Sketchnoting: Supporting Communication for Visual Thinkers

January 25, 2018 Deborah Dykstra Leave a comment

In September 2017, CTV Montreal reported on Ellis, a minimally-verbal boy with autism.

The article shared that Ellis’ parents discovered that he “could think, could talk, through pictures.” His father had begun drawing household items and simple situations in an effort to connect, and one day, Ellis drew pictures for his father in response. Ellis also began to make changes to his father’s drawings to share his own perspective.

Over time, the drawings expanded to include family, friends, and community. “One drawing depicts his classmates cheering him on because he stopped crying at school – a sketch that marked the end of Ellis’ behavioral issues,” and a tipping point in his self-awareness.

In her book Dancing with Max, Emily Colson tells a similar story about her son, who was able to direct his mother to draw pictures for him. It became an important way for him to express his needs and hopes, and also his memories.

Drawing to Support Visual Communication

Helping our children find ways to be understood is one of the most important things we can do. Communication gives people power over their lives. It allows us to:

express our thoughts
build relationships
set boundaries
advocate for what we need
contribute in our communities

Often, people with autism have difficulty with oral communication, but there are other ways to express ideas.

Many autistic people are visual thinkers. Temple Grandin describes it as “thinking in pictures” in her book.

Supporting communication through visual strategies like sign language and Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) can support the development of oral language. Why not sketching, then?

Sketches are an important part of PATH and MAPS person-centred planning. In these gatherings, facilitators guide a discussion of a person’s strengths, interests, and hopes for the future, using drawings to encourage the group to imagine possibilities. Creating images on paper as people tell their stories is an effective way to help a person or a group recognize values, experiences, and goals that are most important to them, and trigger their memory in future discussions.

Sylvia Duckworth, Karen Bosch, Mike Rohde and others have created resources to explain why drawing and doodling is valuable as a communication and thinking tool and to help people get started in sketchnoting.

Sketchnoting is a strategy for expressing ideas through images. It is not about creating a work of art, although you may be pleased with what you can do when you try it. Drawing is not only for people who are skilled artists. People have always used sketching as a way to communicate ideas.

Sketchnoting Strategies

Draw for Fun

Try putting a giant piece of paper on the floor, and start to draw things that you talk about. Invite family members and friends to draw with you.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is a good children’s book to provide some inspiration for you and your child.

Draw to Explain Feelings or Ideas

To show your child what is going to happen in your day-to-day life, you can draw doodles, and even include a checklist. Encourage your child to give you a few words to share their feelings or concerns, and draw what you hear. This can encourage them to add more ideas in words or sketches. Children may also draw about how they are feeling, and why.

Draw to Learn Together.

On one occasion we brought our sketchbooks to the museum, and I drew what I thought was interesting. My daughter drew some of her own drawings in her sketchbook, and also helped me with mine. It’s amazing what you see when you slow down and look.

When learning with your child, whether at home or doing an educational activity, try drawing about what you think is interesting or what you’re learning with your child. This can help you both to focus on and think about the meaning of what you’re learning.

Other Strategies

There are all kinds of ways to use sketchnoting to process and share information. You can sketchnote stories or videos or quotations. You can create sketchnotes to share key ideas for a school assignment or a message to a friend. Sketchnotes can be used in a group to brainstorm ideas and make plans. Sometimes we have an idea or a feeling that can best be represented by a symbol or image. It’s a form of literacy, with unique formats and ways of organizing information.