In a special education classroom, supporting the behavioral needs of students is a top priority. One effective strategy that has proven successful is the use of visual support keyrings. These handy tools provide visual cues and prompts to help students understand and follow directions, fostering independence and positive behavior. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of visual support keyrings. Whether you’re a seasoned special education teacher or just starting your journey, incorporating this tool into your classroom can make a significant difference.
What Are Visual Support Keyrings?
Visual support keyrings are portable and versatile tools with a collection of visual prompts attached to a keyring or lanyard. They can be worn by teachers and paraprofessionals on their belt loop to ensure easy access. I also like to hang keyrings in various locations of my classroom so that they are always available when we need them. Visual cues are important when working with students with autism because they often have deficits in receptive language. Visual cues paired with a verbal direction can help students understand what you are asking them to do.
Why Are Visual Support Keyrings Important?
Visual support keyrings can be a necessity in an autism classroom because when working with students, we should always use the least intrusive prompt. Verbal directions are the hardest type of directions to fade over time. Instead of repeatedly giving the same verbal direction to an unresponsive student, we can give the verbal direction once and pair it with a visual from the keyring. Visual support keyrings help students learn to be independent and rely less on adult support. Furthermore, visual support keyrings can be effective to use in inclusion settings. For example, if one of your students needs to focus on a reading lesson, the special educator or paraprofessional can show the “look” visual from across the room. This “look” cue could subtly remind the student to focus.
Things to Consider Before Use
- Effectively train paraprofessionals on use of the visual support keyring
- Use visuals that make sense for the student (consider real photographs)
- Only include visuals on the keyring you NEED to use (makes finding the visual you need easier)
- Consider placing your visual support keyring on a carabiner (click here for a link)
- Introduce the keyring during structured teaching sessions, modeling how you will use it and explaining the purpose of each visual prompt.
- Reinforce the use of the keyring consistently and provide positive feedback when students refer to the visual cues.
- Individualize the keyring by adding personalized visuals that cater to specific student needs and goals.
- Regularly assess the effectiveness of the keyring and make necessary adjustments based on individual student progress and feedback.
Need help getting started? I have a dollar deal that includes basic visual cues to create a visual support keyring of your own. The best part is these visuals are real photographs! Sometimes students don’t understand line drawings. I made explicit and easy to understand visuals for your students. Check it out by clicking the button below!
