Using visual supports in teaching social skills:

• Aid in understanding import social cues
  
  
• Can clarify rules and desirable social behavior
  
  
• Support direct instruction of events and reactions an individual might expect to occur in various social settings
  
  
• Give direct contact with social information through pictures and text as opposed to speech or observation, which are weaknesses for individuals with autism or related disorders
  
  
• Can be used to prompt individuals in stressful social settings
  
  
• Can contain basic rules for starting, Maintaining and ending a conversation
  
  
• Address Theory of Mind deficits