# Visual Schedules for Toddlers: The ADHD-Friendly Tool Every Parent Needs
Source: Little Wheels Educational Research
URL: https://littlewheels.app/learn/parent-guides/visual-schedules-toddlers-adhd-executive-function
Last Updated: November 2025

## Key Facts

### Why Visual Schedules Work
Visual schedules bypass weak executive function by showing (not just telling) what comes next. They remove the memory demand entirely—the picture SHOWS what's next, so children don't have to remember.

### The Working Memory Problem
"Go brush your teeth" requires 6+ executive function demands for a brain that can handle 2-3. Visual schedules solve this by providing permanent, retrievable information.

### Why Especially Helpful for ADHD
Children with ADHD have significant deficits in:
- Working memory (forget what you just said)
- Task initiation (struggle to START tasks)
- Sustained attention (can't complete multi-step tasks)
- Time awareness

Visual schedules are evidence-based interventions commonly recommended by OTs and psychologists.

## Types of Visual Schedules

### 1. Routine-Specific (Most Common Starting Point)
Shows steps of specific routine (morning, bedtime)
Best for: Ages 2-6, ALL children

### 2. First-Then (Simplest)
Shows just TWO steps: what to do first, then what happens next
Best for: Ages 18 months-4 years

### 3. Daily Routine
Shows entire day from wake-up to bedtime
Best for: Ages 4-6, children with autism

### 4. Task Analysis
Shows ALL micro-steps of a SINGLE task
Best for: Children with developmental delays

## How to Create

### Step 1: Start Small
Pick ONE routine causing most stress (morning or bedtime)

### Step 2: Identify 3-5 Key Steps
- Ages 2-3: 3 steps max
- Ages 4-5: 3-5 steps
- Ages 5-6: 5-8 steps

### Step 3: Choose Format
- Real photos of YOUR child (best for ages 2-4)
- Generic icons (quick start)
- Apps like Choiceworks

### Step 4: Create Display
- "To Do" and "All Done" sections
- Mount at child's eye level
- Use velcro or magnets so pictures can move

### Step 5: Teach the System
- Practice during calm time first
- Guide heavily during actual routine
- Fade to "Check your schedule—what's next?"

## Fading Your Involvement
- Week 1: Full guidance
- Week 2: Verbal prompts
- Week 3-4: Visual prompts only
- Month 2+: Child checks independently

Key: When they forget, don't tell them what to do—say "Check your schedule."

## Results
- Less nagging from you
- More independence for them
- Fewer power struggles
- Smoother transitions
- Actual follow-through on routines

## Professional Resources Referenced
- Harvard Center on the Developing Child: Executive Function
- Barkley: Taking Charge of ADHD
- Autism Speaks: Visual Supports
- Hodgdon: Visual Strategies for Improving Communication

## Related Topics
- Executive function development
- ADHD accommodations
- Autism visual supports
- Morning/bedtime routines
- Working memory in toddlers