How to Use Picture Cards to Support Nonverbal and Minimally Verbal Children

For many nonverbal and minimally verbal children, spoken language can feel overwhelming or inaccessible. However, communication isn’t just about speaking—it’s about expressing thoughts, needs, and emotions in any way that works.

Picture cards are a powerful tool that can bridge the communication gap, helping children develop language skills, reduce frustration, and increase independence.

Picture cards are a powerful tool that can bridge the communication gap, helping children develop language skills, reduce frustration, and increase independence.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that many of the children I’ve worked with who displayed the most intense behaviors were also those who had no reliable way to express themselves.

Imagine how frustrating it would be to go through each day with others constantly guessing what you want, how you feel, or what you’re trying to say.

For children who don’t use functional speech, learning another way to communicate isn’t always easy—if it were, they’d likely already be talking to us or typing us messages. That’s why I believe that helping a child communicate their wants, needs, and preferences should be a top priority. It’s not just important for learning other skills—it’s essential for emotional well-being and connection.

Picture cards can be a simple but powerful solution, especially in situations where a family or school doesn’t yet have access to a more advanced communication system like a speech-generating device or tablet.

Picture exchange systems—or using pictures to communicate in other ways—can also be incredibly helpful for teaching the act of communication itself. Some children, especially those with significant social challenges, may learn that pressing a button or handing over a picture represents something they want—like a cookie—but may not yet understand that communication is meant to be directed toward another person.

I have seen a child sitting alone, pressing a button for a preferred item without making eye contact or gesturing to connect with anyone nearby. In these cases, they’ve learned the meaning of the symbol, but not how to use it as a tool to get their needs met through interaction.

Until a child understands this essential step, most communication systems won’t be effective. Picture-based systems are an excellent way to work on this foundational skill, as they are simple, visual, and easy to prompt and model in real-life situations.

In this post, we’ll explore how picture cards can support nonverbal and minimally verbal children, how to introduce them effectively, and practical ways to incorporate them into everyday life.

Table of Contents

1. What Are Picture Cards?

2. Benefits of Picture Cards for Nonverbal Children

3. How to Introduce Picture Cards

4. Practical Ways to Use Picture Cards Daily

5. Final Thoughts on Visual Communication

What Are Picture Cards?

Picture cards are widely used in speech therapy, special education classrooms, and at home to support children who struggle with verbal communication.

Picture cards are visual representations of words, concepts, or actions that children can use to communicate. They can feature illustrations or real-life photos, depending on what is most effective for the learner.

These cards can be used in various ways:

• Requesting items or actions (e.g., showing a picture of an apple to ask for a snack)

• Expressing emotions (e.g., pointing to a "happy" or "tired" face to indicate feelings)

• Providing choices (e.g., "Do you want juice or water?")

• Building sentences or combining ideas, once the child is ready

Picture cards are widely used in speech therapy, special education classrooms, and at home to support children who struggle with verbal communication. They can be used informally—like pointing to a picture or handing one to a caregiver—or as part of a more structured system such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).

PECS is a widely used, evidence-based approach that gradually teaches children how to independently exchange pictures to communicate, starting with simple one-word requests and eventually progressing to more complex sentence structures.

In addition to helping children "say" what they want to say, picture cards can also be a powerful tool for helping children understand spoken language and the world around them.

For example, during circle time, a child might be shown a picture of "sitting" to help them understand that it’s time to sit down. Or, when leaving the park, a family might show a picture of a favorite activity at home—like LEGO—to reassure the child that something enjoyable is waiting for them.

These visual supports make abstract concepts more concrete and can reduce confusion, anxiety, and frustration for children who struggle to process verbal instructions.

Picture cards can help children reduce frustrations.

Benefits of Picture Cards for Nonverbal Children

Research has shown that visual communication tools help nonverbal and minimally verbal children develop functional language skills. Some key benefits include:

1. Reducing Frustration and Meltdowns

When children can’t communicate their needs, they may resort to crying or other challenging behaviors. Picture cards give them a way to express themselves, reducing frustration.

2. Supporting Language Development

Many children who start with picture-based communication eventually develop verbal speech. Studies show that using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tools, including picture cards, does not hinder speech development—in fact, it can enhance it (Kasari et al., 2014).

3. Increasing Independence

Visual communication allows children to make choices, follow schedules, and express wants and needs without relying solely on an adult to interpret their cues.

4. Providing a Bridge to AAC Devices

For children who may later use speech-generating devices, picture cards serve as an excellent starting point for learning the fundamentals of communication.

5. Supporting Gestalt Language Learners

Children who process language in chunks (gestalt language learners) benefit from structured visual models that help them break down scripts into more flexible speech patterns.

How to Introduce Picture Cards

Starting with picture cards may seem overwhelming, but with a structured approach, it can be highly effective.

Step 1: Start with Core Words

Begin with highly motivating words that the child frequently needs, such as:

• "Eat"

• "Drink"

• "More"

• "All done"

• Preferred items (e.g., "cookie," "ball")

Step 2: Model the Use of Picture Cards

Show the child how to use the picture card by modeling the action:

• If the child wants a snack, hold up the “eat” card, say the word, and then provide the snack.

• Encourage the child to touch or hand you the correct card before receiving the item.

Step 3: Reinforce and Expand

Each time the child successfully uses a picture card, reinforce their effort by responding immediately. Over time, expand their use by adding more words or encouraging them to combine two or more cards (e.g., "I want + cookie").

Practical Ways to Use Picture Cards Daily

Once a child is comfortable using picture cards, they can be incorporated into daily routines to encourage communication across different environments.

1. Mealtime Communication

Mealtimes can be a great opportunity to build communication skills—especially with the help of picture cards. These moments often involve strong preferences, which makes them a natural context for children to practice expressing wants, making choices, and expanding their vocabulary.

• Offer visual choices: Use picture cards to let a child choose between options like apples or crackers. This encourages expressive communication in a low-pressure, high-interest setting.

• Model short phrases: Pair pictures with simple scripts like more juice please or I want milk. Over time, children may begin to imitate or combine symbols to form early sentence structures.

• Support group discussions: For non-verbal children, picture-based response cards can help them participate in group conversations or circle time. For example, you might ask, “What do you like to eat for lunch?” and show a visual question card paired with possible answers the child can point to. I have a resource for this available here → Adapted Conversation Starters

  

  Picture cards can also help picky eaters try new foods

  
  

  Expand food variety: Picture cards can also help picky eaters try new foods. One effective strategy is using visual boards with a simple first-then format: If I eat 2 bites of carrots, I can have a cookie. Visuals make the expectation clear and the reward motivating, especially for children who benefit from visual reinforcement. [You can check out my food picture cards & exposure boards here → Food Communication Cards

2. Creating Visual Schedules

Picture cards are also commonly used to build visual schedules—an essential support for many autistic children who thrive on structure and predictability. A visual schedule breaks the day into manageable steps, helping reduce anxiety around transitions and making expectations clear.

• Support daily routines: Create a simple schedule using picture cards that represent common tasks like brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go to school. You can display the cards on a strip of Velcro, a binder, or even a dry-erase board.

• Ease transitions: When children know what to expect next, transitions become less overwhelming. A visual schedule gives them a sense of control and can reduce resistance to change—whether it’s going from playtime to clean-up or from school to home.

• Promote independence: Visuals allow a child to move through tasks more

  
  

  

  Visuals allow a child to move through tasks more independently.

  
  

  independently, without needing constant verbal reminders from an adult. Over time, this builds confidence and reduces frustration on both sides.

• Adapt to any setting: You can make schedules for home, school, therapy sessions, or even outings. For example, a park schedule might include swing, slide, snack, and go home, helping the child know what to expect and when it’s time to leave.

3. Expressing Emotions and Social Communication

Picture cards can also support emotional awareness and social communication—two areas that many autistic children find challenging. These cards provide a visual way to name and share feelings, especially when words are hard to find in the moment.

• Identify emotions: Offer a visual array of feelings (e.g., happy, mad, tired, frustrated) and encourage the child to point to how they feel. This can be especially helpful after a meltdown or during calm-down time when processing emotions is difficult.

• Support emotional expression: Some children may not recognize or be able to describe their own feelings. Emotion cards help bridge that gap and can give them a voice when they might otherwise go unheard.

• Pair with social stories or coping strategies: Use picture cards alongside a social story to model what a child can do in specific situations—like asking for help, taking a break, or telling a friend “I don’t like that.” Over time, children can learn to pair these feelings with appropriate responses.

• Foster social connection: Use picture cards in peer interactions—for example, choosing a “thank you” or “let’s play” card—to help children initiate or respond in a social exchange with less pressure and more clarity.

4. Play

Picture cards can also be used during play to encourage more flexible and meaningful interactions. Many children with autism engage in repetitive or limited play routines, and visuals can help gently expand these routines in a way that feels structured and manageable.

Here are a few ways to use picture cards to support play and learning:

• Introduce simple play sequences. Use picture cards to help children understand the steps involved in pretend play. For example: Feed the baby → Cover with blanket → Say "night-night."Or: Car goes over bridge → Car crashes → Car gets fixed.

• Expand rote or repetitive play. If a child consistently lines up dinosaurs, you can use picture cards to add variety: "Dinosaur eats," "Dinosaur sleeps," or "Dinosaur stomps." This helps build flexibility and introduce new actions without taking away a preferred toy.

• Use mini visual play schedules. A short play schedule might show: Play with cars → Play with blocks → Play with dinosaurs. This approach gives the child predictability while encouraging variety and new types of play.

• Incorporate into storytelling. Choose simple stories and offer picture cards that represent key parts of the story. Children can match the cards to what they hear or act out scenes with toys, deepening comprehension and engagement.

Picture cards are an invaluable tool for supporting communication in nonverbal and minimally verbal children.

Final Thoughts on Visual Communication

Picture cards are an invaluable tool for supporting communication in nonverbal and minimally verbal children. They provide a visual bridge to language, fostering independence, reducing frustration, and supporting speech development.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or therapist, using illustrated and real-photo picture cards can make communication more accessible and meaningful for the children in your care.

💬 Have you used picture cards before? Share your experiences and favorite strategies in the comments!

📥 Explore my collection of communication picture cards to find resources that fit your child’s or student’s needs!