End of Year Transition Issues for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

We are all counting down the days until summer break begins. Even though time off sounds exciting to both students and teachers, it can be a minefield of challenges for our kids on the Autism Spectrum. All too often those "fun" activities can create extra stress and anxiety in our students with ASD. I have a simple suggestion that makes a world of difference!

Start NOW while things are relatively sane and help your student create their own calendar for the last 3-4 weeks of school. Note all the days where there will be unusual events such as assemblies, track & field day, class parties, field trips, etc. You can also make note of all the days that are "regular" schedule days. Consider color coding the regular days. Your student will then be able to preview and plan ahead for the changes that will occur.

I usually use this calendar because it is simple and non-distracting:

 Click here to download

The week before school gets out, I send the following calendar home with students and ask their parents to help them fill it out. I know that the kids seem really excited to get out of school, but going from structured to unstructured days can create significant anxiety. I explain to parents that it is helpful to help their child structure their first week of summer and that they will likely experience a more peaceful start to their vacation.

Click here to download

I hope you find these tools quick and easy to use with your students with ASD.  ~Kelley

How to Ease the Back-to-School Transition Jitters

I can't believe summer vacation is almost over. The transition back to school seems to come all too soon every year! 

This time of summer we all start to feel stressed about transitioning from summer to school. I don't know any students who find transitions enjoyable. Anxious behavior is to be expected from most of our children (and more than a few parents and teachers!).

Please consider sharing the suggestions listed below with parents to help ease your students' transition back to school.

• An increase in difficult behavior or tantrums is not unusual. Be calm and consistent with your expectations.  Consistency of expectations is essential to decrease anxiety.  Do your best to stay emotionally calm. Positively reinforce calm behavior with praise and preferred activities.

• Keep conversations about school starting to a minimum. Discussing it over and over again does not calm anxieties. Imagine if you are afraid of spiders and the people around you want to talk about spiders every day for a couple of weeks. I doubt that it would help you stop being afraid of spiders. Continue about the business of getting ready for school (buying supplies, etc), but minimize the conversation while occasionally emotionally checking in. Let your child know that if they do want to talk about their feelings, you are available. Saying something like "How are you feeling about going back to school?" or "Do you have any worries?" can help your child know that you are available to talk.  

• Respect your child's feelings. Don't try to convince them to be excited about school. Simply listening and reflecting back their feelings can help take a lot of the "power" out of those anxious feelings. 

• Children who have difficulty with transitions do much better with a visual schedule. This is absolutely one of the most effective things you can do to decrease anxiety!  Print off either of the two calendars below or have your child make his/her own. The week before school starts help your child write a plan for each day. It would be helpful for them to also fill in an activity that they are looking forward to doing after school each day for the first week of school. Help them see that preferred activities can be enjoyed even after school starts again.

• Check off each day as they pass so your child can see what is next on his plan.

• Get your child back into the routine of a regular bedtime and wake time. Please don't wait until the weekend before school starts to adjust their sleep schedule. 

• Consider arranging a playdate with a school friend. Consider taking the kids to play on the playground at school. This can remind them of the fun times they will have once they are back at school.  

• Arrange everything for the first day of school the night before (clothing, lunchbox, supplies, etc). Eliminating the mad rush in the morning will help keep things calm.  Again, having a simple visual schedule made for the morning can make things more predictable and calm for your child. You can help your child write or draw a schedule or you can make one using google images. When my children were younger, I actually took photographs of them performing each step of the schedule. It was more motivating to see themselves successfully doing the right thing. A basic morning visual schedule can look something like this:  

Or this...

Or it can look like a simple list if your child is a good reader and does not need picture cues.

• Above all, keep a positive and calm attitude. Your "vibe" is easily felt by your child.

Finally, if your school holds a "Meet the Teacher" event before the beginning of the school year, consider setting up alternate times for your students to come in without the crowds. Also, consider snapping some photos of the classrooms and new teacher's faces to email home before the beginning of school. Simple things like showing where a student will put his backpack or lunchbox help ease anxiety.


I hope these suggestions will be helpful.  Now go enjoy the last bit of summer vacation! ~ Kelley

Just Keep Swimming...Just Keep Swimming...

Our school year is quickly coming to a close. Depending on where you are in the country (or the world!) you may still have a few weeks left. I recently had to remind myself to just keep swimming after being slammed with piles of additional paperwork and folder audits. On top of that, the inevitable end-of-the-year upheaval is causing stress and some regression in students. My students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional Disturbance, and other issues struggle mightily through all of the unexpected changes.... classrooms are being packed up, schedules are altered, everyone is excited, and so many "special" events that require flexibility and heavy doses of social skills are happening. The kids and I have been having many discussions about handling the changes. Many of them have adopted our skill of asking their teacher in the morning, "Are there any changes today?" This has been a great help and eased many worries.

If your students start exhibiting behaviors that have been resolved for quite a while during this transition time, please take a deep breath. Yes, it is frustrating. I feel it, too. But regression during a big transition is very common. If your students have shown solid growth behaviorally and it seems like things are sliding backwards a bit give it some time before you start with a new intervention. Continue being consistent with your expectation and current plan. This will give your child the predictability they need during this time of transition. Keep emotions as neutral as possible so that the regression is not compounded by an emotionally charged response. Usually, the regression will stop and the skill will be restored after a short period of time. 

This weekend, I've asked parents to help their child with an activity that will help with the mixed feelings that can accompany the summer vacation transition. I asked them to help their child fill out this calendar for the first week out of school identifying their plans for each day. The plan does not have to be detailed. Just identify where they will be (home or traveling?), who they will be with, and a main activity they can count on.  It can be as simple as Thursday is Legos, Friday is a trip to the pool, Saturday is video games at home. I asked them to have their child post their calendar on the fridge or in their rooms. Doing this simple activity can help tremendously with decreasing anxiety and helping your students end their school year on a good note.

Now, I'm off to just keep swimming!  ~Kelley

Navigating the Transition to Middle School Videos #18, #19, & #20

Whew! Finally...the last three installments of the Navigating the Transition to Middle School video series. I hope you are finding these useful in your work with students who are moving on from elementary school. Please make sure to join the blog or follow by email so that you don't miss any other transition tips and tools.  Here's to successful transitions! ~ Kelley

Video #18        Social Media

Video #19        How to Talk to a Girl

Video #20     How to Avoid Trouble

 

Navigating the Transition to Middle School Videos #15, #16, & # 17

We're back again with a three more episodes in the Navigating the Transition to Middle School series.

Please make sure that you've subscribed to this blog or are following us by email so you don't miss the last 3 episodes. You can always find the videos on the Transition page on the right sidebar. So, on with the show... ~ Kelley

Video #15  How To Handle Having Your Sibling At School
 

Video #16  What To Do If Someone Wants To Copy Your Work

Video #17   What To Do If You Feel A Teacher is Being Unfair
 

  

Navigating the Transition to Middle School Videos #12, #13, #14

Here are videos #12, 13, & 14 in the Navigating the Transition to Middle School video series. If you've missed any of the other segments, you can find them on the Transition Tools page on the right sidebar.

As you use these with your students, I would love to have you comment and share student feedback. Are there questions they have that we have not yet addressed? Do they think these will be useful as they get ready to move on? My goal is to create more videos of students talking to students about hidden rules and social secrets for elementary and secondary students. If you have input on topics you would like to see addressed, please leave a comment!

The last 6 videos will be posted over the next week. Please make sure that you have subscribed to the blog or are following us by email so you don't miss any episodes.
Cheers ~ Kelley

Video #12    Where to Sit in the Cafeteria

Video #13     What if Someone Sits in My Spot?

Video #14      How to Join in a Conversation

Navigating the Transition to Middle School Videos #9, #10, #11

Thanks for joining us for a few more Middle School Transition videos. I've heard from so many people who are using these and I love hearing that they are useful for your students!  I will be posting the remaining videos over the next week, so make sure to subscribe to the blog or follow us by email so you don't miss any!  If you've missed any of the first 8 videos, you can find them on the Transition Tools page on the right sidebar.  Enjoy! ~ Kelley

Video #9     Is Middle School Safe?

Video #10   How to Change Clothes in the Locker Room

Video #11  How to Find Your Bus

Navigating the Transition to Middle School - Videos #7 & #8

In case you're just joining in this series, we are in the process of publishing a total of 20 short video segments narrated by middle school students for the elementary student who are preparing to transition to middle school. I have recently gone back and added youtube links to each of the already published videos to make it easier to download and save to your computer or iPad. You can find videos #1 & #2 here, videos #3 & #4 here, and videos #5 & #6 here.

Here are today's installments...
#7   Tips on Handling the Homework Load
youtube link: http://youtu.be/B1-v07zWE9c

#8 How to Get Help On Schoolwork
youtube link: http://youtu.be/reyyqJIep7I

Climbing Steps Toward Independence

At this point in the semester, much of my time is being spent working on transition-related issues for my 5th grade students. They are definitely feeling that 5th grade itch and are ready to fly out of this elementary school nest!

One issue that has been coming up a lot lately is the kids wanting adults to back off and give them more independence. I love it when the drive toward independence kicks in, but this can be tricky for some students because of the intensity of their executive functioning deficits. They want adults to stop prompting them (which is fantastic!), but often when the teachers or paraprofessionals try to back off they end up stuck in distractable-land like Doug the Dog. I love Doug the Dog - just not in math class.

I had a conversation recently with a student who was complaining that adults give him too many reminders. As a result of that conversation, I created this visual to show him that in order for adults to back off he has to complete more tasks on his own. I have been using this visual to drive home the point that if he uses the tools in place (sticky notes, checklists, his homework agenda, etc.) he can do more tasks with fewer adult reminders. As adults see that he is taking steps toward independence, then they will back off and give him more freedom.

 

Using this visual model, we identified the things he does completely on his own at this point and wrote them on a sticky note and placed them on the lower 1/3 of the staircase. We then identified all the things an adult does on their own, listed those on another sticky and put it on the very top of the staircase. Finally, we identified 1 or 2 things that he thinks he can work on doing more on his own now and placed it a step or so above his current position. This allows us to reflect upon what independence level he is showing from day to day.  As he can complete more tasks we can add those "up the stairs" giving him a visual measuring stick of the payoff for persisting through tasks that he used to need help to complete.

Using this visual has helped my older students set small goals for themselves and increase their ability to self-monitor whether they are gaining independence.

Feel free to use this visual with your students as well! ~ Kelley

Navigating the Transition to Middle School ~ Videos #5 & #6

Here is the next installment of the Tips & Tricks for Middle School videos. We are using these to help prepare our 5th grade students to transition from elementary to middle school. You can find videos #1 & #2 here and videos #3 & #4 here.

Video #5 - How to Deal with Crowded Locker Areas

youtube link for download: http://youtu.be/GEiraQe6b4M

Video #6 - How to Remember Your Locker Combination

youtube link for download: http://youtu.be/Im__hwQ_eMQ

Navigating the Transition to Middle School ~ Videos #3 & #4

Here's the second installment in the Tips & Tricks for Middle School videos. In case you are just joining us, check out the first two videos to aid students in making the transition to middle school by clicking here.

Video #3 - How to Find Your Classes

youtube link for download: http://youtu.be/PjTynh9gtyk

Video #4 - Getting to Class On Time

youtube link for download: http://youtu.be/U-jUQFnBvTw

The next set of videos will be ready in a day or so! Enjoy ~ Kelley

Navigating the Transition to Middle School ~ Videos #1 & #2

In recognition that April is Autism Awareness Month, Orlanda and I plan to dedicate our posts this month to tools, techniques, and lessons geared for kids on the Autism Spectrum.


Hey everybody! It's transition time! Yes, this is the time of year when I'm focusing heavily on middle school specific skills and hidden rules for my 5th graders who are graduating from elementary and heading to middle school as well as conducting all those super-fun transition ARD meetings!

 I've been working on a series of videos to use with my 5th grade students with Asperger's Syndrome as they prepare to transition to middle school. I find that I have more success when they listen to "social secrets" from other teens instead of from me - you know, they've hit the age when I've become ancient and clueless! 

How one of my 5th graders sees me when I try to explain hidden rules for middle school!

So... I brainstormed with a couple of 8th grade neurotypical boys about what "tips" they think are most important for the kids to know going into middle school. Over the next few weeks, I'll publish 20 clips on various topics. I hope that you are able to use them with your transitioning students.  Enjoy! ~ Kelley

Video #1 - Reputation Begins on Day 1 ~ Tips & Tricks for Middle School

youtube link for download purposes: http://youtu.be/h9HedWAN-7U

Video #2 - What if I Don't Get the Classes I Want?

youtube link for download purposes: http://youtu.be/fhkNLdZcVrg