Physical Therapy: Visual Supports for Treatment, Schedule, or Task Cards

Do you work with preschool or elementary age children who are non-compliant, non-verbal, or have difficulty with attention? It can be difficult to create the structure and flexibility one needs to make sure every treatment session is joyful and productive. I have found visual supports to be an extremely helpful tool that immediately improves engagement and ensures that treatment sessions are effective. Visual supports include task cards to be used for a variety of settings including clinic, itinerant, and classroom situations.

I have used this system with countless children who have Autism, Emotional Behavioral Disturbance, Intellectual Disabilities, ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, Communication Disabilities, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and more. These children, who typically are not yet fluent readers, can often follow personal picture prompts with greater ease and independence than they can respond to verbal directions or even classroom visuals. Task cards included in this resource have color-coded frames by area of treatment so that you can easily keep your visuals organized and easily find the individual treatment tasks you want to use. Both photos and clip art are used. Here is a link to a blog post with classroom pictures.

Have you tried to start a system for visual supports that has not worked?

I have. When working at schools where I had only a few pictures of treatment materials, I sometimes just gave up. If you do not have 90% of the pictures you need at hand for this session, or to plan the next session, then the system fails. You can always draw up a couple pictures on post-it notes, but if you are missing too many and are unable to put the time in to make a list of what you need and create those items, the system tanks. That is why I have done my best to collect a wide range of treatment materials and activities. Included in this product:

Included in this physical therapy product:

✔︎ Equipment                                            64 Visuals

✔︎ Movement Activities & Vestibular        16 Visuals

✔︎ Balance                                                16 Visuals

✔︎ ROM & Flexibility                                16 Visuals

✔︎ Strength & Stability                           28 Visuals

✔︎ Locomotor                                            16 Visuals

✔︎ Bilateral & Ball Handling                        8 Visuals

✔︎ Playground                                            16 Visuals

✔︎ Physical Education                                32 Visuals

✔︎ Self-Help and Personal Responsibility   25 Visuals

✔︎ Motivational Activities                          16 Visuals

✔︎ Self-Regulation & Classroom Behaviors  46 Visuals

✔︎ Schedule Strip & All-Done Patterns        

✔︎ Stop Signs for Doors

Editable: 14-page PowerPoint document on which can add your own images and text to the blank color-coded cards.

For additional Visual Supports, Behavior, and Self-Regulation Tools: from Print Path

➜ Self-Regulation Skills TAUGHT

➜ Visual Supports: Self Regulation and Classroom Participation~Special Ed BUNDLE

➜ Yoga Movement Breaks

➜ Occupational Therapy: Visual Supports for Treatment, Schedule, or Task Cards

➜ Visual Supports: Locker Skills and Locker Routines

➜ Flexible Bathroom Social Stories for Girls

➜ Flexible Bathroom Social Stories for Boys