How to make a visual timetable for home

What is a visual timetable?

A visual timetable is a set of pictures, symbols or words, in order, that shows your child what is happening across part or all of the day. It is sometimes called a visual schedule. It works like a longer Now and Next board: your child can see what is happening now, what comes next and what comes after that.

A timetable makes the day more predictable. Your child can check what is coming, see that nice things are on the way and see when the day ends, without having to ask. NICE's guideline for autistic children and young people names visual supports as a way to adapt the places where children are supported, and recommends that care plans for behaviour that challenges include "increasing structure and minimising unpredictability" (NICE CG170).

Which type of visual timetable suits my child?

Match the timetable to your child's stage, not their age, and start with the simplest version that works.

You also need to decide:

• Left to right, or top to bottom. Left to right follows the way English is read. A top-to-bottom column fits well on a door or the side of the fridge. Pick one and keep it the same.
• Part of the day, or the whole day. Start with the hardest part of the day, often the morning rush or bedtime.
• On the wall, or on the move. A strip on the wall at home, plus a small version in a book or on a keyring for days out.
• Objects, photos, symbols or words. Use the level your child understands. Scotland's Autism Toolbox suggests objects for children at an early, pre-verbal stage who may not yet understand symbols (Autism Toolbox). Photos of your child's own things are often easier to understand than symbols: research with minimally speaking autistic children suggests colour photos can help children connect a picture with the real thing (Hartley and Allen 2015).

How do I make a visual timetable?

1. Pick one part of the day. Mornings or bedtime are good places to start.
2. Write the steps down, in order. Keep to the main steps, such as breakfast, teeth, shoes and car, not every small task.
3. Get the pictures. Take photos of your child's own things and places, or ask nursery or school for their symbols. Write the word under each one.
4. Make them last. Print them, cover them with sticky-back plastic or laminate them, and put Velcro on the back.
5. Make the strip. Stick a line of Velcro along a long piece of card. Put it at your child's eye level, where that part of the day starts: the kitchen for mornings, or the landing for bedtime.
6. Add a finished pocket. Fix an envelope or small box at the end of the strip for pictures that are done.

Or print the free visual timetable and add your own pictures.

How do I use a visual timetable every day?

Go through the timetable together at the start, then come back to it at each change.

1. Look at it together at the start of that part of the day. Point to each picture and say the word: "Breakfast, teeth, shoes, car."
2. Come back to it at each change: "Teeth finished. Next shoes."
3. Do the finished routine. When an activity ends, your child takes the picture off and posts it in the finished pocket, or turns it over. The next picture is now first in the row. An NHS speech and language therapy leaflet suggests the same step for Now and Next boards: take a picture off when its activity is finished (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust).
4. Help, then step back. At first, walk your child to the timetable and help them move the picture. Over time, wait a moment before helping, so they can do more themselves.
5. Keep it true. Only show what will really happen. If something changes, change the timetable and show your child.

How many pictures should I start with?

Start with 3 or 4 pictures for one part of the day. When your child moves through them easily, add one or two more, or add the next part of the day. This slow build-up is common practice rather than something research has tested. If your child seems overwhelmed, go back to fewer pictures, or to a Now and Next board.

What should I do when plans change?

Show the change on the timetable, before it happens if you can. For unexpected changes, the National Autistic Society suggests "the use of a picture symbol to explain the change" and "reinforcement of the rest of the day being the same (if that's the case)", followed by an activity your child finds calming (National Autistic Society).

• Use a change card. Choose a clear symbol, such as a cross, a colour or the word "change". Put it over the picture of the activity that isn't happening, and put the new activity next to it.
• Say it simply: "Swimming finished today. Park instead."
• Point to what stays the same: "Then tea, bath, bed."
• Mark gaps you can't fill yet. Some families use a question mark or "surprise" card for a part of the day that isn't decided.
• Have a plan B. The National Autistic Society says "Making a 'plan B' and 'plan C' can help to manage unexpected changes" (National Autistic Society).

There is more on this in the guide to transitions and changes.

How do I match my child's school timetable?

Use the same pictures and words as school wherever you can, so your child learns one system, not two. Scotland's Autism Toolbox stresses that adults in every setting should use visuals in the same way (Autism Toolbox).

• Ask the teacher or SENCO for copies of the symbols on the class timetable, or a photo of it.
• Use the same words. If school says "tidy up time", say that at home too.
• Put "school" or "nursery" on your morning and after-school timetables, with a photo of the building or the classroom door.
• Make a simple week strip or calendar that shows school days and home days.
• Ask school to tell you early about changes such as trips, a new teacher or sports day, so you can show them at home. NHS advice is to "let them know about changes as soon as you can" (NHS).
• Plan weekends and holidays too. The National Autistic Society lists "unstructured time" among the possible causes of distressed behaviour (National Autistic Society), and for holidays it suggests planning what will happen on each day and keeping key routines such as bedtimes and mealtimes (National Autistic Society).

In England, if your child gets SEN support at school, the SEND Code of Practice, still in force in September 2026, says the support should be agreed with you, with the expected impact and "a clear date for review" (para 6.48). You can ask for a visual timetable, and copies for home, to be part of it.

How can a visual timetable help with bedtime and mornings?

Bedtime and mornings have the same steps every day, which makes them a good place to start.

• Bedtime: for example bath, pyjamas, teeth, toilet, story, bed. Keep the same order, and roughly the same time, each night. When an autistic child has sleep problems, NICE recommends a sleep plan that aims to "establish a regular night-time sleep pattern" (NICE CG170). Government guidance for under-5s in England also suggests avoiding screens "for the hour before bed" (Best Start in Life). See sleep and bedtime routines.
• Mornings: for example toilet, get dressed, breakfast, teeth, shoes and coat, car. Laying out clothes the night before, and putting the strip by the front door, can make the rush easier.
• The toilet: the National Autistic Society suggests "a visual sequence beside the toilet" (National Autistic Society). Try the toileting sequence printable and see toilet training.

What does the research say about visual timetables?

Picture timetables are one of the better-studied supports for autistic children, but most studies are small.

• A review of 31 studies of picture schedules, 16 of acceptable quality, concluded they can be considered evidence-based, "especially when used in combination with systematic instructional procedures". In plain terms, they worked best when adults actively taught children how to use them, step by step (Knight, Sartini and Spriggs 2015).
• A large US review by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) counted 65 studies of visual supports, covering ages from infancy to early adulthood (NCAEP 2020).
• Timetables don't remove every hard moment. In a small study of two autistic children, picture schedules on their own did not reduce distressed behaviour when the children had to move from a liked activity to a less-liked one (Waters, Lerman and Hovanetz 2009).
• Research on timetables on tablets and phones is thin: a 2025 review found 17 studies with 58 participants in total (Hammond et al. 2025).

Where can I get more help?

• Your child's nursery or school: ask the SENCO to share their symbols and timetable, and to use the same system as you.
• A speech and language therapist can advise which kind of picture and how many steps suit your child. Your GP, health visitor or SENCO can explain how referrals work where you live.
• The National Autistic Society, Contact and your local SENDIASS offer information and advice.

For choice boards, picture sequences and more, see visual supports at home.