Visual support ideas
Visual support: Packing my school bag
A school bag is packed twice a day under time pressure, and every missing item becomes a problem later: no hat means no play, no drink bottle means a thirsty afternoon. Many autistic and neurodivergent students can pack a bag perfectly from a list and cannot do it from memory in a noisy room.
A packing checklist in pictures lives on the bag hook or inside the bag flap. The student checks each card as the item goes in, with no adult reading the list out. Make the cards match the student’s real things, laminate them, and use the same set at home and at school.
Sample cards
A typical set
- Lunch Box
- Drink Bottle
- Hat
- Jumper
A sample made with HandsOnTop. Yours is written for your student.
The request is filled in. Choose how many cards, then click Generate.
30 free credits with an account — and one free try with none.
Tips for using it
- Put the checklist where the packing happens, on the hook or inside the flap.
- Use the same cards at home for the morning pack and at school for the afternoon.
- Keep the list to the six things that matter most; the rest can live in the bag.
Common questions
How is this different from the morning routine schedule?
The morning schedule is about what to do on arrival. This set is the contents of the bag, checked at home in the morning and at school in the afternoon.
Can I add things that change by day?
Make an extra card for the changing items, such as library bag or sports shoes, and add it to the strip only on the days it applies.
Will the pictures match my student’s things?
Describe them in the request, for example "blue drink bottle" or "yellow reader folder", and the cards are drawn to match. You can redraw any single card.