Reduce anxiety by showing not saying
Looking back, if you were to ask me what one thing have I learnt that has made the biggest difference to our lives, it would be the power of images to reduce anxiety.
I first came across the power of visual stories, ie images for communication, shortly after we received our Autistic Spectrum (ASC) diagnosis. The Globe Theatre in London put on a ‘relaxed’ performance of Othello, and we were fortunate to receive free tickets.
Living a 30-minute train ride from London as we do, trips to the big city had been a regular occurrence in our lives. And every time we did our youngest son would protest. He would hide, refuse to put on his shoes, in fact, he would do anything he could to stay at home.
And it wasn’t that we weren’t giving him plenty of notice. We knew that we needed to build up and warn him about trips like this, however telling him, no matter how many times, didn’t make any difference.
So what was different this time? A few days before the performance, we received a visual story from the Globe Theatre*. This was a pdf booklet comprising around 20 pages. On each page was a photo with an explanation. The front was a photo of the gates, with a description of its history and significance. Then there was a photo of the courtyard. Next is a photo of one of the members of staff wearing a red apron with an explanation they are there to help. There were photos of the foyer where you collect tickets – noting that others may also be waiting in a queue, the café where you can get things to eat and drink, the toilets, the chill-out space and so on. There was also an explanation of the plot, together with the timing of loud bangs and bright flashes.
I sat down with my son and we went through the visual story, looking at all of the photos, while I read the narrative to him.
When it came time to leave to catch the train to London the following Saturday, for the first time ever, he put on his shoes and jumped in the car without a murmur. It was quite incredible. And that was the day I learnt the power of showing not saying.
This idea is not new, visual timetables are well established in schools and Asda launched a Makaton sign language shopping list back in 2017. As far back as 1986, 3M ran a study that found that using visual supports in presentations made them 43% more persuasive.
And yet, I still feel that we don’t do anywhere near enough showing, and we still rely on ‘saying’.
I’d love to hear your ideas on how you use showing not saying.
* this is a sample of a visual story, although not as thorough as the one we were sent in 2015
