Using Vision Boards to Find Community Supports

Organizations and activities that make life better for autistic people and their families by helping them stay involved in their community are known as community supports. Some examples of community supports include:

• Meet-up or social groups
• Faith-based, civic, or volunteer groups
• Other activities hosted by the public library or community centers.

Some groups are created for autistic people or other developmental disabilities, while others are open to everyone. Autistic people should be asked if they have any interest in finding or using community supports. One way to do this is to work with them to create a vision board. A vision board is a creative, visual way of helping someone explore their interests, needs, and goals.

Using images or symbols to create a vision board can help make the process of finding community supports easier. Use collage, drawings, writing, painting, or other creative methods to answer the following questions about community supports:

• What do you want from your community?
• What do you have to offer your community?
• What type of support do you need to participate in your community?

What can you do now?

1. Using the vision board exercise, support the person in expressing what they would like to get from community activity.
2. Consider the person’s strengths and interests and how sharing those with the community could help them.
3. Once you have identified what type of activities the person is interested in, plan how you may support them in reaching out to get these supports.