This week, we're thrilled to share an insightful guest post written by Meg Henderson, OT Reg. (Ont.) from Monarch House, a leading Canadian service provider dedicated to supporting children and families affected by autism. Monarch House specializes in helping individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other diagnoses adapt and thrive through a range of expert services. In their guest post, they offer valuable strategies for balancing therapy, tutoring, and family time during transitions. This piece is particularly relevant as we approach the back-to-school season and navigate various changes in routines. Dive into their expert advice to make these transitions smoother for your child. Enjoy!
Structure is important for a child's development. It makes them feel safe and in control while also teaching them to follow rules and routines. It is common for children who thrive on structure to have a hard time managing change and adjusting expectations for new schedules. As summer comes to an end, we can start to anticipate many upcoming changes:
New teachers
New schools
Updated academic expectations in higher grades
Changing weather and clothing
New afterschool programming including sports, tutors, and therapies
Most children do not have fully developed executive functioning skills, including planning and thinking towards the future, flexibility, and emotional control. You can support your child to navigate through these difficult transitions by providing environmental, emotional, and sensory supports.
Here, we will go through specific strategies to help your child feel safe and secure during these major changes.
August is a perfect time to start preparing your children for back to school, not just with back-to-school shopping, but also with updating the unstructured routines of summertime. Whether your child is starting kindergarten, transitioning to middle school or high school, or simply changing classrooms, preparation can give them confidence to tackle the unexpected.
Plan a family outing to the playground at your child’s school so they become familiarized with the new environment. If possible, try to plan this outing at the same time, daily, so a new routine is established.
In the weeks leading up to the first day of school, start the bedtime routine earlier to promote healthy and consistent sleep hygiene routines. Ensure wake up time is consistent. Sleep plays a crucial role in executive functioning, and being well rested can help with adaptability to changes.
Involve your child in selecting and organizing school supplies to keep them motivated and excited about the new school year.
In the last few days or summer, serve lunch in their lunch box. They can pretend that they are eating lunch in the cafeteria and practice the new routine of opening and putting away their lunch.
If your child is starting a new afterschool program, consider contacting the facility to tour the environment and schedule a meet and greet with the staff prior to starting.
If your child is starting a new therapy program, like Occupational Therapy (OT), Speech and Language Pathology (SLP), or Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), provide your child with a clear description of what the purpose of the program/service is, and how it might help them in their daily lives. If a child is starting a therapy service for the first time, they might feel overwhelmed and unsure about what to expect. Validating these feelings and offering reassurance can go a long way. Consider watching videos of therapy sessions to help them understand the structure of the program.
For some children, planning skills may not be independent and they can be compensated for by using external tools. There are many benefits to using visual supports, including helping children conceptualize and visualize what to expect in the future. For many children, learning occurs through visual input so these supports may improve receptive communication and understanding as well as provide clarity and predictability to uncertain situations.
Visual schedules may include pictures and times to show what to expect in the new routines before, during, and after school.
Visual task strips can support specific tasks. For example, getting dressed in the colder months may involve additional steps that require visual supports to follow, like putting on a scarf and mittens.
Visual social stories can prepare children for changes in routines. Free downloadable social stories can be found here. You can make your own social stories by using photographs of your child, the people they will be meeting, and their new environments.
Visual maps can be used to plan the route to school or afterschool programming. Maps of the classroom can also be used to provide expectations on where your child will sit, where they can find the teachers desk, and where their cubby is located.
Visual countdowns can be used to set expectations for when changes will occur. Interactive calendars can be beneficial to involve the child in the countdown. Reframe this date as an exciting situation to look forward to.
Sensory input plays a part in emotional and behavioural control. When the sensory systems are regulated, a child is more readily able to respond to unexpected situations and cope with big emotions. Sensory activities may be calming, which can promote effective self-regulation skills. Sensory activities may also be alerting, which can enhance attention and understanding of the transition.
Get to know your child’s sensory preferences and try implementing a sensory diet to develop a consistent and predictable set of activities supporting a smooth transition. Please note that every child is different, so consult with an Occupational Therapist to learn more about your child’s sensory profile and specific strategies to support their needs.
Children who have difficulty with flexibility may also show some challenges with emotional control when presented with changes. Positive coping strategies can be taught and practiced with your children throughout the summer months when the stressors of school are reduced. The best and most effective time to practice coping strategies is when your child is already calm and regulated. This is important for learning and retention of practical skills.
Relaxation techniques, including deep breathing, will support calming and effective self-regulation when presented with a challenging situation such as changes in structure and routine. Many breathing techniques exist, and your child may prefer one over another, so try a few and see what works best for them. Some favourites include:
Mountain breathing: spread fingers apart on one hand and use a finger of the other hand to trance the “mountains”, breathing in on the way up and out on the way down.
Belly breathing: fill up the belly like a balloon with a big breath in, hold the breath with the belly fully inflated, and slowly release the air from the balloon belly.
Smell the flowers and blow the petals: pretend to take a big sniff from the flowers in an imaginary garden and blow away the petals to drift in the wind.
Mindfulness practice can help children stay grounded in the current moment and improve adaptability during changes. Daily mindfulness practice is best for effective coping. A comprehensive list of mindfulness apps for children can be found here. Other screen-free ways to practice mindfulness include:
Start a gratitude journal to shift attention from stressful and unpleasant situations to positive outlooks.
Take a body scan to identify body cues when experiencing different feelings. For example, when feeling frustrated, does the belly feel tight? Do the hands feel sweaty? When feeling happy, does the mouth lift into a smile? Does the head feel calm?
Use the environment and the senses to bring attention away from the unknown and towards the known. List five things you can see, hear, and feel.
Create a safe space that your child can go to calm and regulate. This space may include comforting items like blankets and stuffies. When your child feels regulated, encourage them to bring a preferred item along for the transition.
Executive function is a group of skills that work together to manage everyday tasks and can impact how a child manages transitions and changes in routines. Some of these skills may be more innate while some other can be developed or may require external supports. Examples of skills used in executive functioning include organization, time management, working memory, and task initiation, flexibility, planning and emotional control.
Board games: cooperative game play encourages children to wait and adapt to uncertainty.
Puzzles: jigsaw puzzles, number and letter puzzles, and brain teaser puzzles all support flexibility and problem-solving skills.
Gross motor play: games like Simon says, freeze dance, and obstacle courses improve working memory, impulse control, and flexibility.
Cooking: helping in household tasks promotes the development of skills like task initiation, problem solving, planning, time management, and so much more.
Provide opportunities throughout various tasks and environments to adapt to changes. Small changes might look like changing the chair your child typically sits on at dinner, taking a different route to the park or buying a different brand of crackers. Gradually increase the size of the changes as your child begins to tolerate the small modifications.
You and your children can successfully tackle any transition or change in routine with the appropriate tools under your belt. Try some of the strategies above to support your child in managing the year to come.
For more information on the services provided by Monarch House, visit their website. If you need tutoring services, contact us at TutorBright today!
