Free tool · Scarlet Beast En español →
My day: a picture schedule
Show a day, or one part of it, as pictures in order. Build a routine from pictures, your own photos and a few words, then show only two things: what is happening now and what comes next. Hand over the phone or tablet, or print it as a list or as cards to cut out. For children and adults, at home, at school or in care.
Good to know
What a picture schedule is for
It shows what is going to happen and in what order, so nobody has to hold the whole day in their head or keep asking. Families, teachers and support workers use schedules like this with autistic children and adults, with people who have a learning disability, dementia or a brain injury, and with small children. Plenty of other people simply find a day easier when they can see it.
Why only “now” and “next”
A whole day at once can be too much. Two pictures answer the two questions that matter most in the moment: what am I doing, and what happens after this? When something is finished, press Finished and the next thing moves up.
Things people often find helpful
- Use the same few words every day.
- Let the person press Finished, or move the card, themselves.
- Show a change before it happens. There is a Change of plan picture for that.
- Put something the person likes after something that is hard for them.
- Start with three or four steps. You can add more later.
These are everyday ideas in our own words, not a method and not a promise. If one does not suit the person, leave it out.
About the pictures
The ready-made pictures are emoji, and each phone, tablet and computer draws them in its own style, so they can look a little different on another device or on paper.
You can also use your own photos: the real toothbrush, the real bus stop, the real front door. Tap the picture button on any step, then Add a photo. Some people find a photo of the real thing easier to recognise than a drawing.
What happens to a photo you add
- It is never uploaded. Your browser makes a smaller copy (640 pixels on its longest side) and keeps only that copy, on this device.
- The copy is a fresh picture, so the hidden details a camera saves inside a photo file, such as where it was taken, are not in it.
- Photos do not travel: they will not show on another phone or computer, and they are not in the text you copy or download. They do print.
- Anyone who uses this browser on this device can see them. Think twice before adding a photo of a person, and ask them first if you can.
- There is room for 60 photos. Delete a photo removes one; Erase everything removes them all.
Guides and tools that go with this
- One step at a time: break one task into tiny steps and see only the next one.
- Speak for me: a message board and a card for when words won’t come.
- How I work: a one-page guide to you, for a boss, a teacher or a new team.
- Autism, ADHD, dementia and brain injury: plain guides with checked phone lines.
- Help at school and looking after someone.
The tool, its ready-made routines and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). It was not reviewed by a therapist or a teacher. “Read it aloud” uses the voices built into your device or browser; some browsers send the text to an online voice service, so the page picks an on-device voice when one is available, and reading aloud stays off unless you turn it on. Also in Spanish: Mi día; the schedules you build here also show there on this device, with your words as you typed them. Scarlet Beast is an open door for neurodivergent people, and this is for anyone. Your own photos are never sent to us or to anyone else. Found a mistake, or a picture we should add? Email [email protected].