Creating Visual Supports

The Creation Process

After you submit your topic, Ella creates a draft outline for your visual support. In the preview, you can:

• Review key messages and the narrative
• Add missing details or topics
• Remove anything unnecessary
• Choose a format type
• Select an art style
• Add supporting characters

Adjust each part of the outline to ensure it includes all essential steps, omits anything irrelevant, and clearly guides the narrative.

Choosing a Format

Ella can create visual supports in a range of formats. Each one is designed for a different purpose, so you can choose whatever fits the situation best — or create several for the same topic. Formats vary in how they can be exported, so check each one's features for details on downloading, printing, and sharing.

Stories

A story is a narrative that prepares a child for an upcoming, unfamiliar, or recurring situation. It describes what to expect, what others may do, and how they can participate or respond, using clear, affirming language to build understanding and reduce uncertainty before the situation occurs.

Features:

• Read together or use read-aloud for independent use
• First-person ("I go to school") or third-person ("Ali goes to school") options
• Customizable with names, places, and specific details
• Translatable into 80+ languages

Best for:

• Introducing new or unfamiliar situations
• Teaching social concepts and expected behaviors
• Supporting emotional regulation

Visual Schedules

A visual schedule breaks a routine down into steps, giving children something to follow and check off as they go. Having a clear sequence to reference helps build confidence and independence over time.

Features:

• View in list or grid format
• Includes checkboxes to tick off completed steps
• Downloadable, printable, and shareable

Best for:

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

Task Guides

A task guide is a structured instructional aid that walks through how to complete a routine, chore, or work task one step at a time. It uses action-focused visuals and brief supporting text to make each step clear and easy to follow independently.

Features:

• Sequential steps with action-focused visuals and short supporting text
• Designed for practical, real-world tasks and routines
• Downloadable, printable, and shareable

Best for:

• Teaching everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning, or getting dressed
• Supporting independence in chores and work activities
• Giving children or young people a reference they can follow without adult prompting

Strips

A strip uses a sequence of panels, each with an image and short text, to walk through a single situation, interaction, or process one step at a time. Panels can also be left open or incomplete to encourage the child to think through what comes next.

Features:

• Sequential panel layout with images and supporting text
• Optional open panels to prompt thinking and prediction
• Downloadable, printable, and shareable

Best for:

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

Reflections

A reflection is a first-person narrative that revisits a past experience in sequence. It walks through what happened, helping build recall, develop narrative structure, and make personal meaning from things that have already happened.

Features:

• First-person narrative format
• Sequential structure that mirrors how events unfolded
• Customizable with names, places, and specific details
• Translatable into 80+ languages

Best for:

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

Posters

A poster communicates one clear idea in a single visual. It's designed to live somewhere visible so the child can refer back to it on their own, whenever they need a reminder.

Features:

• Simple, easy-to-read layout
• Works for a wide range of concepts, rules, strategies, and scales
• Downloadable, printable, and shareable

Best for:

• Display in the classroom or at home
• Communicating expectations or strategies at a glance
• Giving children an independent reference they can return to anytime

Picture Cards

Picture cards pair images with labels or short phrases to support communication, build vocabulary, or represent choices and concepts. They can be used one at a time or arranged as a board.

Features:

• One image per concept, with a label or short phrase
• Can be viewed individually or as a board
• Downloadable, printable, and shareable

Best for:

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

Video Clips

A video clip is a short animation showing a behavior, skill, or process in action. Watching something modeled rather than just described makes it much easier for some children to understand and imitate.

Features:

• 12-second animated clips modeling tasks, skills, or behaviors
• Play directly in the browser
• Download for offline use or share via link

Best for:

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

Token Boards

A token board tracks progress toward a goal by letting children earn tokens one at a time. When they reach their target, they exchange the tokens for something they enjoy. Seeing progress build up visually helps make the connection between behavior and reward concrete and motivating.

Features:

• Emoji-based token display
• Customizable goal amount and reward
• Shareable

Best for:

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

Worksheets

A worksheet is a structured document for practicing or reinforcing a skill. It gives children a focused activity to work through on paper or on screen, and can also be used to check understanding or track progress.

Features:

• Guided, hands-on format with clear structure
• Flexible enough to cover a wide range of skills and goals
• Shareable

Best for:

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

Games

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

Features:

• Built around one clear learning goal
• Simple rules, easy to follow independently or with support
• Shareable

Best for:

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

Choosing an Art Style

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

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

Adding Supporting References

You can add other characters, places, or objects to appear alongside the main character. This is helpful for:

• Showing social interactions
• Incorporating specific medical devices or comfort objects
• Demonstrating an activity in a specific place

Simply select the supporting references (e.g., "Johnny" and "Dino toy") in the preview before creating your support.

Finalizing Your Creation

Once you've:

✓ Reviewed the draft outline

✓ Chosen your format

✓ Selected an art style

✓ Added any supporting characters

Click the Create button (Create Schedule, Create Story, etc.) and Ella will generate your visual support. This typically takes 1-3 minutes depending on the format

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