School Transition When you have an autistic child



Starting school is such a huge milestone in a child's life. It can be equally exciting and terrifying for both the child and parents. However if your child is autistic like Blake it can be particularly challenging.


One of my fears is that Blake isn't at all school ready. He isn't as independent as other children for example even though we have tried toilet training Blake a few times now he isn't ready or even have the understanding.  

Blake has been in school since 4th September and unfortunately the school doesn't have the provision for him to be in for more than 30 minutes a day. So this obviously isn't inclusive for him. We are currently in the process of getting an EHCP (educational health care plan) for him and have been having a few different meetings. 

It's sounding very likely that Blake maybe better off moving to a SEN school which obviously will mean going through the transition process all over again.  I thought I'd share some of my tips with you incase you have an autistic child who maybe moving schools soon or still has a year to wait before starting school or maybe you just will find this information useful.




Visiting
It's important for your child to visit the school. Most schools have transition dates which are important for them to go to. We were lucky in Blake's case that the school let us visit twice a week in July before the school broke up for summer. During these visits Blake got to meet his teacher and the lady who is his temp 1 to 1.  I think this really helped him even though he is in only for a short time. 

Uniform 
Buying the uniform together along with his school shoes was a great way for us to explain about going to school. Once we had it all washed and labled it we got him to try it on a few times. Blake was very excited putting it on and still is daily.


Getting to school
Blake school isnt far from our house luckly and during the summer each time we went past I'd point out to him and say your schools down there. This helped with getting him to understand where he would be going. 


Books
I found books a great visual aid for Blake to explain about starting school. I also have some learning picture books for him which we sit and look at together. 

Activities
I've been doing some activities over the summer with him to help with learning. I'm thinking of doing a separate post on this. One of the things we've been doing is sitting together and doing an odd card from the my busy bots I'm starting school flashcards. Another was sitting together and having fun learning with different books on the leapad 3d we've got for him. 



I hope these tips have been helpful have you done anything I've not mentioned? 

Would you like to comment?