4 Ways to Help Special Needs Kids with Transitions
My son is very anxious. I think even if he hadn't been born with autism this would have been the case, as his family tree is ripe with worriers, shall we say. All that aside, over the years I've learned that change is hard for him, harder than for most kids. He needs a little more time to process things than other children due to some sensory processing issues very conducive with autism, and transitioning from one activity to another has been challenging for him. He, and his father and I, have learned over the years how to help him in this regard, to make change less stressful, less unknown.
Parents, have you experience difficulty with transitions with your special needs children? This week is the return to routine, with many children going back to school after Spring Break and parents going back to work. It can be challenging to get used to school structure after a week of being at home with a different kind of structure or return. Here are some tools that have helped me help my son with transitions, back to school being one of them:
4 Ways to Help Special Needs Kids with Transitions:
1) Talking Prep Work: Talk to your child about what will be happening - one, two or a few hours in advance, depending how much notice they need before they move from one activity to another. My son used to need to know two days in advance, now one day to a few hours is fine. Of course, it also depends what we are talking about. Spring Break, we plan a few days in advance. A big family wedding and what will happen I [give] up to two to three weeks in advance.
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