Preparing Your Family for Transition

(FACTS/LRE grants permission for photocopying of this handout.)

Transition can be an exciting time, one that can provide new opportunities for your child and family. It also can be a time of great change and adjustment. Your child or family may need to adjust to new teachers and therapists, new children, different schedules and daily routines, new classroom activities, and new options for parent involvement. You may find that both you and your child experience separation anxiety. It may be hard to "let go" of the staff and services in the early intervention program and to learn to trust and communicate with new staff. Your family may need to learn about the public school system, your child's and family's rights, new evaluations and technical terms, and how to advocate for your child when necessary.

All children and families make adjustments during transition. The amount of time required for these adjustments varies across children, families, and programs. It is normal to experience some uncertainty and with that, some stress during transition. This is true for all families and children who start a new program, regardless of whether the child has special needs. Families who participate in transition planning report reduced stress. Strategies that families have used to prepare their child are provided in Handout 3. Some strategies that families have used to prepare for transition are listed below.

• Plan ahead for transition. Don't wait until the last minute to begin thinking about transition. Give yourself and your family time to make decisions and adjust to the changes that will occur.
• Realize that stress, uncertainty, and separation anxiety are normal emotions. Many, if not all, parents experience these feelings when their child starts preschool or kindergarten.
• Ask questions throughout the transition process. You have a right to obtain information about transition and to be involved in the transition planning.
• Attend transition planning meetings. Share information with the team about your child and your family, your resources, your priorities, and any concerns that you may have.
• Talk with other families who have made the transition from early intervention to preschool programs.
• Talk with members of your family about transition and some of the changes that may occur.
• Learn about your child's and family's rights, how to interact with new program staff, and how to advocate for your child in the new program.
• Visit different programs to help select the program that best meets your child's needs.
• Try to identify aspects of the new program that may be different or difficult for your child and give your child experiences with these aspects before the new program begins. For example, if you think that your child will have trouble working or playing alone, you might give your child an opportunity to play alone for short periods of time each day.