Mental Health Minute
Associated Clinic of Psychology
Back To School Transitions
Change is hard for most because humans are creatures of habit! Those with underlying disorders, such as ADHD, Anxiety, or ASD, may have an even harder time with transitions due to the need for predicability, a tendency for rigid thinking, or decreased attention issues. And let's be honest here: who DOESN'T have anxiety these days?! Ask any teacher, the transition to school every year is a struggle. With the right support, children and adolescents can learn to transition seamlessly!
What To Look For:
- resisting
- refusals
- avoiding
- withdrawal
- distraction
- negotiating
- stalling
- crying
- whining
- tantrums
- meltdowns
Make A Routine
Having a predictable schedule or routines can help kids feel like their lives are more structured and creates a sense of reassurance. This is true for adults, too! It's good to have some structure to the mornings to help decrease anxiety before the morning transition to school; in the afternoons to help decrease the chaos of unstructured time compared to the structure of school; and night routines to help with good and less stimulated sleep. Don't forget to turn those screens off well before bedtime to help those brains to be able to shut off!
Add In Rehearsals
In addition to routines, rehearsing is key! Previewing what is to come can help with the anxiety of the unexpected. For teachers, this may look like going over what the schedule is for the day/class period and giving reminders for upcoming work submissions. For parents, reviewing what after school consists of (e.g. "I need you to do your homework, clean your room, then we have dinner, and then we'll go to soccer practice") can be helpful for creating structure at home and setting clear expectations for the day.
Auditory Prompts
Everyone has different learning styles and lots of people are auditory learners. Give your day a soundtrack by counting down to give reminders for when the transition will happen. For little learners, even adding in a song (e.g. the "clean up" song) can assist you in a fun way to use auditory cues for transitions. For teachers, this might look like giving countdown reminders before transitions will happen (e.g. 5 minutes until [insert phrase here].) For parents, giving your own countdowns (e.g. "two minutes until we leave for practice") can be helpful for being proactive with the transition and lowering the risk of transition issues once that time comes.
Visual Cues
Visual cues are also helpful for decreasing the anxiety of "what's next?" Being able to cue children and adolescents to follow their visual schedule will help with the feeling of being a broken record with specific requests. For older students, a written out schedule in multiple places (in their room, in the main living area at home, in their planner, etc.) can be helpful subtle reminders to them on what the expectation of the day is. The same is helpful for younger learners; for those that are unable to read, graphics of those tasks are a great alternative. Pro tip: take photos of the child doing the task and add those pictures to the visual schedule so that the child can better understand what the expectation is!
Attention Grabber
Especially for those more squirrel-y kiddos, it is important to make a connection to ensure you have their attention. Yelling from the other side of the room will only lead to frustration on all sides and will simply not work. Ensure you have their attention by getting eye contact, sitting next to the child, asking them to repeat back what you just said, or simply putting your hand on their shoulder until they acknowledge you. Once you have their attention in a positive manner, the likelihood of them transitioning in a calmer way increases.
Reward Implementation
Using rewards is like a visual cue but with a tangible component and rewards can really be an effective tool for seamless transitions. Use stickers, small snacks, or a point system that leads to tangible rewards to "catch them" when they have a positive transition. It's positive reinforcement! Once the child has a handle on healthy transitions, you can phase the rewards out.
Appropriate Consequences
What happens when a transition is not going well? Pay less attention to it. It is recommended to ignore it if they are making any type of effort to transition; we don't want to give attention to negative behavior. Active Ignoring is a technique where you ignore an undesired behavior until you catch the child displaying positive behavior (even by accident!) If the behavior becomes egregious, using appropriate consequences for that behavior is important to help the child learn that the unexpected behavior is off limits.
Praise Successes
Fantastic job getting to the last tip on transitions!! Feels good, doesn't it? Pass on those positive vibes and verbally recognize when things go well. Be specific in the praise and even follow up with a reward when it is appropriate (i.e. extra choice time). Take the opportunity to enthusiastically relay what they did well in a smooth transition and remind them of the positive result of the success (e.g. "I really like how you got off the iPad the first time I asked; now we have more time to go outside").
HELP IS AVAILABLE
If you notice significant changes in your child’s behavior, such as sleep problems, major appetite changes, behavior or mood changes, or anxiety that makes it difficult for them to function, seek out support and consultation.
Associated Clinic of Psychology is here to provide mental health services to students and their families. Consult with your child's school counselor or contact us directly with questions. www.acp-mn.com or 612-455-8643
This edition of the Mental Health Minute was completed by Sarah Najafalipour, MA, LPCC