Supporting someone with autism transition or go back to school

Whether you’re a parent or carer for an autistic young person, it can be hard to go from the long summer holidays back to a routine in school, or when your loved one transitions to another educational setting.

Preparing for change

It’s a good idea to get in touch with the school to inform them of the needs of your loved one prior to them starting school. You can request visits to the institute before they officially start their term. This can help them ease into their new surroundings and routine. If possible, see if the educational setting will let them meet teachers and key staff members prior to the start of term. This can help familiarise themselves with the people they’ll be spending time with as well as relieve any anxiety they might be having.

Communicating with academic staff

Share any information that the academic staff will find useful when the young person starts the term. This could be their triggers, dislikes, likes as well as educational challenges and anxieties. You can have a key worker or transition coordinator who can help prepare you both and provide support throughout the process [i].

Supporting the change

The National Autistic Society has listed some things to think about when supporting the change in your child\’s routine [ii]:

• Keep familiar things close to your loved one and make sure you communicate clearly with them.
• Give specific instructions, without using gestures or specific facial expressions. This will help them to process what is being said to them.

Leaving school, college or university

Leaving an educational setting to move up to the next stage is a monumental moment in any young person’s life. For an autistic person, the change in environment, routine and people can be incredibly daunting and trigger anxiety. Here are some key things to think about when your loved one is moving educational settings:

• As with any school transition, it’s worthwhile communicating to key staff members about the needs of the autistic person and request they meet them prior to starting at the institute.
• Look into financial support and social care support that you and your loved one could be entitled to while studying. Have a look on the GOV.UK website to find out more about educational support they can access.
• Most educational settings offer induction days or open days which you can attend with your loved one. These events are the perfect time to talk with staff members and other student bodies to see what support is available for autistic people. You can also call and request a private tour if this would benefit you both.

The next steps

When your loved one is transitioning from one educational setting to another, it’s important to have their best interests at heart. They may have already discussed with you what they want to do after they have finished education and therefore the next steps will be more clear. However, if your loved one is either unsure of what to do next or unable to communicate their wishes, it makes it harder to figure out what to do next. How your loved one communicates should not be a barrier to them contributing to this decision. The National Autistic Society has given advice on the best way to involve autistic people in important decision making. If the young person doesn’t have the capacity to make their own decisions, professionals and yourself can find creative ways to engage with them. This can be such things as visual supports, and assessing and recording their reaction as evidence. An advocacy service may also be able to help young people express their views [iii].