Our Favourite Visual Schedules and Communication Boards

Our Favourite Visual Schedules and Communication Boards

A round-up from one chaos-loving, neurodiversity-celebrating household to yours.

If your mornings ever resemble a scene from a mildly panicked musical—everyone singing a different tune while someone refuses socks and another is brushing their teeth with a marker—welcome, friend. You’re in the right place.

Visual schedules and communication boards have become absolute lifelines in our home. Not because they magically eliminate meltdowns (I mean, we’re good, but not wizard good), but because they give structure to the swirl. They help our kids see what’s happening, say what they need, and breathe a little easier through transitions. Honestly, they help me do the same.

So here it is: our lovingly curated list of favourite visual schedules and communication boards that have made our days brighter, smoother, and (occasionally) sock-compatible.

 First/Then Visual Schedule for Kids

This one is like the sticky note of visual schedules: simple, genius, and satisfying. It’s got a bold yellow board, waterproof design (hello, spills), and 32 everyday activity symbols with velcro. Perfect for preschoolers and early primary kiddos.

👉 Buy on Amazon

Fabric Picture Schedules from Augmentative Resources

These are the Mary Poppins bags of the visual world—soft, portable, and deceptively functional. You can choose a bifold, trifold, or vertical format. We use these when we’re out and about and need a quiet, tactile tool to keep things on track.

👉 Explore on Augmentative Resources

Visual Schedule + Communication Cards Bundle on Etsy

This one’s for the aesthetics lovers. Clean, colourful, and well-designed, it comes with a bundle of daily activity and emotion cards that work beautifully in home learning corners or on the fridge. Bonus: it doesn’t scream “educational aid”—it just looks cool.

👉 Buy on Etsy

Compact/Travel Visual Schedule for Teens & Adults

Discreet, sturdy, and easy to tuck into a backpack or pocket. We love this one for outings, hospital visits, or anywhere routine meets unpredictability. Bonus: older kids and teens feel more in control when they’ve got something that doesn’t look “babyish.”

👉 Buy on eBay

Editable Flip Book: Visual Schedule + Token + First-Then Board

Ah, the personalizable dream. Want to add your kid’s favourite stuffed fox to the “Get Ready for Bed” routine? Go ahead. This editable flip book gives you the power to make it yours—pictures, text, and all.

👉 Buy on Etsy

Final Thoughts

No visual schedule will fix everything. But when you find the right one, it becomes a little bridge between your child’s brain and the world’s expectations. It’s not about controlling them. It’s about empowering them. About making the invisible visible.

And when that moment happens—when they point to a picture and say “that next?” or proudly move a velcro task from “To Do” to “Done”—you’ll feel it too. That tiny flutter of hope. That “we’re figuring this out” magic.

From our beautifully unpredictable family to yours: here’s to making sense of the swirl, one visual at a time.