Transitioning After the Holidays

The ending of the holidays comes with a lot of change, and change can be rough on children with special needs.

·         The child’s environment will change as decorations all over the city, neighborhood, and house are put away.

·         The child’s schedule of late nights, sleep in mornings, and holiday activities will also be replaced with school and extracurricular activities

·         The child’s interactions will change as family and friends who were visiting return home.

All of this change can be too much and transitioning back to normal can be hard. Over the years several therapists have given us many ideas to help my child transition back into his normal routine:

1.      Prepare-Make visuals and discuss them daily. The best way to transition a child is to prepare them, so there are no surprises.

My son and I make a calendar for each month, and write all of our activities. Our calendar included winter break (highlighted in blue). It showed when visitors were coming and leaving. It also included dates the decorations were put up and taken down. Last, it showed when he went back to school. Every night we mark out a day and discuss our next day to prepare him of what is to come.

We also looked at visuals in back to school social stories. The social stories helped him remember the school routine.

2.      Practice/ Role Play- Days before the change, practice. Practice helps prepare the child for the change.

Three days before the returning to school, we tried to get back towards our normal schedule. We started bath time and bed time earlier and practiced waking up early in the morning to start our day. We then did some role playing to practice what to do at school. Practicing helped my son be prepared to wake up early on the first day back to school.

3.      Say Good-bye to the Holidays- Giving the child a chance to say good bye to the holidays can help with packing items up.

We schedule a party (Three Kings) to end our holiday. The kids know that after the party, we will listen to music while putting away decorations. Creating this routine was not always easy. After doing it for several years, my son knows what to expect. If this is too much for your child, consider putting a few objects away at a time, so the change isn’t too much.

 

4.      Distract- Create a distraction to help ease back to school jitters.

We allowed our son to bring two special objects (a fidget and a new pencil) to school the day he returned to ease his anxiety (talk to the teacher to make sure she/ he is on board). My son was so excited to get to school to try out his new pencil. We also told him that if he had a good day, he would be rewarded with a treat. I put a stamp of a cupcake on his hand to remind him that he would receive a treat if he had a good day and gave it his best.

5.      Stay Positive- It is important that the child hears you being positive about going back to school. If you are nervous about how the transition will go, your energy will transfer to your child.

Here are some positive things I told my son:

·         “You are going to have a great day.”

·         “You love school.”

·         “I bet your teacher misses you and can’t wait to see you.”

·         “I know your friends will be excited to see you.”

·         “You are going to have fun learning new things.”

 

I hope these tips help your child transition from the holidays. This year we are celebrating. It is our first perfect transition after the holidays. My son eased into our normal routine like a champ.  We are so proud of him.