How Visual Supports Can Manage Student Behavior

Current State

Among the many issues in education, student behavior has become a top priority. 93% of Wisconsin educators cite student behavior as a major concern. With excessive amounts of screen time, higher absence rates, and lower reading scores, students are disengaging and exhibiting negative behaviors that teachers of all stages struggle to manage. An alarming one in five students faces mental health problems in a given year. These increases in student behavior problems, along with mental health challenges, have worn out teachers and students. 

Educators feel discouraged by these challenges and wonder how they can make a difference. One way to solve this problem is by offering our educators more tools to manage student behavior, and an effective way to do that is to leverage visual supports. 

What Are Visual Supports?

Visual supports are means of communicating with students with a visual item. This item can be a photo, drawing, note, or other visual object to either passively or actively correct their behavior, focus their attention, or simply ask questions to help restabilize their bodies.

PECS, Power Cards, social narratives, visual schedules, reinforcement systems, regulation supports, and academic tools are all examples of visual supports.

Audible supports are typically phrases or open communication that help students know what is expected of them, what the next steps are, and whether their behavior is appropriate. However, auditory processing is one of the first sensory systems to shut down when a student is dysregulated. Visual supports don’t change, and they stick around as long as students need them.  

These visual supports can be as simple as pictures on the wall, a screen, or written messages. Visual schedules can also help keep students focused on their tasks and knowledgeable of what to expect next.

Schedules can also help students stay on track and feel less anxious in the classroom. When they have visual cues to know what is coming next, they can better focus and feel like their needs are being met. 

Typically, visual supports are used with children impacted by autism, but any way we communicate with children is important, no matter their neurological makeup. Using a variety of tools to communicate with students will give educators the best odds to speak with students and help them learn effectively. 

How Are Visual Supports Effective?

Utilizing visual supports can be a helpful alternative to audible reminders to keep students regulated. Elementary and middle school children can only comprehend between 130-140 words per minute. When a long series of complex instructions is necessary to speak in class, students can fall behind, leaving them confused and disengaged. 

Communicating in a way that children can understand is the best way to make meaningful gains in student learning and re-engage them when they disrupt the class with negative behaviors. 

I’ll give you an example of how I’ve seen visual supports work in the classroom: 

A school team called me in about an elementary student with trauma history who was repeatedly running from class and hiding in her cubby, creating safety concerns. While working with this student, an incident occurred, and the counselor asked me to help.

When we arrived, the student was in her cubby. The counselor told me that she typically speaks to the child to try to convince her to come back to the classroom. Even though the student seemed to calm down again, the situation would escalate again. Out of options, the counselor didn’t know what else to do.

I suggested a visual support, because anything you can say verbally, you can do visually. The counselor wrote down, “When you're ready, I'm here for you.” She gave her student the note, and a minute later she peeked her head around the corner, and she said, “Will you write me another note?”

I suggested writing like a second grader. The counselor knew this student, what she needed, and the kinds of directives she needed to get back on track. Give students choices to help them regulate their emotions.

The little girl picked some of the activities the counselor had offered her, which led to the student feeling safer and regulating her body for the classroom. In 15 minutes, the student was ready to join her classmates.

Sometimes, educators need permission to try a new way of doing something. Instead of bringing students back to the classroom before they’re ready, educators need more tools to communicate with the children and manage their emotions.

When kids aren’t ready to return to the classroom, they won’t learn anyway. Taking the time to get them regulated is best for them and their education. We have to supply our educators with a variety of tools to help students regulate their emotions so they can focus on learning and educators can feel empowered, capable, and confident to lead their classrooms. 

5 Reasons to Use Visual Supports

1. They don’t disappear. Visual supports are salient - the information sticks around for as long as the “listener” needs to process and respond to it.
2. They make abstract concepts concrete.
3. They promote independence. Visual schedules and checklists are tools students can use to navigate their environment with greater independence.
4. They provide a mechanism for the intervener to ignore problematic behaviors without ignoring the child. For example, I was recently in a classroom where a student broke all the pencils systematically. When the staff member initially ignored her, she loudly sang, “I am breaking all the pencils!” This is an example of behaviors escalating when a child is ignored. The staff member masterfully approached the student with her visual schedule and, pointing, said, “Two more minutes, then it is time for the library,” still while ignoring the behavior. The child de-escalated, cleaned up, and got ready for the library.
5. A small portion of communication is verbal. The rest is communicated through non-verbal (body position, gestures, and facial expressions) and paraverbals (tone, pitch, volume, etc). Visuals support what goes unsaid, reinforcing classroom expectations, schedules, and other important information. 

Should Visual Strategies be Used at Home?

Helping families understand the value of using visual supports with their children is one of the most important things a therapist or teacher can do. It’s critical for the therapist or teacher to help parents integrate visual tools into home life. 

It is also important to share “what works” across home, school, and community environments. This helps the child learn how to use visual supports and generalizes learning across environments, ultimately better preparing children to navigate the world. 

Visual Supports Templates

Because we know how important it is to supply educators with the tools they need in the classroom, here are some examples of Visual Supports that teachers can use to fit their students’ needs:

• The Zones Point Sheet incorporates three evidence-based practices into one. These Zones include Regulation, Reinforcement, and a Visual Schedule to keep students engaged and aware of themselves and their daily schedule.
• Linda Hodgdon is a revered Speech-Language pathologist and bestselling author of Visual Strategies for Improving Communication. She has a wide variety of strategies for educators in the classroom and is a brilliant resource on visual supports.
• The Autism Internet Modules also offer evidence-based interventions and informative tools that can be another resource that educators can use to experiment with new strategies in the classroom.

Visual Supports and Student Behavior

Utilizing these visual supports includes clarifying behavior goals. Behavior standards should focus on what students should do instead of what they should not do. An example of this is keeping your hands to yourself rather than hitting other students.

Teaching behavior is no different from teaching other skills because of the consistent value that good behavior holds in the classroom. Like 2+2 = 4, good behavior is always expected.

Beware of "all or none" rewards. If a child knows they have not earned their reward by 10 a.m., why would they bother for the rest of the day? Focus on a sliding scale system by rewarding students their way.

Be creative with prizes like an art box with special supplies, a chance to be a teacher's helper, vacuuming with the custodian, earning a social reward for the class, etc. Be mindful of rewarding the student and careful not to reward them when they haven’t earned it. Be intentional about what a regulation/body break is and what a reinforcer is.

Conclusion

Leveraging visual supports can improve student behavior management and also reduce burnout in teachers. When we can regulate students’ bodies, we can improve their performance in the classroom and help them retain more knowledge.

Support your educators by providing as many tools as you can to help them support students. Giving your teachers the necessary skills to connect with students can reduce negative behavior and foster growth and engagement in every student. 

Districts looking for student behavior solutions are invited to learn more about our professional development opportunities online. Our Student Behavior & Wellness experts are happy to learn about your challenges and give you the resources you need to face them.