How do you help your ASD child with transitions?

meghans30 · June 2012

We have begun to realize that what people on the outside think is "hyper" behavior with Trevor, is actually behavior due to his difficulty with transition. An example is today when we went to behavioral therapy, Trev was wound the moment we went in; touching things, making noises, going from one corner of the room to the next, touching a child's ipad ... In the past when we have visited the pedi. these behaviors resulted in the suggestion of heavily medicating him due to ADHD. I see these behaviors in a whole new light recently.

How do you handle transitions? The therapist suggested gathering items which would be highly motivating for Trevor and only allowing him to have the items when he acts appropriately. Any other suggestions? I have to find items I can put in our bag. A visit to the dollar store is in order.

finsup · June 2012

For a long time I used warnings - ie in 5 mins we will be doing xyz. in 3 mins we are doing xyz. in 1 min we are....you get the idea.

I used this for everything - taking a bath, having dinner, leaving the playgrounds, getting ready for school, turning off the tv etc, etc.....It worked very, very well for us.

I have more recently begun to decrease the warnings because he's now 4 and I want him to be more flexible on the fly - though they still exist for some things.

Another thing that is working well right now is "First, next" or "If, then" statements for motivators. My guys is kind of a negative nellie I can't, I don't want to, I won't - are common in my house. So I'll say to him well, FIRST we have to put on shoes, Next we need to go to the bathroom and THEN we can go to the pool" or "IF you eat 2 more bites of chicken, THEN you may be excused" very clear, very simple statements that help him understand what is expected and that he is in control of the final outcome.

mjsweetgirl · June 2012

We just a timer app on our phone when we are out to let J know we are about to transition called vistimer. We also have a transitional object like his sippy cup or a favorite toy to hold while we are transitioning from outside to inside, the car to the store, etc. We also use a visual schedule with pictures of where we are going, what we're doing, etc. Also, he has just started to understand the first then concept when it comes to transitioning between preferred and non preferred activities.

meghans30 · June 2012

Thanks. The noises are really annoying to everyone I am sure. Medication is something I am sure we will eventually incorporate into the plan. As he gets older I know these behaviors will isolate him socially. I'll be looking into that book.

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