Managing Transitions

6 min read

Leaving the park. Stopping a video game. Getting ready for school. For many autistic children, transitions between activities are the hardest part of the day.

Why Transitions Are Hard

• Difficulty shifting attention: Autistic brains often "lock on" to current activities. Switching requires significant cognitive effort.
• Unpredictability: What comes next may feel uncertain or unknown.
• Losing something good: Leaving a preferred activity feels like loss.
• Sensory adjustment: New environments require sensory recalibration.
• Time blindness: Understanding how much time has passed or remains is difficult.

Strategies That Help

• Visual schedules: Seeing what's coming reduces uncertainty.
• Warnings: "5 more minutes" → "2 more minutes" → "1 more minute" → "Time to go."
• Visual timers: Make time visible, not abstract.
• First/Then boards: "First shoes, then car, then playground."
• Transition objects: Something to carry from one activity to the next.
• Consistent sequences: Same order of events creates predictability.
• Give control where possible: "Do you want to leave now or in 2 minutes?"

When Transitions Are Unavoidable

Sometimes transitions happen suddenly. In those moments:

• Stay calm yourself
• Keep language simple and direct
• Avoid lengthy explanations
• Acknowledge their difficulty: "I know this is hard"
• Offer comfort, not lectures

Track Transition Difficulties

Note which transitions are hardest. Patterns often reveal whether it's about the activity being left, the activity coming, or something about the specific transition itself.