Transitioning can be difficult for those on the autism spectrum. To help soothe and help build emotional regulation and resilience, practice is a MUST!
So a choice board is for quick activities for THEM to choose. It’s building from the skills they should already be working on from using a First and Then chart.
BUT if you are new and think they are ready for this level, feel free to start here as well.
- Activities need to be short and sweet. 5-10 minutes max
- Activities need to be FUN, the point is to practice stopping, even if they want to continue the task
- Use a visual timer to help keep them on track, here is a link to the one I use -> Free Shapes Visual Timer
Transitioning is hard and you can see improvement but notice it re-triggers during “Fun” activities or activities where there is more change of going off the “script”, like art and music.
If you are like me, your child could be completely “graduated” from transition charts BUT still need them specifically for art/music/exercise.
Practicing transitioning is never a gentle ride, but you can help your child think fondly of these moments by being positive, gentle, and fun.
Kids don’t always remember the details of what happened, but they will remember how you made them feel.
They will recover from the practice as long as their overall perspective is “I had fun.”
Let your child lead you, if it ever becomes too much, go back to following your daily routine for a week or two and then try again.
