“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go?

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,”  said the Cat.

                                                         - Alice In Wonderland

Transition is the natural movement from one activity or event to another, or from one stage of life to the next.   All of us experience minor  transitions every day of our lives, but as a parent, we shudder to think  about the effect of even these small transitions on our children.  Changes like leaving an activity, getting into or out of your car,  changing a care giver, even on schedule, can be traumatic for individuals with special needs.   If these small transitions can  be challenging without a great deal of support, imagine how overwhelming  the stress and anxiety will be when your child is expected to make much more significant  transitions.    Leaving school where they have been sheltered for 13 or even 14 years, or leaving the family home for semi- or fully independent living arrangements can be  significant enough to cause family breakdowns.   Families agonize over what will happen to their child with the onset of these two major periods of transition.  

 

As your children move through school,  the most effective teachers help them to deal with the  series of increasingly challenging transitions leading to adulthood.  They do this by developing supports that are used in the school and community and sometimes at home.  They teach your child strategies for reducing anxiety and increase their ability to move smoothly between classes and activities.  But who does this for these young people as they leave the school system?