Transcript
0:00 so when a transition is coming whether they're two or whether they're 17 we've still got to let them know it's coming things are about to change so I remember I was in a classroom in Kentucky and it was in a classroom of all children with special needs who were in standers who were you know in wheelchairs had some significant challenges and there was one little girl and she was wanting to play dress up and she was dressed up like
0:26 Ariel and she was dancing around the circle time and she was dancing to the music and she would push the button on the T it was a tape player that's how old it was but she would press the music and she would dance around but every day when it was time for the transition she would have a meltdown so I said to the teacher have you given her a transition warning and she said well no what do you
0:46 mean and so this is the one that I used for her and I have also used in my classroom when I didn't her in classrooms where I don't have a visual timer with me is I walked over and I just drew three squares just like this and what I did was was is I walked over and I said we'll say her name was Kristen and I walked over and I said Kristen you have this much time this
1:08 much time until it's going to be time to turn off the music and clean up this much time and so she just kind of looked at me and she kept doing her own thing and then I walked away and I came back in just a few minutes and I said Kristen I'm going to color one square in you have this much time left this much time until it's going to be time to stop and clean up and she looked at me and then
1:35 she kept doing what she was doing I went right back I mean it's however much time you have I went right back and I gave her the visual colored another one in Kristen you have this much time until it's time to stop and clean up by the time I got to the third one I said Kristen your time dancing in your aerial dress is over it it's time to pick up the toys and put them in the basket and
2:04 she immediately looked at me and she stopped and she cleaned up the teacher said it was like a miracle which it really wasn't we just gave her what she needed to be successful predictability feels safe and when children feel safe they're able to look at us to make eye contact to be in relationship with us which enables them to problem solve I gave her the tools she needed and so then she was able to actually follow
2:30 through with what it was that we wanted her to follow through now did that mean that it worked the next time no it might but you might have to come up with another strategy so this is one that you use and again the brain likes predictability but it also likes novelty so you know check it out with each one of your children and see what they need
Summary
- Transition warnings are crucial for children, especially those with special needs.
- A visual timer can effectively communicate time remaining for an activity.
- The speaker shares a personal example of helping a child named Kristen transition from playtime to cleanup.
- Predictability creates a sense of safety, allowing children to engage more effectively.
- Each child may require different strategies for successful transitions.
- The brain responds well to both predictability and novelty, suggesting a need for varied approaches.
- Building relationships through eye contact and engagement is essential for problem-solving.