Picture of a painting of a house in the countryside.

Visual Thinking

Easy Read

Thinking in pictures

A girl with two thought bubbles.

You might think better with pictures instead of words. This is called visual thinking.

A person thinking back to memories with a speech bubble of a picture above their head.

You might remember things using pictures.

Two girls colouring in with felt pens.

You might see small things others don’t.

A woman with yellow hair painting on an easel.

You might like drawing or designing.

Child playing with colourful bricks.

Or you might like building things.

A man with lots of comics on a table in front of him.

You might find reading comics or pictures easier than reading words.

Teacher in front of a blackboard pointing at it.

You might like pictures more than words at school.

A man holding up a book with instructions written on.

Pictures can help show things better.

A woman holding up a drawing of the sun.

You might like to show things using pictures or drawings.

Visual planner of someone's day.

You might like visual schedules.

A group of children playing or sitting or standing.

Every child likes to think in different ways.

A doctor in a blue uniform.

If you have any worries, talk to a teacher, doctor or health visitor.

Download Easy Read PDF

This Easy Read was created in June 2026

Review date: June 2029

About this Easy Read library

The Easy Read Library was created by Growing Different. Each guide is designed using clear language, simple layouts, and photo symbols to support understanding. We develop it with the families that will use it.

The symbols used are from Photosymbols and are included under licence.

If you reuse, copy or share our Easy Read materials, please note the following:

• Individual images must not be extracted, copied or downloaded from the materials
• The Photosymbols member badge must not be removed or covered
• The materials must be used in line with our licence terms

We follow the Easy Read Standard 2026, developed by Photosymbols.

© Growing Different 2026

Reference

Photosymbols Ltd (2026) The Easy Read Standard: An Evidence-Based Framework for Accessible Information. Version 1.0. January 2026. Developed by Photosymbols Ltd

Photo symbols license number
Photosymbols Credit 2

A note on our information

This site gives general information, not medical advice. We share information and resources, but we can’t offer individual or one-to-one support. Always check with a professional before making decisions about your child.

Disclaimer

The content on this website is provided for general information only. It should not be construed as medical advice, and it is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. Before making any decisions based on the content of this website you are strongly advised to obtain professional or specialist advice.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on our website, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our website is accurate, complete or up-to-date, and we are not liable or responsible for any decision taken as a result. Please note that using automated summariser or translation tools may affect the accuracy of the information presented here.

Supported by

This project has been made possible with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and the CPCA (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority), delivered through Allia Impact Ltd.