Inclusive Care Starts with Understanding: The Role of Visual Supports 

Good healthcare starts with good communication. But for people with intellectual disability and many others with diverse cognitive and communication needs, clinical environments can feel confusing, inaccessible or even unsafe when communication isn’t clear. 

Whether someone is preparing for a blood test, navigating a hospital stay or attending a therapy session, visual supports can offer something that verbal language alone often cannot: clarity, calm and shared understanding. 

At Communication Spectrum, we believe communication should never be a barrier to care. That’s why we’ve created a tool to make high-quality visual supports accessible to everyone – clinicians, carers, families and most importantly, the people who need them. 

Why Visual Supports Matter in Health Settings 

Visual supports are more than just helpful images – they’re essential tools for inclusive care. They help explain what’s happening, reduce anxiety and empower people to participate in their own healthcare. 

Research shows that visual supports improve comprehension and reduce distress for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A 2023 systematic review found that caregiver-implemented visual aids like schedules and picture guides increased independence and participation across a range of settings – including health (Hart & Whipple, 2023). 

In Australia, health initiatives like Say Less, Show More from the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation have embraced this approach – offering photo-based health stories for patients with intellectual disability undergoing procedures like blood tests or X-rays. This is exactly the movement we want to see in inclusive healthcare.  

But too often, creating these supports is time-consuming, inconsistent or inaccessible to the people they’re meant to serve. 

Introducing MyComms: A New Tool for Clinicians 

MyComms is a clinician-designed platform built by a speech therapist and a teacher/positive behaviour support practitioner. We saw firsthand how gaps in communication can lead to distress, disengagement and preventable harm – and how powerful, simple visuals can be when done right. 

With MyComms, health professionals can quickly create personalised visual schedules, task breakdowns, choice boards and information prompts using clear, respectful visuals and real-life imagery. It’s built to be: 

You can use MyComms to support someone preparing for a procedure, communicating symptoms or understanding what to expect from an appointment. 

Practical Applications in Clinical Care 

Visual supports can be a powerful bridge between patients and clinicians – especially when stress, unfamiliar environments or cognitive demands make communication harder. MyComms equips professionals across the health sector with tools to bring clarity and connection into everyday practice. 

Here are just a few ways MyComms is used to enhance care: 

Hospitals and Acute Settings 

During hospital admissions, task breakdowns can be used to prepare patients for surgery or procedures, showing what to expect step by step – from arrival, to anaesthesia, to recovery.  

A visual guide for blood tests or cannula insertion can help reduce fear, improve consent and make the experience more predictable and calmer. 

For long-stay patients, a daily schedule can map out key moments – like mealtimes, therapy sessions and visiting hours, supporting orientation, reducing agitation and easing transitions between staff or rooms. 

GP Clinics and Allied Health Services 

In outpatient settings, visual aids can help explain and sequence care. For example, a ‘first–then’ board might show: “First we stretch, then we play music” during a physio or speech therapy session. This reduces cognitive load and helps maintain engagement – especially for clients with executive functioning challenges or sensory differences. 

MyComms also allows for the creation of visual choice boards, supporting informed decision-making in real time (e.g. “Would you like the injection in your arm or leg?”), promoting autonomy and participation. 

Mental Health and Behaviour Support 

For individuals who experience difficulty with verbal expression, MyComms can be used to create emotion boards that support emotional literacy and regulation. Patients can point to visuals to communicate how they feel – reducing frustration and increasing insight. 

During moments of escalation or overwhelm, regulation support visuals offer empowering options like: “Would you like to go for a walk, use headphones or have quiet time?” These supports affirm a person’s agency while guiding safe, meaningful choices. 

These are just a few ways MyComms can be used to support agency, comfort and comprehension – particularly when language is under pressure. 

Why It Matters: Health Equity Through Communication 

We know that people with intellectual disability face poorer health outcomes, more frequent hospitalisation and shorter life expectancy. Many of these outcomes are not always due to the disability itself – but to inaccessible systems and assumptions about capacity. 

As we shared in our presentation at the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health (NCEIDH) Conference 2025, 

“Communication equity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a clinical imperative.” 
When we embed visual supports into healthcare, we don’t just improve understanding – we improve outcomes. 

Visual supports are a small shift with a big impact. They reduce communication breakdowns, support autonomy and foster dignity – making it easier for people to be seen, heard and understood in some of their most vulnerable moments.  

Start Using MyComms Today 

If you’re a health professional, support worker or family member looking to make care more accessible, MyComms is here to help. 

Choose from over 100 templates 
Add real photos from your environment 
Create supports in your home language for cultural and linguistic relevance 
Print or share visuals instantly across teams and settings 
Support people of all ages and all communication preferences 

Start your free trial today by downloading MyComms on the App Store or Google Play, or learn more at commspec.co. 

Because communication is already at the heart of your care. MyComms is here to help make it clearer, calmer and more inclusive – one photo at a time. 

For more information, download our fact sheets below.