Coping with Transitions: Help for Aspergers Students

Transitions are very difficult for children with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism. It's an interruption to their day and a change in their schedule. In order to minimize difficulty in transition, try to keep their schedule as routine as possible. Always let them know ahead of time that a transition in routine is coming. 


Comments

Anonymous said…
Can you not start the day with maybe a chart that has times on where you stick each activity you are going to do that day under the time you are doing it? Maybe if the child knows in advance it may help with coping with moving from one activity to another.
August 14, 2012 at 7:53 AM
Anonymous said…
Oh wow...someone please help this child and teacher :(( 5 minute warnings help.....visual timer.....and knowing when she will be able to complete the project.....tell her ahead of of time that if its not complete when time is up that she can finish it @ whatevr time/takehome? Oh wow...I hope someone is there to guide them this year.
August 14, 2012 at 7:55 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes counting down for my son helps...I will start at 10 min...and then every so often let him know what he is down to so he is preparing himself for the change that's about to happen.
August 14, 2012 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said…
I have to give my aspie son a warning, if we are going to the store, I call and tell him we are leaving in 10 minutes, if I don't do this, there is normally a meltdown.
August 14, 2012 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said…
My son is always placed in a classroom with a time specific schedule posted in the room - if they don't have that they are willing to put one on his desk. However we have been blessed to always have a teacher who does this for the entire class and tries her best to stick to it. This nearly eliminates all issues with transitioning for our son.
August 14, 2012 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said…
my son has issues with transitioning as well and it has been easier if you give him warnings leading up to the end of a project and we have a egg timer that goes off letting him know the activity is over and of course being as consitant as possiable with it
August 14, 2012 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said…
i'm glad a teacher is finally asking how to transition the students from one activity to the next! my daughters 2nd grade year was rotten cuz her teacher was a lazy ass who didn't understand/want to learn how to transition easier.
August 14, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
Tell her firstly what they will be doing that day and repeat it a few times to get her agreement. I have to do this with my 5 year old. As long as he's aware he's happy x
August 14, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
and of course make sure you and the parents are using the same approach if not it will not work ask the parents what they have done and if they do not have a solid approach in use at home find one together that way she has consitancey at home and school it will help her all around : )
August 14, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
I was going to suggest the visiual schedule too. My son keeps one laminated on his desk so he can check things off to keep track of where they are at. At the end of the day if he has had a good day he gets 15 mins of computer free time.
August 14, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes, I think "quickly" is an error in expectation in this question. Good advice in the comments and the link!
August 14, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
Yeah, Suzanna! My gut reacted to sooo many many "flags' in the request for help. All I could think was "quickly" get someone in there to help.
August 14, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous said…
Times and warnings are not only beneficial to kids with Aspergers. They're good for kids! This is my frustration with teachers. How is this not common sense? How about a child development class? How about actually understanding children?
August 14, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous said…
Start a reward chart for the childs specific issues. Positive reinforcement works wonders for kids on the spectrum. For example, each class period that they are able to move on with their work then they get a sticker, after so many stickers they get extra time doing something they enjoy, such as computer time. You're teaching them to move on and also to work towards a goal, that it's okay not to be perfect.
August 14, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous said…
My daughter responds best to a timer. I even got her a stopwatch so she can set it herself. I will tell her, in 10minutes you have to get ready for bed. she will set her timer, and when it beeps, she will get ready for bed. If she doesn' have the timer I will just count down for her. telling her she has 10mins, 5mins, 1min. Works pretty good. The go this at her school. We have been blessed with a great school with excellent teachers. Their Autism program is excellent.
August 14, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Anonymous said…
I, also, agree with your statement! Quickly? Realistic expectations are a must. My son transitions pretty well, but I have always used the verbal countdown method with him. First-we will be ...in 15 minutes. Second 10 minutes left until we..., third -5 minutes left until we... It really is common sense. I think with verbal count owns it is also important to state the full new activity. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if it has actually gotten better with my son or I've just polished my technique over the years so we have fewer issues with it :-) Has anyone else experienced this scenario in a Dr.'s office? Whole waiting room of people watching as your son is being called and your son won't get up until he has moved all the beads to just where he wants them on (can't think of what the name is for them) the wooden thing with the looping tracks that you slide the beads on? Oh, and of forbid they had as magnadoodle! He would try to fit all the transformers names on the screen and if he ran out of space, he'd erase and start all over... no countdown possible in an office, never know how long you'll be waiting. So, now I bring something or him so he can just pick it up and bring it back with him.
August 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Anonymous said…
You have to make it a choice for her to want to stop. I say things to my son like "is this a Noah choice or a family choice, right now we need a family choice". Then reward for thinking of the others. You could say " I need you to make a class choice right now, the other kids are ready to do ....., could you make a class choice?". Then everyone once is a while "say class our friend her need 5 more mins, could we give her 5 more mins friends?"
How it helps.
August 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Anonymous said…
I had several students in a class with the same issue. I made a circular chart with pictures that show each activity, Aspergers kids have "loop" or process thinking so this helped to show the next steps they had to take.
August 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Anonymous said…
Set a timer. At least 10 minutes before time to stop set it for 5 minutes. When it goes off let her know she has 5 minutes left. Set it for another 3 minutes and tell her it is time to clean up and get ready for the next project. It might seem tedious but our kids in the spectrum NEED this. Eventually she will be able to just have the timer tell her when it is time to stop.
August 14, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Anonymous said…
My daughter had this same problem. So her teacher gave her a basket for just her stuff, whatever she wasn't finished with and it was time to move on to something new, she put her unfinished work in the basket and could come back to it when she had free time. They get the feeling that they are never going to finish it and it makes them panic but if they know it will be there later it takes some of the panic away. Good luck.
August 14, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Anonymous said…
My son had the same problem. We set the timer and before he started the project his teacher would remind him if it wasn't completed when the timer went off, he could take it home and complete it. We started this in preschool. When he started reg. school it set him up to understand home work a little better. On the other hand, when the teacher handed out papers for home work but gave the kids time in class to do it, he wouldn't do it because it was "home" work. As a teacher you have to be very direct with them because they will take you at face value on everything you say. I hope this helps and thank you for taking the time to try and figure it out. You sound like a great teacher.
August 14, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said…
Sometimes it is almost impossible to get their mind off what they are doing. I might be able to get my son to do a different project but his mind will stay distracted on the previous one till he is able to finish it. That's just how it is.
August 14, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said…
I agree with the counting them down until time is up. I do that with my kids, the worst is for them to have to stop what they're doing at bedtime. So I tell them at one hour until bed. If I notice on the ten min. mark, I tell them every ten min. I always tell them at 30 min. left, 15 min. left, 10, and 5. Hope this helps. It's helped us a lot.
August 14, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said…
Thank you teacher for caring enough to ask and not just punishing the child for something out of their control.
August 15, 2012 at 6:15 AM
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