Visual Boundaries

Visual Boundaries provide support to our students in a variety of ways.  When you have established visual boundaries in your classroom, your students know things have a definite beginning and a definite end.  They know where they should be during a specific time of day and they know what tasks to do in each specific area.  All of this creates that consistent routine and structure that our children with Autism thrive on.

As a young naïve Autism teacher, my classroom looked just like every other 1^st or 2^nd grade class, with a desk for each student in the middle of the room, a guided reading table and a carpet for the children to sit quietly on during the morning meeting.  The classroom was basically wide open, with only a few defined spaces.  I probably don’t have to tell you, that my kiddos had a lot of problems sitting “criss cross applesauce” while on the carpet.  Having them sitting at their desks was even a bigger joke!!  My kids had no idea where to be, when to be there, or what to do once they were there!

With the help of an AMAZING team from my central office and support from the NPDC grant, we were able to create a functional classroom with clearly defined areas.

Step 1:  Define the need.  You can do this by simply observing what is going around in your classroom and deciding what kind of support is needed and where.  Do you have a student that has difficulty staying in an area?  Do they know what is expected when they get to the area?  Does the student avoid an area?  Answers to these questions will help guide the development of your boundaries and spaces.  In my classroom, I decided to use student work stations and learning centers.

Step 2:  Create your space!  If you have not figured it out yet, furniture is an Autism teacher’s best friend!  Having tables and bookshelves and cabinets can all be used to define those boundaries.  If you’re lucky you may be able to get your hands on some partitions!  If you can’t, I have seen some where teachers have created them using PVC pipe and fabric (if you’re the crafty type).  You can also use tape on the floor, a rug, or carpet remnants if you have to.  The important thing is to define those specific areas for your student!

Work Stations provide visual boundaries for children
with Autism.

Step 3:  Teach it!  Once you have created these great little spaces within your classroom, you will need to introduce your students to them.  You can model what to do at the writing center, or listening center.  Teach your child to stay in the designated area by using reinforcement when he/she stays within the boundary and use corrective feedback or redirection when the child does not.  The most important thing when teaching the boundary is to BE CONSISTENT!!!

Step 4:  Evaluate it!  Collect data on how independently the students are using the boundaries.  Collect data on the child’s target behaviors.  Use your results to evaluate the system.  Is it effective?  You will want to periodically evaluate your visual boundaries, just like you would anything else, to determine if it needs to be tweaked. 

Visual boundaries can be implemented by defining your classroom spaces using furniture, carpet or tape.  Remember, for each area, the student should know when to be there (using their visual schedule) they should know what task to complete, and where it begins and where to ends.