I wasn’t prepared when my son was diagnosed with autism. I was a young mom, he was 21/2, and I knew close to nothing about the challenges of the Autism Spectrum. It was such a difficult time for me. I couldn’t get professional support to help my baby through his challenges, nor did I know enough to care for him the best way. As if that wasn’t enough, many people didn’t understand ASD, and as such, we lacked community support.

We were living in Mainland China then, and we had to travel out of China most of the time to get us professional support. Soon, I started to learn the best way to care for a child on the ASD spectrum. It was such a fulfilling journey for me because not only did I learn more about my little baby, but I also learned a lot about parenting and raising a child. Now you wonder, how does the story about a mother caring for her son birth Little Heroes? Well, let’s jump to the Aha moment!

As a mother, I wanted the best possible care for my son. I wanted to support and help him live through his autism with ease. For this reason, I started doing a lot of training and research. During my training, I learned a fact. Children on the spectrum comprehend and process information best when visually presented instead of verbally or aurally.

Visuals are the perfect way to help them communicate, understand, and learn. This is especially true during those moments of struggles to adapt to a routine, new activities, and structure. So, I focused on using visuals to help my son cope better. I channeled my inner creativity and started by printing pictures off the internet. Then, I would turn those pictures into cards with some Velcro tape. It was a DIY, and I was inexperienced about the whole thing. The images look so out of style, and it became more and more consuming as time went by. The cards kept increasing in quantity; my child was growing, and new activities and cards had to be added or changed. There was no organisation method, and it became harder and harder to find the right card. I resorted to carrying a notebook wherever I went. I drew out each activity for my son in real-time. But you should already know, this process was just as unsustainable and consuming as the internet cards. I was frustrated. Why was it so difficult to find such a simple thing? I wanted a complete product with lovely images that would appeal to a child. A gendered product with characters my son could relate to. Why were all these images so ugly and impersonal? And then an idea struck me. Since I wasn’t perfect at creating images and I want cute ones, why not source for my own designer? While I’m at it, why not create a brand?

After many trials and errors, stress, and frustration, I finally developed my product that often goes by the name of ‘visual schedule.’ I, however, like to go beyond the idea of a schedule by calling them visual learning aids, as they do much more than layout daily routines, tasks, and sequences. In a complex yet straightforward way, Visual Learning Aids help kids engage, interact, learn, manage, and progress into their teens and young adult lives. The cards are magnetic, lightweight, and the perfect size for a clear visual understanding. They are also 6mm thick with an easy-grip, which is especially helpful for young children that are still developing their fine motor skills. Wishing all you, super parents, and little heroes the best of luck in your visual learning adventures!

Much love,

Daria