How to transition kiddos with autism back into a school routine
Start slow
Perfect morning routines don’t happen overnight. Starting a few weeks before school starts can be a great help to transitioning your kiddos back into school time. If they are at a daycare or summer camp that starts a little later than their school does, have them begin to go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Transitioning into a school-mode bedtime will (hopefully) make them less grumpy throughout the day.
Walk and talk through it
One of the things that works best for kiddos with autism is the predictability of change. Before school starts, ensure that your kiddo knows what kind of expectations await them before the school year starts. Step by step, walk your kiddo through their nighttime routine and their morning routine so that they are better able to know what to do to prepare themselves for the school day.
The early bird gets the waffles
Giving your kiddo an incentive to wake up in the morning can be an incredibly effective way to motivate them into their routine, especially if your kiddo is not a morning person. Having the incentive of “if you do x, then your reward is y,” is one of the best motivational methods. And like we said, the early bird gets the waffles.
Visual schedules are a beautiful thing
A visual schedule is an easy way to help your kiddo with the sequence of events necessary to help them get dressed and ready for school. Here’s one we made for you:
The visual reminder of what task needs to be completed in order to get properly ready for the day is a great way to reinforce what you might have said to your kiddo. Having a visual schedule your child can refer to can help them grow towards self-motivated independence, with a little help.
Plan out clothes
Our occupational therapist Emily Martin thinks that it’s a great idea to take the afternoon on a Sunday and, along with your kiddo, plan out every outfit that they will be wearing the following week, down to the socks. Fold their outfit and put a rubber band around it and label it as “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” and so on and so forth. That way, it can easier to avoid the drama of a missing Minion sock.
Meet their educators and paraprofessionals beforehand
One of the greatest areas of transition and uncertainty in the new school year is the shift of teachers and paras. Arranging meetings or going to preliminary open houses can help reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding new daily interactions.
Meeting educators before the school year starts can help take out some of the uncertainty of the interactions for both parties.
Things to remember
No one is perfect, and progress isn’t always linear. Sometimes with transitioning your kiddo into a school-friendly routine is easier said than done. The ideas that might work for some might not work for all.
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