Starting school with ASD. Transition experiences please?

[StrikeUpTheBand]

DD is starting in reception in September. Today I had the meeting about her transition, and now I am pondering. She currently has 1-1 when she is at nursery, and that will continue with half of the day, with a new person working with her in the mornings. DD really finds change hard, so this is good, except the plan is to have her start mornings only for a while, but this will be with a new person as her current one will only be there with her afternoons. She is also down to be one of the last to start, the idea being that the other children will be settled first. However, when she started nursery she started first with the first few children and this worked well as she can be overwhelmed by lots of noise when things are new.

Can anyone tell me their experiences of settling in to a full school day with a child with ASD who struggles with change? I don't mind her starting last particularly, but that with a new time of day, new classroom, and especially a new adult will be too much I think .

With ds who has hfa he started with the whole day with everyone else as it was all we were offered . I would definitely make sure the support is in place as this is where we failed ds utterly . Good luck

Dd3 was fine with half days, which she did for a week but then fell apart when she went full time.

However she didnt have a dx, or any support and the school were convinced there was nothing wrong!

They just couldnt understand why she kept vomitting on their new carpet

I would try to do very small steps. Is the new one to one going to come to nursery to get to know her?

Good luck

Thank you so much for all the replies.

I don't think they have even interviewed for a new 1-1 yet. She has been at the nursery for longer than a year so she is used to doing the afternoons. She will have a chance to go in to the new classroom in the next few weeks and she knows people working in there a little. When changes have happened innthe past she has reacted badly though.

Ds1 started with mornings only, like the rest of the class. When the rest of the children moved to full time after a couple of weeks, ds1 stayed part-time at first.

He built up to full days by doing a full day on a Monday and half-days the rest of the week. The following week he did full days on Monday and Tuesday, adding an extra day each week.

Ds2 was/is the most resistant to change but was fine with moving to full-time at the same time as the rest of the class.

There is no problem with having her in half days but they prefer her in mornings. I agree mornings would be better - but think that starting with mornings with a new 1:1 might not be ideal with all the other changes?

Also, does anybody else with a very fussy eater have any ideas whether they are going to have the free school dinner that is being offered or just go on sandwiches? DD would be ideal for sandwiches seeing that bread, fruit and cheese etc are basically all she reliably eats.

If it were me, I'd ask them to start her as one of the first, because that worked for her last time and the class is smaller - less noise, stimulation, etc. However, I'd ask for her to start in the afternoons, so she can be with the 1:1 she is used to.

As your dd is disabled, the school has to make reasonable adjustments - and saying the plan is to get the others settled first, sounds to me, like they are putting the needs of the nt children first and your daughter last. Why do they get the benefit of settling into a smaller, quieter class and she won't? Why does she have to start in the mornings? I don't see how their plan is considering your dd's additional needs at all - it looks too rigid to me, when what they need is some lateral thinking.

IMO, SEN children (with learning difficulties anyway) are all about lateral thinking in most aspects of their life - well, we can all carry on with our own plans, but we have to be prepared for the major meltdown/mainstream failure. Much easier to get into their mindset, as it makes everybody's life less stressful in the long run!

When DD started reception she had a slightly longer run in period up to full days. She was undiagnosed at that point (now as ASD label) but was practically non verbal.
I can't remember if she was one of the first, middle or last to start but she was only just 4 and still in pull ups.
Unofficially she had a lot of assistance with practical skills, washing hands, eating lunch, lining up etc but she coped really well and actually thrived on the extra routine in reception.

See, at our school they go straight in full time but they do a staggered start over a week. They have the new kids in first. DD is in the correct group if she were NT. She does also have a 1-1. I am not sure - I think she will take the change of person very badly with everything else to deal with.

How long would people have her going part time for?

PolterGoose, that sounds good and if DD's school went in for that it would be ok with me ( although lots of parents of NT children would complain no doubt as they seem to do!).

Tempe, I agree. They've had her all this time at nursery, she knows the 1-1...shame they don't use this familiarity to their (and DD's) advantage.

Glittery, that's good to hear that your DD enjoyed the e tra routine. DD loves nursery even though she struggles with anxiety at times of change. I am happy with the school generally but I worry about making sure DD has a good start after all the work put in so far to get her used to being away from me.

Coppertop, thanks, just saw your message. Did your DS find it ok to change between full and half days over the week. That might confuse DD I think!

Autumnsmum and Ineedmorepatience, did your children have any 1-1 support at the time? What went wrong do you think?

Hi although ds was diagnosed with hfa at three we were told he wouldn't need a statement or extra support , his anxieties went sky high about changing for p.e as an example , a big problem was the one to one for another child was being used to cover the whole class. It's fantastic you are thinking through any potential issues now

My DS had quite a long build-up to full days, he did half days for the first half of term and then added an afternoon each week like coppertop's DS, so he wasn't full time until nearly Christmas.

The school did a transition booklet with pictures of the classroom, toilets, teacher, way in to school etc which was really useful for DS to look through during the holidays.

One thing I wish I'd done is discuss in advance with the SENCO and class teacher the possibility that DS might mask his difficulties at school & only show his anxiety at home. Because I didn't do that, when he was anxious at home they kept telling me he was fine at school and basically didn't believe me that school was the problem.

Ds was okay with the change. He had a visual timetable at home and at school so that he would always know what he would be doing that day.

My DS starts in September too. There is talk of him doing half days until he turns 5 in December. He has been spending one morning a week in his new class since the beginning of June so that the staff and surroundings are all very familiar to him when he starts in September which I think will make a big difference.

My DD started P1 (YR equivalent) last September. DD's statement process was underway before she started pre-school, so she although she didn't have one-to-one there, she coped because the pre-school had a high adult to child ratio, and her key-worker had much experience of ASD.
During the SA process, the EP observed her at pre-school, and recommended that she should start primary school on the first day, so that she would have plenty of time to settle in. The school followed the EP's recommendation, because they sent me a note in June advising that DD would be starting on the first day of the September term, without me having to ask them to facilitate this. It is a class of 22, and the other children phased in over a two week period. The SENCO also arranged for DD to visit the school in June so that DD could meet her teacher by herself. She started full days straight away, and settled in really well.
Her statement wasn't finalised when she started in September, so the school arranged funding to employ a one-to-one on a temporary basis, until the statement was finalised in November. We're in NI though, so our school system here is a bit different, to say the least . DD's school has very low numbers on the SEN register, but I can't fault the provision they have made for her. She is included in everything, and her teacher and TA have been amazing.
I have to admit I'm curious as to why your DD's school think that her being the last to start, so that the other children will be settled in, will be beneficial to your DD? It might be worth asking them to reconsider, particularly as starting on the first day helped your DD to settle into pre-school. Likewise with their mornings only suggestion; you have mentioned that your DD is used to afternoons already in pre-school. Surely the school could try all day from the start - if doesn't work well for your DD, then it can be reviewed.
Good luck to you both for September