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Using a Visual Schedule in Special Education

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using visual schedules in special education

Research shows that many people are visual learners and can benefit from a visual schedule in special education. We prefer advertisements with pictures instead of just words. We like fun colors and images to accompany things. Students are the same and more specifically students with disabilities benefit from the use of visual schedules.

So, let’s think about it for a moment. Do you think students would rather have a written schedule of the day or a visual schedule? I think many students would love to have a visual schedule of the day. It helps with seeing things in a simple format and keeping them in order. This is the main reason that I created the product called the Editable Visual Schedule.

A Look Inside the Visual Schedule in Special Education

Printable visual schedules using both clipart images or real photos, you choose!


Originally, I made this resource to help the students in my own classroom that needed a way to understand the events of the school day. They also had difficulty with the visuals that come with some other schedules that will fall off, get lost, and make it hard to keep it together. I saw many of my students like to have a visual of what to expect throughout the day. The really cool part of this resource is that it can be used in any classroom or home setting. Students love to keep track of the events in the day!

Do you know that feeling of satisfaction when you can cross something off of your to-do list? This flip schedule gives the same satisfaction to our students. It has flaps that are easy to open and close which also helps build their independence in the classroom and home. If you are also thinking, well how do I change out the pictures if the schedule changes? I’ve just velcroed those pictures on if I knew they changed for ease of use.

The Printable Version

This visual schedule has a printable version where you are given multiple options for the template. You will want to look through all the templates to see what fits the needs of the students’ schedules. There are pictures included in the resource to show you how to create the visual schedule. I also have a Facebook video tutorial that is included to give you follow along with step-by-step instructions.

As you scroll through the document, you will notice that there are over 2000 editable icons as well as 14 color-coding options to choose from. . Throughout the document, you will see many blue boxes. These are the boxes that are editable. When you click on them, you can type in whatever you would like. If you have certain phrases in your classroom, you can type them in. These pieces are all editable.

There are also premade cards that already have the words on them, in case you want to skip the step of typing in your own text.

editable icons for visual schedule

The Digital Version of the Visual Schedule in Special Education

Now let’s take a look at the Google Slides version of this resource. More and more technology is getting used in classrooms lately, and maybe you want to have a digital flip schedule. Once again, there are instructions included in this resource to help you set things up for your students.


There are multiple options for schedule boards on Google Slides. Simply pick which board you would like to use and then drag the schedule images into place so students know which order things will be happening. Students can use the digital version (after the teacher sets it up) in Google Slides to keep track of their tasks whether in school or at home. This also works great on a smartboard as a whole class schedule. I specifically use this schedule in my virtual classroom for my entire class and share it in Zoom so my students know what is coming next. They will just need to drag and drop pieces from one side of the schedule to the other, or they can use the green checkmarks to cover the completed tasks.

digital visual schedule



Visual Schedules are so helpful in the classroom. Not only do they help to keep students on track with the order of events throughout the day, but schedules also help students to engage with what is coming up and give them a sense of ownership in their learning.

If you think you could see this being helpful in your classroom please feel free to check out all the places that I have it available for purchase:

Editable Schedule in the Teach Love Autism Shop

Editable Schedule in the Teach Love Autism Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Want to try out another type of schedule I love using?