How Do You Transition Autistic Kids? Making the Shift, Ep. 72

[@courtneyhuq6226]

Watched the whole thing, lots of good points to think about! Do you have the bullets you went over in list form by any chance? Thanks again for providing resources.

[@SpeechDudeJessieGinsburg]

Yes! Here is the link to Jessie's blog with that information! www.sensoryslp.com/blog/why-transitions-are-so-hard

[@courtneybrowne9888]

Thank you for this! Lots of great ideas to try. Any recommendations for kids struggling to transition out of the house? My son (7) recently started resisting all things outside our home saying he "likes being home more than anywhere else". even for things he enjoys. He wants to learn piano but doesn't want to go to the piano lessons. He loves his Occupational Therapist but doesn't want to go to OT. Being at a place is not a problem (mostly) but getting there / leaving the house to get there is.

[@melanieweber3121]

My son is like this. For him I think it's that he doesn't want to stop what he's doing at home (where he's comfortable) to do something else. Even though he enjoys the next activity as well, he has a hard time with executive functioning and seeing past the here and now. We use a lot of Jessie's tips like giving him a transition object like his iPad for when it's time to get in the car. That really helps because he doesn't get his tablet all day long so he appreciates having it during those moments. We also use a visual schedule so he knows it's coming and we also try and keep our routine pretty consistent so he understands that these appointments happen every week.

[@emiliemaierhofer9610]

My theory for what makes some transitions difficult (for my kid) is that they have a hard time independently imagining the upcoming event. I try to name a person they like or an activity they enjoy at the place we are transitioning to. I will ask a question to help them imagine the next location in a positive way. Ex. Do you think Ms. Anna (a favorite teacher) will be wearing a hat today? Or, I wonder if you will choose a craft or a game first when we get there. This helps them shift from their connection to the current moment, but to identify a positive emotion with the thing we are transitioning to.