Learn how to generate, customize, and finalize your visual supports in Ella.
The Creation Process
After entering your topic and clicking Submit, Ella generates a draft outline for your visual support. Here's where you can make adjustments before finalizing.
Previewing Your Creation
In the preview section, you'll see a draft outline. This is where you can:
Review the key messages and narrative
Add details or topics that are missing
Remove anything you don't need
Select the format type
Choose an art style
Add supporting characters
Adjusting the Draft Outline
Look through each part of the outline:
Does it cover all the important steps?
Is anything missing that your child needs to know?
Is there anything unnecessary for this situation?
Add or remove items to guide the narrative of your visual support.
Choosing a Format
Ella can create different types of visual supports. Each format serves a different purpose, and you can create multiple formats for the same topic.
Stories
Social stories help children understand both the concept and why it's important. Stories break down situations into simple, relatable narratives featuring the child as the main character.
Features:
Read together or use read-aloud for independence
Available in first person ("I go to school") or third person ("Ali goes to school")
Customizable with specific details
Translatable into 80+ languages
Best for: Explaining new situations, building understanding of social concepts, emotional regulation
Visual Schedules
Schedules visually break down each step of a routine so children can follow along independently.
Features:
View in list or grid format
Includes checkboxes to tick off completed steps
Builds independence and confidence
Downloadable, printable, or shareable via link
Best for: Daily routines, multi-step tasks, building independence
Picture Cards
Picture cards show specific items, actions, or situations in a simple, visual format.
Features:
Individual cards for each concept
Can be printed and laminated
Useful for visual communication
Multiple cards per page options (1-5 columns)
Best for: Communication tools, choice boards, seasonal clothing guides, what-to-bring lists
Video Clips
Video clips show routines or behaviors in action through short animated sequences, typically around 12 seconds long. They model a task, expected behavior, or routine so children can see it demonstrated visually.
Features:
12-second animated clips that model tasks or expected behaviors
Play directly in the browser — no app or download required to view
Download via the standard video player controls for offline use or sharing
Visual modeling of behavior and sequence
Best for: Learning new skills, understanding physical routines, seeing behavior in action
Creating Multiple Formats
You can create all four formats for the same topic! Having multiple supports helps reinforce concepts and provides variety. For example:
Create a story to explain the concept
Create a schedule for step-by-step guidance
Create picture cards for quick reference
Create a video clip to show it in action
Each creation appears in your library as it's completed.
Choosing an Art Style
Ella offers 12 different art styles. Choose the one that resonates best with your child:
Painting: Watercolor illustration with soft washes and delicate outlines
Stylized: Feature-film quality 3D animation with expressive characters and vibrant colors
Clay: Stop-motion clay animation with hand-crafted feel and rounded shapes
Line Art: Black-and-white coloring book style with bold outlines
3D: Computer-rendered animation with polished surfaces and bright colors
Photographic: Real-life candid photos with natural lighting
Comic Book: Graphic novel style with bold inked lines and vibrant flat colors
Anime - Dynamic Japanese animation with bold linework and dramatic poses
Fantasy - Storybook-inspired with magical details and luminous lighting
Digital Art - Realistic digital painting with smooth textures and soft shading
Cartoon - Bold 2D animation with thick outlines and saturated colors
Geometric - Blocky voxel style with chunky cube shapes and hard edges
Tip: You can change the art style later using the Restyle feature if your child responds better to a different style. Toggle on the "Remove backgrounds" option to render any style without backgrounds for a cleaner, more focused look.
Adding Supporting Characters
You can add other characters to appear alongside the main character. This is helpful for:
Showing social interactions
Including siblings or classmates
Demonstrating turn-taking or sharing
Creating peer models
Simply enter the names of supporting characters (e.g., "Johnny" and "Sadie") before creating your support.
Finalizing Your Creation
Once you've:
✓ Reviewed the draft outline
✓ Chosen your format
✓ Selected an art style
✓ Added any supporting characters
Click the Create button (Create Schedule, Create Story, etc.) and Ella will generate your visual support. This typically takes 1-3 minutes depending on the format.
Chat Mode
For more complex situations or behavioral challenges, use Chat with Ella for deeper exploration and customized strategies.
When to Use Chat Mode
Dealing with challenging behaviors
Need multiple strategies for one situation
Want expert guidance on an issue
Looking for comprehensive approaches
How Chat Mode Works
Click the speech bubble icon to open Chat
Type your challenge (e.g., "Eliot is showing aggression toward peers")
Answer Ella's follow-up questions to provide context
Continue the back-and-forth until Ella has a full picture of the situation
Ella summarizes its findings and generates 3–6 tailored strategies, each with accompanying visual supports and a guidance document for implementation
Review the strategies and open any support to begin using it
What You Get from Chat Mode
Strategies: 3–6 approaches tailored to your situation, generated based on the conversation. Strategies cannot be edited or added to after generation
Visual supports: Fully editable ready-to-use materials for each strategy
Guidance overview: Detailed document including:
Guidance
Steps to implement
Early warning signs to watch for
How to respond in the moment
Long-term considerations
Bundle organization: All materials automatically saved together
Tip: The guidance overview can be translated, printed, or shared with your entire support team.
Accessing Chat Bundles
All resources created in Chat mode are automatically organized into a bundle under that topic in your library. You can revisit them anytime.
