Helping your child on the autism spectrum navigate high school
Transitioning into secondary school can be challenging enough for young people, let alone those who have added challenges to grabble with. For those parents with children on the autism spectrum, there is often the accompanying added stress as to how your child will cope in an entirely new environment (when it has often been such a long journey getting them acclimatised to the day to day mechanics of primary school.)
Many secondary schools now have specific special education coordinators and assigned learning assistants to help ease children on the autism spectrum into the new environment of high school. However, it is important for parents to be aware that they shouldn’t simply assume that the school, and associated teachers, will all be on board to cater for the specific needs of your child. As much as we would like to think this may be the case, the reality is that your child is most likely going from a primary school set up of perhaps few hundred students, to a secondary campus with up to one thousand or more students in each year level.
I am sure if you are a parent, this sounds daunting enough. Let alone for your child who needs extra support and reassurance. This is where you, as your child’s advocate, is most important. You will often be that voice for your child in a high school that is often very busy and loud. The following are five key tips for assisting your child through the transition into secondary school from primary school.
Organise additional special needs transition visits
During the latter part of Year 6, your child will (hopefully) take part of a transition program to familiarise themselves with their new secondary school. This will most likely involve an entire day spent at the school, attending a few taster classes in different subjects, and familiarising themselves with the layout of the school, meeting other students new to year 7 and meeting teachers. For a child on the autism spectrum, this is a LOT to take in over the course of one day. They are highly likely to be overwhelmed at receiving so much new information in one day, as well as the newness of the environment. For this reason, it is highly recommended that an additional three or four visits to the high school are organised during the second half of year 6. This may well be organised by your child’s primary school teacher, but may also be facilitated by the secondary school through the Special Needs Coordinator, Head of Wellbeing or Assistant Principal. The recommendation is, try and organise as many visits as possible.
Each visit will provide familiarity for your child and assist in easing anxiety about what to expect at high school. It will also allow them to familiarise themselves with the different subjects and trying new activities as well as classrooms they will be expected to attend. Remember, your child will be most used to the structure of Primary School where they have one class teacher and spend a great deal of time in the one classroom in a highly structured environment.
Overall, we are wanting to provide a soft start for our children on the autism spectrum. High School can be a huge trigger for anxiety in children with additional needs. More practice and familiarity can be of great benefit.
Executive Function Challenges
For children on the autism spectrum, executive function challenges (the ability to plan, order, and carry out tasks) being organised, remembering what to bring to class and what needs to come home in the school bag can add to the stress of high school. It is helpful for parents to seek advice from a Occupational Therapist within the school community. They can help develop helpful strategies for getting organised particularly in the cases of children with extreme executive functional challenges. What we want to achieve here is for your child to develop organisational capacity. That is, they use many strategies and tools that are available to find what works best for them to help them be organised. A child with executive function challenges, this does not come naturally or easy to them and can be a source of endless frustration- both for the child themselves and for you as their parent.
For children on the spectrum, the following skills and strategies can be particularly helpful to practice and hopefully develop greater confidence in, before beginning high school:
Packing their own bag for school the night before- with a visual prompt to get their lunch box from the fridge and pack it into their school bag in the morning before departing for school.
Use of visual reminders, charts and checklists to help remind your child of things to remember to pack for school.
Use of alarm clock to be able to get themselves up and dressed for school each morning
Practice using a school diary in the final year of primary school so this is one less thing to learn in high school.
Colour coding of school books. For a child that struggles with organisation, high school doesn’t make it easier with the increase in the number of textbooks and binder books they are expected to lug around. Despite the trend in a greater use of technology in place of some text books, there is still the challenge of keeping track of the school books.
Colour coding books in reference to different subjects is a simple method for your child to identify which books to bring to which class. For example, use red dots for any English related books, blue dots for Science, and yellow dots for math’s. All your child needs then is a visual key- which can be glued into their school diary or stuck to the inside of their school locker to remind them which books need to go with them to a particular class.
Allow Regulation and Down time
This is all about providing a balance between the pressures of high school as well as giving your child’s mind and body some reprieve. For those children on the autism spectrum, it is especially important that activities that bring them joy, are built into their week. These may include dancing, drawing, music or gaming. It’s also important that activities that constitute ‘heavy work’ are also incorporated into their weekly, if not, daily schedule. Any activities that use all of their core muscles can help to reduce anxiety. Basically, any activity that uses pressure such as:
Jumping on a trampoline
Going for a walk
Going for a run
Any activity that requires pushing or pulling
Bike Riding
Climbing
Wrestling (under supervision)
Big, strong hugs (if they allow this)
Tight squeezes from mum or dad
Communication- Ensure that every teacher is aware of ASD diagnosis
Whilst you would hope that every teacher that will encounter your child during their high school experience will have received a detailed file on your child’s ASD diagnosis and specific requirements for ensuring a smooth transition for each class- in many cases, this is sadly not the case. This is not for lack of care by teachers by any means. The simple fact is, your child may be one of a thousand new students in the high school, many with varying degrees of special support required. So the best you can do is be your child’s greatest advocate as they begin their high school experience. Any formal information about your child’s ASD diagnosis, testing results, and documented strategies that have been adopted by previous teachers in primary school can also be invaluable for new teachers especially if your child does not receive any formal funding.
However, again, please be realistic. If there are over a thousand Year 7 students and thirty or more with special learning needs- this could very well be a great deal of information for teachers to read through and process. Anything you can do to provide simple guidelines and strategies for teachers can all help provide the process for your child. As teachers, we can only act on the information we have.
Regular emails (not demanding) to your child’s teachers can be really helpful in keeping the lines of communication open, especially when it comes to homework and other work requirements. If your child is part of a supportive team that involves the parent, teacher, ed support staff and themselves, they have a much higher chance of success.
Many schools organise a document called ‘All About Me’ or a similar document that is passed on to the specific teachers in High School to get to know new students. This provides a valuable framework for your child to communicate their strengths and challenges.
All behaviour is communication
Be observant for changes in behaviour with your child that could indicate issues at high school, in particular, bullying. Many kids on the spectrum are not able to ‘join the dots’ in order to recognise behaviour towards them as bullying. This can be the case due to children with ASD having a literal interpretation and often trusting nature. They will often accept the ‘spin’ or narrative that is given by the bully regarding their behaviour that they are ‘Just joking’ or ‘We’re just having fun.’
This is why it can be important to break things down with your child about their day.
Who did they play with?
What did they do at recess?
Did anything worry you?
Behaviour is often the key indicator that something is not going well for your child at high school. These can include:
Withdrawal
Aggression
Increased tiredness
Avoidance of any form of demand
Anxiety symptoms such as stomach aches, headaches and nausea
School refusal
Communicating any concerning events involving your child as soon as you become aware is important, even if it doesn’t entirely make sense. Often events recalled by your child can be like a jigsaw puzzle that may have to have several pieces presented in order for it to fully make sense.
Finally, remember that you are the best support and advocate for your child as they begin and continue their high school experience. They can thrive with the right supports and structures in place so the more pre work you can do before they begin, the better. Continue to encourage them and watch them shine.
Helpful ASD Resources to help your child navigate High School
The ‘I Can Network’
Yellow Lady Bugs
Occupational Therapy