Visual schedule for adults: free printable daily planner

Who it’s for

Adults who find it easier to follow the day in pictures than in words or in their head: autistic adults, adults with an intellectual disability, adults after a stroke or a brain injury, and people living with dementia. It’s also for the family, support workers and care staff who plan the day with them. Every picture is a thing, a place or a grown-up, not a cartoon child, so it looks right on the fridge of an adult’s home.

How to use it

1. Plan it together. The schedule belongs to the person using it. Ask what they want on it, and how much: some people like every step, others only the times.
2. Change the steps to fit the real day. Glue a card from page 2 over a step: appointment on Tuesdays, shopping on Fridays. Cross out what isn’t happening.
3. Write the times in, as clock times or as “after lunch”, whichever is easier to follow.
4. Keep it where the day starts, on the fridge, by the bed or in a folder, and tick each box when it’s done.
5. Use the Today page for days that change, such as weekends, appointments or visits, and fill it in the night before.

A schedule that respects the person

An adult’s schedule is a tool for them, not a set of orders. Plan it with them, let them change it, and let them choose free time as well as tasks. Keep it in their own room or bag if they’d rather not have it on show. For someone who is autistic, read AAC for autistic adults; for someone living with dementia, communication aids for dementia covers picture cards and boards. A visual schedule isn’t medical advice: for medicines, follow the label and what the doctor or pharmacist says.

The same day in the schedule maker

The day planner is also a routine in the free visual schedule maker. Open “My day” in the schedule maker to change a step, put in photos of the person’s own home, workplace or bus stop, and print a fresh copy whenever the week changes.

What’s on the PDF

My day

• wake up
• shower
• get dressed
• breakfast
• go to work
• lunch
• relax
• dinner
• brush teeth
• bed

Picture cards

• coffee
• medicine
• shave
• brush hair
• glasses
• laundry
• cook
• shopping
• appointment
• bus
• car
• phone call
• email
• TV
• read
• music
• garden
• friends

Today

• Morning
• Afternoon
• Evening

Printing tips

• Laminate page 1 and write the times with a dry-erase marker, so they can change with the seasons or a new job.
• Print the Today page a week at a time and keep them in a folder or on a clipboard.
• For talking as well as planning, use the communication board for adults; in a care home, the care home communication board; after a stroke, the aphasia communication board.
• Thinking about a speech device as well? Read what an AAC evaluation is, and how to get an AAC device.