Transition Tips

Transitioning to a new classroom can be both challenging and exciting as your child leaves the comfort of one classroom and moves on to new learning experiences in the next! For a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), transitions can be even more stressful changing teacher can feel like moving to a foreign country!

Here at LPS, we try to assist with this transition by offering the following:

• We have 2 step-up sessions where students get to experience being in the next year level’s classroom and learning about some of the fun activities they will get to participate in during the following year – e.g. camps, excursions, incursions, etc. This year, these sessions will occur on Monday the 4th and 11th of December. 
• We have a meet the teacher session where students get to meet their new teacher and learn of other students in their class for the following year. This session will occur on Monday the 18th of December. 
• Making transition books for some students who need extra support so that they can look over this on the school holidays.

The key issue in transition is managing anxiety. Put simply: Managing Change = Managing Anxiety. 

At home, you can do the following to help support this transition:

• Reinforce positive messages to your child about moving to another year level or their new school environment.
• Listen to your child, giving them opportunities to discuss how they are feeling about the change – what they are looking forward to as well as what they might be concerned about. 
• Discussion regarding how anxiety can be helpful too and help us perform in situations. You can also normalise this with your child indicating that most children will feel nervous about moving to a new grade.
• Encourage and teach your child how to ask for help when they need it.
• Teach your children relaxation strategies such as taking deep breaths or grounding techniques to help manage anxiety and stress. 

Brittany Taylor

School Psychologist