Visually Communicating With Students Who Suffer From Autism

Sites should make a conscious effort to consider the environment and community in which they are about to start work, to adapt practices to accommodate for any special requirements or needs of local residents and businesses.

Below is an example of how a site has created visual communication support for school children:

• A new building was being constructed at a school which catered for students with neurological conditions, learning difficulties and behavioural difficulties;
• A key consideration was to engage with the students to keep them updated on the progress of their new school building and to convey health and safety messages;
• The site liaised with the school and carried out independent research to learn more about the specific needs of the students, discovering people with autism tend to be visual learners;
• To effectively communicate with students, visual supports were adopted, developing safety signage containing both text and symbols, which were displayed on the site hoarding;
• A monthly newsletter was also produced. This was simplified and ‘translated’ into a symbolised version, which was distributed to the school.

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