Visual Supports

Choosing a Topic

Topics are the situations, routines, or challenges you want to create a visual support for. Ella offers pre-written topics organized into categories, or you can enter your own.

Example custom topics:

• "Dressing properly for the weather"
• "Getting ready for a new puppy"
• "Preparing for a dentist appointment"
• "Understanding why we wear masks"

Browse all topics →

The Creation Process

After submitting a topic, Ella generates a draft outline. In the preview, you can:

• Review key messages and the narrative
• Add missing details or remove anything unnecessary
• Choose a format and art style
• Add supporting characters, places, or objects

Take time to review the outline carefully before creating — it shapes everything that follows.

Choosing a Format

Each format is designed for a different purpose. You can choose whatever fits the situation best, or create several formats for the same topic.

All formats can be shared via link and downloaded. All except video clips can also be printed as PDFs. See the Export section for layout options.

Stories

A narrative that prepares a child for an upcoming, unfamiliar, or recurring situation. Describes what to expect and how they can respond, using clear, affirming language to reduce uncertainty. Includes read-aloud support, first- or third-person narration, and translation into 70+ languages.

Best for:

• New or unfamiliar situations
• Teaching social concepts and expected behaviors
• Emotional regulation

Reflections

A first-person narrative that revisits a past experience in sequence, translatable into 70+ languages. Helps build recall, develop narrative structure, and make personal meaning from things that have already happened.

Best for:

• Retelling and recounting past experiences
• Building narrative and memory skills
• Processing events that were confusing, overwhelming, or significant

Strips

A sequence of panels, each with an image and short text, walking through a situation, interaction, or process. Panels can be left open to prompt the child to think through what comes next.

Best for:

• Teaching how to handle a specific situation
• Showing cause and effect
• Encouraging reasoning and anticipation

Visual Schedules

Breaks a routine into steps that children can follow and check off as they go. Available in list or grid view, with checkboxes to mark off completed steps.

Best for:

• Daily routines like morning or bedtime
• Multi-step tasks
• Building independence and reducing reliance on reminders

First-Then Boards

Turns an instruction into a simple visual sequence: first this, then that. Instead of holding a whole instruction in mind, a child can see what needs to happen now and what comes next. Uses 1–3 panels and can be expanded. A longer First-Then Board functions like a visual schedule.

Best for:

• Transitioning between activities
• Making expectations concrete
• Motivating task completion with a preferred activity to follow

Try: "First lunch, then play" or "Brush teeth, then quiet time."

Task Guides

A structured instructional aid that walks through how to complete a routine, chore, or task one step at a time using action-focused visuals and brief supporting text.

Best for:

• Everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning, or getting dressed
• Chores and work activities
• Giving children a reference they can follow without adult prompting

Picture Cards

Images paired with labels or short phrases to support communication, build vocabulary, or represent choices and concepts. Can be used one at a time or arranged as a board.

Best for:

• Supporting communication and vocabulary
• What-to-bring lists, clothing guides, and more

Choice Boards

Turns a defined set of real options into a simple visual menu. Instead of asking an open-ended question like "What do you want?", a Choice Board shows what's available and lets the child make a selection. Works best when options are comparable and all currently available.

Best for:

• Snack or meal choices
• Free-time activity selection
• Any situation where options are finite and defined

Tip: Describe the choice and the available options and Ella will build the board. Example: "Snack choices: pretzels, Goldfish crackers, apple slices, and string cheese."

Posters

Communicates one clear idea in a single visual. Designed to live somewhere visible so children can refer to it on their own.

Best for:

• Display in the classroom or at home
• Communicating expectations at a glance
• Giving children an independent reference

Token Boards

Tracks progress toward a goal by letting children earn tokens one at a time. Includes an emoji-based token display with a customizable goal and reward. Seeing progress build visually makes the connection between behavior and reward concrete and motivating.

Best for:

• Reinforcing target behaviors and skills
• Building motivation and self-monitoring
• Supporting behavior plans at home or school

Video Clips

Short 15-second animations showing a behavior, skill, or process in action. Clips play directly in the browser and can be downloaded as video files, but cannot be printed. Watching something modeled makes it much easier for many children to understand and imitate.

Best for:

• Learning new skills through observation
• Understanding physical routines and sequences
• Seeing expected behaviors demonstrated clearly

Worksheets

A structured document for practicing or reinforcing a skill. Can be completed on paper or on screen, and used to check understanding or track progress.

Best for:

• Practice activities and knowledge checks
• Step-by-step guides and reflection prompts
• Tracking progress over time

Games

A short, playful activity built around a single skill or concept. Simple rules make practice feel fun, especially useful for skills that need lots of repetition.

Best for:

• Practicing and applying new skills
• Making repetition engaging
• Motivating reluctant learners

Choosing an Art Style

Ella offers 12 art styles. Choose the one that resonates best with your child.

Tip: Toggle "Remove backgrounds" to render any style without a background for a cleaner, more focused look.

Adding Supporting References

Before creating your support, you can add other characters, places, or objects to appear alongside the main character. Useful for:

• Showing social interactions with specific people
• Including medical devices or comfort objects
• Placing the scene in a recognizable location

Select supporting references in the preview before clicking Create.

Finalizing Your Creation

Once you've reviewed the outline, chosen a format and art style, and added supporting references, click Create (e.g., Create Story, Create Schedule). Generation typically takes 1–3 minutes depending on the format.