you may find them helpful for your other speech-language disordered students, too. Others are helpful for students in academic placements.
Common core visual literacy strategies
Templates, diagrams, forms, and charts
Graphic organizers
Expressive Communication
So much of SLP efforts are put toward increasing comprehension skills since that is necessary for success in the classroom. As SLPs and special educators, though, we need to also give our students a voice! Whether they can use pictures, words, or a combination of both, helping kids to be able to express their needs, wants, and ideas is a core skill.
If you love file folder activities but also want to improve your students’ sentence skills, check out file folder language and literacy activities!
Read more about how helpful these file folder activities are. And learn how to make your own for free!
Enjoy!
