Asperger's Syndrome and Transition Difficulties

Transition is defined as "passage from one form, state, style, or place to another". A characteristic common to children/adults with Asperger's Syndrome is the difficulty they experience with making transitions. For neurotypicals the transition process happens effortlessly (without us noticing), countless times a day. So it can be challenging for parents/carers/teachers to comprehend the impact that problems with transition create for those with Asperger's Syndrome. Transitions occur in an Asperger child's physical environment from the moment they open their eyes each morning. >From bed to breakfast table to living room. From pyjamas to school uniform. From bare feet to socks and shoes. (Keep in mind the sensory transition from comfortable PJ's to crisp, clean school clothes; bare, cool feet to enclosed, clammy feet.) Feeling empty (hunger) to feeling full. Be aware that when you call your Asperger child away from the television to brush their teeth, the transition involves:- Stopping the visual/auditory processing of watching T.V.; Physically moving from living room to bathroom; Visually processing the bathroom environment; and The taste in their mouth changing from morning breath to fresh, minty breath. For your Asperger child, the simple act of going to school involves multiple transitions:- From home to car/bus (processing the passing scenery of the journey) to school. Have you ever noticed that your Asperger child seems reluctant/slow to get out of the car/bus at school and doesn't seem to hear your last-minute instructions? That's because all their energy is focused on processing the transition. (A better time to give last minute instructions would be at the beginning of the car journey.) Once your Asperger child arrives at school, transitions continue to bombard his/her processing system. From the school grounds/corridors to inside the classroom; from classroom to recess area; recess area to playground; playground to classroom and so on. At the end of the school day your Asperger child must cope with the transition from classroom to car/bus to home. So how do we parents/carers/teachers help minimize the impact transition has on our Asperger children? The responsibility is on us to be able to recognize every transition our Asperger children are faced with each and every day, and allow them time to process/catch up with their environment. We also need to understand that on some days for our Asperger children, too many transitions can lead to overload and meltdown. We must also accept that our Asperger child won't "grow out" of having difficulty with transition - it will be an ever-present challenge in their lives. Our awareness of transition difficulties will mean we can facilitate this Asperger characteristic by allowing extra time for our children to process their transitions. This understanding will also guide us as to when our Asperger child is the most receptive to hearing instructions or important information we have to impart to them. In this way we can minimize their transition difficulty and maximize their learning outcomes. www.nellefrances.com/tips1.html