Why visual schedules?
Autism makes thinking different. To stay in church, a stable visual cue set can help a great deal in making the service predictable and therefore less overwhelming. A visual schedule of the order of service provides social cues in a static way so that a person with autism does not have to work so hard to isolate them and process them. It also gives an easy to reference order of actions, so that one can plan one’s movements ahead of time and with less anxiety.
After seeing the enormous difference the {Orthodox Church Liturgy visual schedule} has made in so many families’ lives, I realized that I wanted to share this resource with Christians in other churches. Because many of my relatives and most Christians in the world are Roman Catholic, I have prepared a visual schedule for the Roman Catholic Mass. I hope that this free resource will help many, many families to attend church services.
To use a visual schedule, I recommend laminating it or placing the pages in heavy duty page protectors after printing. Stickers go in each box to the right of the schedule item, as the service progresses. Alternatively, a marker may be used to check off progress.
Download the free Visual Schedule in PDF here:
Roman Catholic Mass Visual Schedule
In Christ,
Summer
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I am so excited to see this! It was posted in one of my Catholic moms facebook groups today. I was even more excited to see that you have an Orthodox version too, because we attend an Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy! My 6 year old son with Autism has a visual schedule for getting dressed and ready for school in the morning and I think he’s really going to like this. I gave you a shout-out on my facebook page for my Etsy store too so I hope that got you some business!
Thank you so much for the encouragement and for sharing to your page! My children are able to do so much more with a visual schedule; I hope that lots of families benefit from this.
This is fantastic! I have been dragging my feet about creating a simple visual schedule for mass that I can also use as a token chart. This is an amazing visual schedule that could also be used as a token chart, if needed. Thank you for creating this resource. Someone shared it with me and now I’m looking forward to exploring more of your blog.
I’m so glad you found it. I hope it helps and works as a token chart. If you post on using it that way, please tag me so I can share it on my social media. I love to see these resources in use.
This is awesome!!! I plan to print it off this week for our older son. 🙂 Also, I will share with many other families.
Thank you! I hope it helps your family and many others!
This is excellent! Would be glad for the title: The Mass so it could be less confusing to kids from the Episcopal Church who would benefit from it as well. Thanks for doing this Summer!
Thanks! I’m working on the Episcopal Church schedules now, but as you know, there are 4 versions of the service (even if you don’t count penitential/not penitential order). I hope to have those done soon.
Hi Lisa, the visual schedule for Rite 2 is up now, pinned to the top of the page.
Wonderful! Wish this had been around when my son (now 44) was young. It would have helped so much. He now goes to Baptist church with his support person (when he goes at all) because it is less complicated for him.
Thank you. I hope he finds connection. Do you think an adult-focused schedule would help him?
You are incredible. What a gift. I will use this to with my son and share with families that I work with. As an SLP, I know the value of this wonderful creation. Thank you and God bless!
Thank you for the encouragement. I’m so grateful that this will help other families!
Hi,
Do you have a visual schedule or social story for a child receiving their first holy communion?
Thank you
I don’t have one. Do you have a timeframe? I could probably put together a flexible visual schedule very quickly. (The flexible ones are the ones where you have to cut out the squares and velcro them into order, but that allows you to choose your local customs.)
It’s not until August but I like to give her plenty of preparation. A flexible one sounds amazing.
Thank you
I’ll add it to my to-do list. Since my children are autistic, too, sometimes my schedule is beyond my control. But I will put this at the top of the list.