26 Overwhelmed & Over Stimulated By Summer Meltdowns? This Hack Can Save your Summer Routine As A Special Needs Family

Does the lack of summer structure leave you feeling overwhelmed and your child struggling with transitions?

Are you tired of repeating the same directions over and over while your child seems to tune you out?

Summer can feel chaotic when familiar routines disappear. In this episode, Elyse shares three game-changing ways to use visual supports in your home that will help reduce stress, improve communication, and bring calm to your daily rhythms. Drawing from her experience as a speech-language pathologist and mom, she provides practical strategies that work for children with and without special needs.

"Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it." - Habakkuk 2:2

Resources Mentioned

• Homeschool rhythms and visual schedules- FREE Download
• Calm-down poster - FREE Download
• Free 15-minute coaching call with Elyse

Remember: Visual supports aren't just strategies—they're acts of love that show your child you see their needs and want to help them succeed.

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Connect with the host: Elyse Scheeler

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Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and hosts and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Speaking Life Into Motherhood. None of the advice or discussion on the podcast is medical advice. Always consult with your medical provider before using any supplements, essential oils, or therapy methods.

Transcript

Elyse Scheeler (00:00)
Welcome back, mama. Summer is here and with it comes a unique set of challenges that I hear about from so many of you. The structured routines of the school year have dissolved, schedules go out the window, and suddenly we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, and wondering how we're going to make it through these long, hot days with our kiddos, especially those kiddos with additional needs. What if I told you there's a simple, powerful tool that can transform your summer from chaotic to calm? Today we're diving into the game-changing world of visual supports.

I'm going to share three practical ways you can use them in your home to bring peace, structure, and success to your family's daily rhythm. Grab that cup of coffee and let's get started.

Alright mama, before we jump in, let's ground ourselves a little bit in God's Word.

In Habakkuk, which I hope I'm saying right, 2-2, the Lord tells us, write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. Even in biblical times, God understood the power of making things visible and clear. When we create visual supports for our kids, we're following this divine principle, making our expectations, routines, and communications plain so that our little ones can succeed.

if you've ever wondered why your child seems to thrive in their classroom but struggle at home, visuals might be one of the missing pieces. As an SLP, I can tell you that visuals aren't just helpful, they are transformative. They reduce anxiety, increase independence, and give those kiddos a sense of control in their own world. And honestly, they're very helpful for us stressed out mamas too. Today, we're going to talk about three different ways that you can use visuals in your home. The first one is creating that visual schedule.

One thing that I think is a complete game changer for us in our home has been the use of a visual schedule. And I know that I've seen it as well in the classrooms that I've worked in, in the classrooms that I have run myself. If you've ever been in an early childhood classroom, well, a good early childhood classroom, they should have a visual schedule. And honestly, it really should go on into some of the upper grades as well.

And it's not just the words, right? Most of these kiddos, especially in early childhood, don't know how to read. So there's a picture in addition to the words. So they're getting that word and picture association. That's going to help them get through the day. The other thing that you might notice is if you ever worked with or in a classroom with children of additional needs is...

the adults have visuals on their lanyards. So they have their own visuals on themselves.

Having these visuals really allows not only the kiddos, but the adults too, to feel less stimulated, our bodies feel calmer, and we can really get through the day and have more success. Today we're gonna outline three simple ways that you can use visuals within your daily routine, your daily rhythms, especially over the summer to help your kiddos with or without additional needs. The first thing we're gonna talk about is the visual schedule. So in our house, we have a visual schedule that I just recently updated prior to that.

prior to the last month or two, I had been using visuals that were similar to what I had had in my classroom, which was great, but let's also be realistic to the fact that like, I'm not doing the same types of things that we're doing in the classroom when we're at home. So I have since updated those to be more of what I call like the natural rhythms of what our homeschool day, what our day at home looks like. For example, car ride, errands, shopping, snack, rest.

outside time, play date, those types of things.

It's really important that your child can have access to the visual schedule, whether that means seeing it or even like touching it and moving it around, especially for things that might be flexible. We have a little stepping stool that our kiddos can get up to it. And at the beginning of the day, we kind of talk through our schedule and like, okay, well, what do you want to do first? Do you want to do your lessons first? Do we want to do chores first? What should we do after breakfast? Are we going outside? Those types of things. And again, you're just giving them more control over

their day and when we feel like we're in control, we always feel better and have less anxiety, right? So it's a really good thing to make sure that you are including them in that schedule within limitations, right? Because some of the things are not going to be able to be flexible and we're going to have to just do it how it is.

You might have a kiddo that, sure, this is really great, but once we get out into the, know, quote unquote, real world outside of the home, going from one thing to the next, transitioning to different activities is really hard. Then what you can do is just make a little bit smaller versions of that large schedule and have them have that with them. A little bit of Velcro, a little bit of laminated paper goes a long way and you can go through their day with them. And a lot of times I know for some of the kids that I've had in my experience working with,

is they feel more in control and feel better about it. Sometimes they'll, you know, want to change their own schedule and we can, we have conversations about that, but having that and even, you know, allowing them to take it in the car so they know what we're doing. Okay, we're in the car and then what's next? We are going to the grocery store. Those types of things can, can really help. Another thing to keep in mind with visual schedules is it is summer. There's going to be changes, right?

So we always want to make sure that we have a visual that says change. the one that we used in the school that I worked in had a big red exclamation point saying change. You can teach your kiddo how to adapt to change, which can be a very challenging task. So what do we do? We need to practice. They know what the routine is. And then we go, this is a change. This is a change. We show them that picture of a change, whether it's something simple like we're going to have snack now.

instead of cleaning up our toys or vice versa. Or it could be something where the change really is unexpected, for example a fire alarm going off. This is a change, this is a change. And just kind of working through that. So even though they may not be doing something that is very familiar to them, it's a change. And even that little piece can really feel very comforting within what they're doing. So making sure that you have a good idea of what your day is. And guess what, Mom?

When I make sure that my visual schedules are in place, I feel better at the end of the day too. I know we say it's for the kids, but let's be real. Everyone loves to have a good planner to have an idea of how their day is going to go. So they feel more in control. So you will find that everyone in the family is going to feel a little bit more relaxed when you have some of these things in place for them. The second way to use visuals is for communication. So

I gave the example in the beginning about having communication or having visuals on the lanyards. That would be an example of how an adult might be using visuals to communicate. I might be communicating with the visual that says sit down. I might be communicating with a visual that says line up, for example, that would be in the schools. This is going to be more of your like directives that are being given to the child for them to understand.

It's important to know that when you're using visuals, and I would say that this is true for all children, but especially kiddos that may have additional processing needs, a lot of times, adults want to give multiple auditory directives. Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down. I can think of a specific example where I could literally see the child and their processing starting over and over again every time that that adult started repeating what they were saying. I like to tell parents, we don't know how long every individual child's processing clock

is, but let's assume it's a minute. And if you give a child a directive, and you're giving them another directive within that minute, assume that the clock is starting up at the top. We want that clock to get all the way through to make sure that that directive has been processed. One of the ways that we can do that without bombarding and giving over stimulation auditorily is by providing the verbal direction and then having that visual direction and pointing to it. You're just providing that additional input

and another reminder without adding to the auditory processing piece. They're able to visually take it in and know that you're consistent and you're not backing down from whatever the directive is. maybe you're practicing at home with how to use those things and then

you are emphasizing to the staff that are working with your children if they are in the schools that they need to be using these visuals because I have seen significant differences in interactions with kiddos between adults who use visuals and adults who don't simply because they're just allowing that child to process in the way that they need to process the information and then yeah they'll follow along they know what to expect they're able to answer the question if maybe the

the visual had to do with more asking a question than giving a directive, rather than those repeated times and not providing that additional way of getting the information. The third way is using visuals for communication. So your child is using these visuals for communication. This is gonna depend on your child's verbal level. It's gonna depend on their emotional state at the time.

But what this is is visuals presented that they can use to touch to show you how they're feeling, to communicate with you in a way that is functional for them at the time. One of the ways that we utilize this in my house is we have one, a little poster on one of our fridges that is a calm down poster that has all different options of things they can do when I'm upset. And both of my kids are very verbal otherwise, they will still go to that and they will point to what they need or we can kind of go through it with, I can kind of go through it with them.

while they're having a meltdown or having a hard time. Okay, let's go, let's look and tell me what you can do to help yourself or what can I do to help you calm down. Those are the types of conversations that we have. If you have a child who's not super verbal, maybe having some of their preferred food or drink items on the fridge would be a good idea. I think everyone should have the calm down visuals just in general because we all need that. And sometimes, again, it's amazing how many things we have for our kiddos that end up being beneficial for us as well.

And having these visuals is another way that you're providing means for communication and understanding, right? If we're upset as an adult, are we able to communicate our best? Probably not. Do we speak the most professionally when we're losing it? No. So giving those other options to be able to get their needs met and their words across can be so, so helpful. I will say that if your child is nonverbal and they need additional ways to communicate,

please, please, please reach out to me. We'll do a free consult. I'll help you get started or reach out to either your local school or birth to three or community to have a speech therapist work with you because there are so many great alternative or augmentative communication options that really can open up a child's communication abilities. almost, you know, I can't think of a time that...

A child who has improved their communication through the use of visuals or some other AAC device has not decreased in their behaviors, right? If we can't communicate, we're going to have behaviors. We're going to be really frustrated. So I highly recommend that you seek out a licensed SLP in your area to really help support you with that. All right. In summary, this does not have to be Pinterest worthy or perfect. We're going to start simple. Maybe it's three pictures showing your morning routine. The goal is not perfection.

It's connection and support and rhythms. Practice when everyone is calm. We can talk about unexpected changes during peaceful moments. Make it fun, not stressful. Maybe they can decide what the change is. Your children will follow your lead. I know that you're feeling overwhelmed by the summer and just know that it's completely normal. The fact that you're here listening to this podcast and seeking ways to support your child shows that you have a beautiful and devoted mama heart.

Let's remember Proverbs 31, 25. She is clothed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the days to come. When we implement these visual supports, we're clothing ourselves and our children with the tools for success. We're preparing them to face each day with competence. These visual supports aren't just strategies, they are acts of love. They're ways of saying to your children, I see you, I understand your needs, and I'm going to help you succeed.

Start small, choose one area where your family struggles most. Maybe it's the morning routine, or maybe it's the transitions between activities. Create a simple visual support and try it for a week. Give yourself and your kids grace as you both learn. You have got this, mama. God has equipped you with everything that you need to love and support your child well. Trust your heart for your family and trust the tools that he's given you to help your little one thrive.

If you'd like help in creating visual supports for your child's needs, I'd love to offer you a free 15 minute coaching call. You can find the link in the show's notes along with examples of the visual schedules and calmed down posters I mentioned today. Don't forget to join our Facebook group where you can share your wins, ask questions and connect with other mamas that are walking this journey. Until next time, keep speaking life into your motherhood journey. You're doing better than you think and your children are blessed to have you as their mama.