Back to School with a Bang by Dr. Marcia Braden

In addition to the article I posted earlier in the day is this one.  I found it on her “Resources” page.  There is also a lot more articles free to read and download. 

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BACK TO SCHOOL WITH A BANG

by Dr. Marcia Braden

 

My usual topic has been modified to fit the back to school theme because going back to school after a relaxing summer can be quite a challenge. The fact that transitions back to school can be anxiety provoking sets the stage for this column.

 

Summer break usually includes a variety of outdoor experiences, which incorporate physical activity. The school-learning environment is different from the less structured activities of the summer. Even though the imposed structure of the classroom can be somewhat positive, it is the transition of getting ready to go back into the classroom that can makes it difficult.

 

There are several strategies that can be of help in guiding a successful transition. If the student is going back to the same school with the same teaching staff, the transition process is easier and requires less support. When the student changes schools, neighborhoods, or programs the support requires additional strategies.

 

Prior to the start of school, take digital pictures of the school, classroom, playground or school ground and school staff. These pictures can then be incorporated into a story about going back to school. The student can either read or be read the story. Repetition of the story can provide familiarity and predictability, making the unknown or novel experience less intimidating. Another option is to make a video of the school facility along with a welcome message from the teaching staff that will support the student. Other staff members working around the school (janitors, school secretaries and cafeteria staff) should also be included. Watching the school video will become a pastime that is both enjoyable and a positive strategy.

 

Whenever possible, it is helpful to find classmates to accompany the student with FXS when going back to school. This buddy can describe differences to the student with FXS over the phone or internet. Establishing a routine to walk to school with a friend or sibling, ride together in a carpool or school bus is helpful. Routine brings predictability, which is self-calming and reassuring. When the early morning routine becomes habituated, entering the classroom and starting the day, simply becomes an extension of that process.

 

If your child is going back to the same school in the fall, often, social stories can assist in a less direct way while reducing the anxiety created from concern and worry about the upcoming school year. The stories can include a story line about how exciting it is to go back to school. The story can conclude with a description of the strategies mentioned above, list names of classmates and a biography of the new teacher.

 

Beginning the year with a bang can be positive and less intimidating when proactive strategies are employed. It is very important to take time to plan the transition before school starts so that the beginning can prompt a positive outcome. We know that individuals with FXS habituate routines rather quickly, and find comfort in the sameness of the repetition. Making that routine available before the first day of school, will certainly increase the likelihood that the rest of the school year will be positive and productive. Good luck with your transition and may this school year be the best ever.

Have Purpose, Will Transition by Dr. Marcia Braden

I’ve read a lot of blogs lately that involves our kiddos heading to new schools, classrooms, daycares, etc.  I was cleaning out my email last week and ran across this article that Dr. Braden did back in 2005.  I saved it because it gave me some extra ideas on how to help my kids transition and I can share it with their instructors.

I hope that it can help someone out there or the “professional” working with them

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Have Purpose, Will Transition

NFXF Quarterly Winter 2005, Dr. Marcia Braden

Transitions can create havoc in the lives of many with FXS. Anything from changing a driving route to moving into a new house can shake the foundations and cause a behavioral outburst.

During our parent consultation clinics, occupational therapist Tracy Stackhouse, speech/language therapist “Mouse” Scharfenaker and I create significant transitions when we ask parents to bring their children to us. Often, this occurs in a hotel conference room several miles away from the child’s familiar environment. As we have struggled to deal with the fallout from these necessary transitions, we have discovered ways to reduce their impact on behavior. Obviously, this is essential to our ability to evaluate a child’s learning, speech and sensory functioning.

We have found that creating a mission or purpose for the child helps to reduce negative effects of the transition. The child’s commitment to a purpose gives meaning to the transition and reduces the anxiety often created from not understanding why it is happening. If the child has a specific purpose when entering the conference room, the fear of the unknown is replaced with a purpose, and a mission is set.

Our strategies have included asking the child to bring something into the conference room from the front desk (notepad and pencil) or from the restaurant (sugars and creamers) in order to set up a conference room coffee bar. Although somewhat contrived, these strategies can often be more effective in reducing the behavioral fallout from transitions than others described in the literature.

Sometimes, preparing for the transition creates so much anxiety that the child can do nothing but perseverate about it. The upcoming doctor’s appointment, field trip or new day care setting becomes the total focus of conversation. The obsession with the transition becomes yet another behavioral issue to contend with. Again, we may help the child better prepare by having a job for him to perform (setting up a display, filling a box, finishing up a task as part of the field trip, delivering a gift to to the new day care provider). It is critical that the child feels the job or mission is important, and that he has the necessary skills to carry it out.

A case study using this kind of intervention involved a child who had difficulty transitioning from his mother’s car for the morning drop-off at school. He would often hit and kick the paraprofessional assigned to bringing him into the school. A variety of strategies were implemented, and although somewhat helpful, the behavioral episodes did continue intermittently. It was only when the staff created a ritual that was reinforcing to the child that the behavior changed and the transition was tolerated. The transitional ritual required the child to bring pennies from his mother as he left the car, carry the pennies into his classroom, and place them in a bank. The pennies were then exchanged for tickets and other items of interest later in the day. Again, the strategy provided the child with a means (bringing pennies) to an end (achieving a successful transition) that overrode any fear or anxiety created by the transition.

Many books and articles have been written about how to support a child with special needs when making transitions. Such strategies may include (but not be limited to) giving reminders of an upcoming transition, using a timer or hour glass to mark time prior to the transition, singing or playing a song that signals the transition, providing a picture schedule of the daily events with particular emphasis on the changes, and providing a transitional object, picture or toy that might facilitate a smoother transition.

In the case of those with FXS, habituation of a ritual provides the child with the comfort of a recurring routine. It is my experience that people with FXS habituate rituals to mitigate the anxiety they feel about events that have no predictability or consistency. It is the unpredictability of an event that feeds anxiety. Complementing an imminent change with a habituated ritual will shift the focus from the unknown to the known, making the transition more tolerable.

Designating a specific role (delivery person, coffee bar helper, ticket collector, hall monitor, office helper, PE assistant) creates a mission that becomes the focus and overshadows the transition that follows. The success of these strategies depends on the creation of the contrived missions and the consistency of the implementation.