Best Visual Supports for Autism

If you’ve ever felt like you’re repeating directions all day, managing meltdowns during transitions, or unsure how to help a student understand what’s expected—visual supports might just become your new best friend. For autistic students especially, visuals are more than just helpful—they’re essential. They bring clarity to the chaos, reduce anxiety, and support communication in ways that words alone often can’t. In this post, I’m sharing five of the best visual supports for autism that every teacher (and really, every classroom) should have on hand. These aren’t just Pinterest-pretty—they’re practical, research-backed, and ready to make your day smoother.

These supports don’t just work for your Autistic students, they can support all students. So really these visual aids can be a classroom wide behavior support. Visuals make things concrete. Instead of giving a direction once and it being gone forever (or until you repeat it again)- make it into a visual and students can look at it over and over again.

Top 5 Visual Supports for Autism

These five visual supports are must haves in the classroom. Whether you’re teaching in a self-contained setting or supporting students in general ed, these tools can help reduce behaviors, increase independence, and make your day a whole lot smoother. They can teach social skills proactively, help students through their daily routines and make life easier for both you and the student. Be sure to read through each because there a several free resources within this list too!

1. Contingency Maps

Think of contingency maps as a visual way to show what happens if a student makes one choice versus another. They’re usually laid out in a “If I do this… then this will happen” format. I love the clarity they provide based on the two choices the students make. You can very clearly lay out the consequences of both the appropriate and not appropriate behavior. For me, these have proven more effective than social stories. They are easy to whip out and refer to.

They take the mystery out of behavior and help students understand the impact of their choices.

Check out this example below for an idea of what they look like. Get your own here that you can edit and make yourselves!

Pro tip: Use them proactively, not punitively. These aren’t about threatening consequences—they’re about teaching.

2. Visual Schedules

Visual schedules are exactly what they sound like: a picture-based or written breakdown of the day, an activity, or even just a few steps in a routine. Now we can go so far into depth about these visual schedules. I can almost guarantee you that if you have a student who has behavior problems and has Autism- they almost 100% need a visual schedule. This does not mean they need your traditional picture one. Maybe they need a digital schedule where they can quickly look at it on their phone or computer, maybe they do need printable visual schedules but instead of images they need words. The options are endless on how they can look- they just need to be student specific. 

This doesn’t mean don’t have a whole class schedule, this just means it should be in addition to. Most kids thrive on using a schedule. I bet you have one too whether it be your teacher planner, your google or apple calendar or some other way you keep track of what is going on day to day- and you are an adult!

So why do these work so well? Transitions are one of the toughest parts of the day for many autistic students. A visual schedule gives them a heads-up on what’s coming next. It builds independence and reduces anxiety around the unknown.

Need some of your own? Check out these real life visual schedule pictures. These are perfect for students who need things that much more concrete. Sometimes clipart is not even concrete enough, which is where these real life visual schedules can work.

3. Visual Directions

Instead of repeating yourself over and over again (“Get your pencil. No, your pencil. Now open your journal. Yes, page 3…”), use visual directions. These are simple step-by-step visuals that show what a student needs to do for a specific task.

They reduce the need for adult prompting, which fosters independence and reduces frustration on both sides. Plus, they’re a lifesaver during centers or when you’re juggling a million things.

There are so many ways you can do these. My favorite is to do it for the whole group, so give a few directions- have images to pair with them and put them right on the board for everyone to see. If you need those for your classroom, you can get your hands on some here.

4. Choice Boards

Choice boards offer structured options, allowing students to pick what works best for them—especially during breaks, reinforcement times, or even academic tasks. These are perfect for giving students autonomy within their day, when they are so often just told what they need to do. These also allow the choices to again be visual which makes it easier for students with Autism to process what you are even offering to them. For students who struggle with communication or transitions, choice boards make it easier to express preferences in a safe, visual way.

If you want to get some choice boards that would work for your reinforcement system, you can get some free ones here.

5. Behavioral Expectations

Alright, this one is the biggie- and most important. Visual behavioral expectations show what appropriate behavior looks like in specific areas of the classroom or school. Think: hallway, group time, lunch, recess. So often we are just telling students what not to do, these visuals give them a clear picture of what to do.That’s key for students who struggle to read between the lines of verbal instructions.

Again these visuals can be done in a variety of different ways, My favorite? Throw some on your lanyard that you are always saying (like raise your hand, get in line etc.) and you can whip them out whenever you need. If you want these for your own classroom, you can get them in clipart or real life pictures here. Not only do you have that option, they come in a variety of languages AND they’re editable- I know, really they fit (and should be in) all classrooms.

You’re not just pulling these tools out when things get hard—visual supports are part of how you run your classroom every single day. They’re how you teach expectations, support independence, and help your students actually understand what’s happening around them.

Whether it’s a choice board during break time or a contingency map for tough behaviors, these supports give students the clarity they need and take some of the pressure off you. It’s not about doing more—it’s about making what you’re already doing work better.

And if you want to skip the trial and error? Grab my Classroom Visuals Starter Pack—it includes hand signals, visual directions, and positive behavior charts to help you set expectations and build independence from day one. It’s the perfect way to start bringing visual supports into your classroom without feeling overwhelmed.