ASD: transitioning between activities

• Help your child with ASD to stop one activity and go on to another
• Less desirable activity first, followed by a preferred activity

One enduring symptom of my son’s autism is his struggles over transitioning from one activity to another.

Here is what I do at home to help.

Why is transitioning difficult?

For my son, and I believe for many other children with autism, the difficulty in transitioning is partly due to his strong preferences for certain activities over others, and partly due to a resistance to change.

After years of observation and insight from his teachers and therapists, I’ve come to understand that that this resistance often stems from the anxiety he feels in not fully comprehending what is about to happen next.

I think there are several reasons for this: he is not good at reading the context of the situation; he is not able to draw on past experience to predict what is likely to happen; and he is not able to sense the nuance of the words being spoken to him.

He is anxious because he wants to know:
Does he have to stop the activity right now?
Will he ever be allowed to do it again?
How long is the new activity going to last?
How tricky is this new activity and what happens after?

Make a visual prompt

To ease his anxiety and answer some of the questions above, we use visual prompts at home to set out expectations clearly for my son.

Here is what I did in the early days before he could read:

1. On a piece of paper, write one column with the heading First, then another column with the heading Then.
2. Under each column, draw or stick an illustration or photo of the activities. For example:
   – First studying, then playground
   – Brush teeth, then TV
   – Doctor, then cake shop
   – Maths, then drawing app
   – Drawing on the app, then drawing on paper

You can use this simple technique for transitioning between big activities that take up half the day (eg shopping, then dentist), or between small segments within a single 20-minute activity (eg buy vegetables, then buy bread).

As my son learned to read, we progressed to using words under then First-Then headings, and increased the flow chart to cover multiple activities throughout the day. We also wrote times (eg 3pm playground, 5pm dinner) so that he could understand when the transitions would take place.

Now that he is older, my son is obsessed with looking at his watch, and expects the day to run exactly to schedule!

Less desirable activity first

I’ve found that it’s more effective to put the less desirable activity first (eg brushing teeth, doctor, studying), followed by the more desirable activity (eg playground, TV, snack).

This is because my son often doesn’t mind doing the less desirable activity as much as his immediate reaction might suggest. He often resists, almost by default, because he is not sure what comes after.

If I can reassure him that a more fun activity is set and waiting, he is often willing to do the ‘less desirable’ activity first.

Move promptly between activities

Once your child understands the plan, try to move promptly between the two activities. This is so that your child will learn to trust that what you agreed on will be carried through.

In order for the transition to go smoothly, look up routes beforehand, gather everything you need and give yourself plenty of time. Too much time spent looking for things or waiting around will create doubt and confusion in your child’s mind.

Make a clear, smooth, prompt transition, reassuring your child verbally over and over again that ‘Yes, we are doing [the next activity] now.’

Once the trust is built, then hopefully your child will be more tolerant of slower transitions and unexpected events, which are inevitable in life!

Summary

Create a ‘First – Then’ visual flow chart, ideally with the less desirable activity first.

Make a clean, prompt transition between the activities.