Transition: Supporting Your SEN Child to Say Goodbye to Their Class For many children, the end of the school year is a time of excitement. New teachers, a fresh classroom, a chance to grow. But for some children with special educational needs, particularly those who thrive on routine, familiarity and emotional connection, the final weeks … Read more
5 Ways to Reduce Meltdowns During Transitions Transitions are tough. For many pupils with SEND, switching tasks or changing environments can feel overwhelming. You’ve seen it: anxiety builds, behaviours escalate, and learning stalls. Here’s the good news—you can prevent most meltdowns with the right strategies. These five approaches work. They’re simple, practical, and you can … Read more
Doorways as Barriers: Understanding and Overcoming Transition Challenges in Autistic Children We often encounter unique challenges in education and child development that require innovative solutions. One such challenge, particularly prevalent among autistic children, is the difficulty in navigating physical transitions, specifically moving through doorways. This article delves into the complex issue of doorways acting as … Read more
Micro Transitions and Support Strategies for Autistic Students For pupils with special educational needs (SEN), who benefit from structure and routine, especially autistic students, the numerous small or micro-transitions that happen throughout the school day can be particularly challenging to navigate. These micro-transitions involve changes in activity, environment, physical state, emotion, companionship and more. The … Read more
Mental Health Support and Strategies for children and adults with SEND. Mental health support for children with SEN has always been a challenge. Many schools and settings are increasingly focused on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on pupil mental health. As a Youth Mental Health First Aider and pastoral lead in an all-through special … Read more
Year Six into Year Seven Every secondary school runs a year 6 to year 7 transition programme of some sort, comprising a few visits, summer holiday events and open evenings. Children with EHCPs and on the SEN register generally get something extra. Fran from Square Peg shares her thoughts and led an SENexchange discussion. The extent … Read more
School Anxiety, Signs, Causes, Support and Resources. The subject of school anxiety is often a source of frustration and conflict between schools and parents. This is unnecessary and unhelpful and does nothing to provide support to the child. Children are often labelled as being school refusers. Pressure from local authorities may be put on parents … Read more
Class changes in September are a huge source of anxiety for all involved. There is a range of activities you can undertake to make this transition easier. I have written a blog about supporting learners with day-to-day general transitions and this one on supporting Autistic children with class transitions.
A Guide to supporting transitions and changes with Autistic students within school.
Transition is a challenge that our students face on a daily basis. These transitions take place on a range of scales. From the micro transition of switching thoughts between tasks to major physical transitions between environments. The number of individual transitions an individual will undertake throughout the day is huge. Each one may well be a source of stress and anxiety for each student. The level of this anxiety and how it is communicated to us will vary dramatically. As with all the actions of our students this stress may not be easy for us to interpret. The quotes are from Autistic people I asked but are anonymised. I know I do not include enough Autistic voice, I will strive to expand this in future posts (I would welcome your comments.)
Transition and Change can be a challenge for many children. This discussion provides some strategies that may help.
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