Autistic Children and Transitions - How To Make It Easier

Autistic children have great difficulties in changing from doing one thing to the next. To say they have issues dealing and coping with transitions is an understatement. In fact, some transitions can be downright difficult for the autistic child. So how can you ease the upset of a transition for them?

Prepare them well ahead of time. If their schedule is going to be different from what it normally is, or if they have to move from doing one thing to doing another thing you need to prepare them for it, to make it as easy as possible on all parties involved. You can do this through talking to them, showing them pictures of what's going to happen next, and allowing yourself and them extra time for the change in routine.

Try to maintain normalcy in as many other parts of their day as you can. Giving them a grounding point in the day where things are as they always are will help them to better cope, during times like holidays, when things are out of routine.

Reward them for a good transition. Give them their favorite toy or treat for transitioning without having a meltdown. Reinforce the good behaviour in transitions and you may find with time they get better at transitioning as a result.

Allow the child to stim if need be to cope with the transition. Many times you'll find if something is out of the normal, or out of routine, your child will stim to try and establish a level of control over their environment. Allow them to do this, as long as they are safe doing it and won't harm others with their behaviours. By stimming they may be better able to cope with what is going on around them and therefore be better able to transition.

Does your child enjoy music? Try playing some calming music to help them ground themselves and be able to move through the transition. Even something like allowing them an ipod loaded with their favorite music to listen to while changing from one thing to another may take their focus off the change, and allow you to move them through the transition better.

Transitions can be one of the most difficult things to cope with for an autistic child. With a little preparation and a whole lot of understanding, both you and your child will be able to overcome the issues and begin to make smoother transitions.

Autistic children can be wonderful to be around, to care for and to love if you give them the extra care and attention they need. For more tips and tricks to help you with your autistic child, click here!

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Teenagers With Autism Transitioning to High School

Thoughts of Springtime bring different images to mind, rain showers replacing snow, flowers, new growth on trees, baby animals, etc. If you are a parent with a child living on the Autism Spectrum Springtime also brings up other images. The school year is ending, if it has been a "good" year, you might be sad to see the year end. If it has been a "bad" year, you are happy to have survived. But whether or not the school year has been "good" or "bad" one thing is certain, change will quickly be upon you and your family. The end of this school year means that in a few short months the next school year will begin. How do you prepare your teenager for that? Helping your teen prepare for a new teacher and a new grade can be challenging, but some transitions are more complicated than others. The years that require moving to new schools seem to be the most overwhelming. Thoughts of moving from elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school and high school to college brings terror to many parents. And those of us who have been through it know what it does to our kids.

We haven't done the high school to college transition yet, but I remember clearly the transition from middle school to high school. It was "relatively" smooth. Planning started early in 8th grade. We were fortunate in that the high school was right next door to the middle school so for the last semester of 8th grade my teen was able to "work" in the high school library as an aide during his free period. This allowed him to become familiar with the school, the people and routine. It also got him use to going into the building. Having more say in the classes he took in high school was another positive thing for him. He carefully studied the list of offerings and made his selections (he actually figured out his plan for all four years, before his first day of 9th grade). There were some glitches. Some adjustments had to be made after school started. But it was clearly a much smoother start then middle school. Things that stand out that really help:

He had a case manager that he met at the end of 8th grade. His case manager talked to him about his goals and the courses he would need to meet these goals.

He was familiar with the layout of the school. He had one place, the library, where he felt really comfortable.

Before school started we took his schedule and walked around the building, located all his classes, found his locker, and worked the combination.

We arrived at school early each day so he could avoid the mass confusion at the lockers right before the bell rang.

Once school started his case manager checked in with him frequently to make sure things were going well. This was his go to person for questions/problems. This was not a long and involved meeting, usually they spoke briefly in the halls between classes.

The locker area was crowded, my son's assigned locker was in the middle of a row and thus he did not use his locker at school. But he was allowed to have two sets of books, one set at home, and the others kept in various classrooms, thus sparing him the necessity of going to his locker between classes.

Lunch was another issue with crowds and noise. Finding a relatively quiet place to eat was a priority, but not an impossible task. Lunch time clubs have allowed for peer interaction but in a less crowded forum.

No two teenagers are alike, and what works well for one might not work for another, but we have found that by collecting ideas that have worked for others, we come up with ideas we have not thought of and some of these ideas turn out to be very successful. These are some of the things that worked well for us and we hope we have given you an idea or two that you had not thought of before.

Julie Kirkpatrick, RN, BSN, MSN,
Estes Park Consultants, LLC, PC,
Estes Park, CO 80517

http://www.estesautism.com

http://www.facebook.com/EPConsultants

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