TomTag Visual Timetable- I know what to expect going shopping

Prepare for a shopping trip with a visual schedule that explains where you’re going, what you plan to buy and how we’ll get there.

Key features

• use a visual guide to plan ahead before shopping trips and prepare your child for what to expect
• includes symbols to help with reminders about behavioural and social expectations (eg. hold hands, walk together, quiet voice, no touching)
• use a visual list of emotions and feelings to help your child express their issues and remember calming techniques during sensory overload
• prepare and practice for particularly sensory situations eg. having to take off shoes, getting measured and trying new clothes/shoes on

Kit contents

• 3 button holders
• 25 blank buttons
• 1 attachment loop
• Instruction sheet
• At the shops sticker pack

WARNING: Please note – TomTag is not a toy. Not suitable for children under 36 months due to small parts.

With the TomTag I KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT range, it’s quick and easy to make personalised visual timetables and schedules for school, home or care settings. Using plastic tags and buttons and waterproof stickers TomTag is hygienic, durable and portable but most of all it’s fun to use.

Visual prompts are all around us in our everyday lives; from road signs to calendars or notes on the fridge. They help us to understand the world and function more effectively. Visual schedules and timetables are particularly helpful to children who have difficulty processing and retaining verbal information. When we give instructions by talking, the words are gone as soon as we have spoken them. Children who have poor working memory or difficulty understanding language need extra time to think, process and interpret these instructions.

Children and adults with ASD, autism, Aspergers, dyslexia, dyspraxia, developmental delay, language impairments and other learning disabilities are often found to be visual learners. Presenting information in a visual format allows them more time to take it in and also acts as a reminder if they’ve forgotten or become distracted. Visual supports encourage communication and language development and help to develop independence, confidence and self-esteem.

Visual timetables and schedules uses pictures or symbols to show the steps involved in a task or sequence of events in a timeline. They help children to understand what they are going to be doing at a specific time or place. They give structure to a child’s day and help to reduce anxiety caused by new or unfamiliar situations or events. Learning to use a visual timetable independently reduces a child’s reliance on parents, carers or teachers to provide verbal reminders.