Contents
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Online Resource Transition Package 3
An introduction to ASD 4
Transition 5
Journey to Prep 6
Transition planning 8
Transition timeline 8
The transition team 9
Developing transition goals 11
Transition activities 11
Reviewing the transition journey 13
Transition information for educators 14
Getting to know the individual 15
Developing an individual profile 15
Example of an individual profile 16
Information gathering tools 16
Developing effective partnerships with parents 17
My new school 18
Rationale 18
Using the child's preferred learning style 18
Tips for developing a new school story 18
The sample template 19
Sharing my new school story 19
Further information 19
Further learning and support 20
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Online Resource Transition Package
The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Online Resource Transition Package is a joint project between the:
· Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE)
http://education.qld.gov.au/
· AEIOU Foundation
http://aeiou.org.au/
· Autism Queensland (AQ)
http://www.autismqld.com.au/
Consultation and collaboration has also occurred with the Department of Communities, ChildSafety andDisability Services. http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/disability?icn=homepage-links&ici=features-disability.
The online resource package has been developed to assist early intervention service providers (e.g.AQ and AEIOU) and parents and teachers (Kindergarten and Prep) by providing information and resources to support children with ASD transition into Queensland schools.
The resource aims to provide a broad understanding of the support available for children and young people with ASD.
The information is divided into sections relevant to families and educators, as well as information regarding further learning and support.
The package is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/.
If you require specific information regarding your individual circumstances, the following contacts/information may be a good starting point:
· Further learning and support section of the website
http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/support/index.html
· Education for children with a disability - a guide for parents
http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/learning/disability/parentguide/index.html
· Education Queensland Regional Office for any questions regarding state schools
http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/about/district.html
· Autism Advisors for information regarding support and services for families and carers
http://www.autismqld.com.au/page/98/Autism-Advisor-Program
· Autism Queensland Information and Helpline
http://www.autismqld.com.au/page/47/Information-and-Helpline
An introduction to ASD
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability. People with ASD have:
· difficulties with reciprocal social interactions (they may have difficulties interacting with other people following the usual social customs)
· difficulties developing communication skills
· stereotyped and repetitive behaviour or interests (an intense interest in limited topics or patterns of behaviour such as lining up objects).
Many people with ASD have different sensory processing patterns (such as finding some noises painful) and this can affect how they access and participate in school and the community.
Each person with ASD is a unique individual with their own interests, strengths and personality even though they share the characteristics listed above.
Educators need to be aware of the strengths and barriers for each student with ASD, as they need to with all students, so that they can provide the best educational outcomes.
More information regarding the characteristics of ASD, diagnosis, prevalence and support may be found at:
· Education Queensland http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/learning/disability/generalinfo/asd/index.html
· AEIOU
http://aeiou.org.au/
· Autism Queensland
http://www.autismqld.com.au/
· Positive Partnerships - Supporting school aged students on the autism spectrum http://www.autismtraining.com.au/public/index.cfm?action=showPublicContent&assetCategoryId=686
· Raising Children Network http://raisingchildren.net.au/children_with_autism/children_with_autism_landing.html
· Further learning and support
http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/support/index.html
· Early childhood support services for children with ASD
http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/families/early-childhood-support.html
Transition
Transitioning to Prep is an important journey. For many children, the commencement of kindergarten is part of their journey to Prep. Early childhood experts agree that a quality kindergarten program develops children's learning and physical abilities and helps them prepare for school.
The transition section of this online resource package contains practical information to assist in guiding families and educators through the process of successfully transitioning a child with ASD to Prep. Transition is about key stakeholders working together to ensure that the child's journey to formal school occurs in a supportive and positive environment and is as smooth as possible.
This package contains a number of resources designed to assist you in the process of transition from the initial planning phase through to the reflection of the transition journey. In many cases, the information contained in this section can be used to enhance and develop transition practices that are already in place.
Active engagement in the process is supported through a range of documentation which helps to formalise discussions. Formalising a plan and recording key roles, responsibilities and actions ensures that all stakeholders are moving in the same direction with the focus being on the child.
Within the transition process, there are several key factors that should be kept in mind. These include:
· allowing time to plan
· ensuring regular and open communication with all relevant stakeholders
· working within a team throughout the transition period to share responsibilities
· ensuring that the transition plan and process is individualised to the needs of the child, family and school setting.
Transition information and resources are grouped as follows:
· Transition booklet: My journey to Prep
· Transition planning
· Transition information for educators
· My new school story.
Information on selecting a school is available at School options for your child in the families section of this web resource at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/families/school_options.html.
Further information regarding continuing successfully after the transitions process is available at Continuing successfully after transition in this web resource at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/schools/continuing-successfully/index.html.
Journey to Prep
Transition to Prep is an exciting but complex process. It contains a number of steps and processes and involves decisions and outcomes that can greatly influence the child starting school successfully.
While this process can be complicated for any child, the child with ASD may face unique challenges that require specialised considerations. The Transition booklet: My journey to Prep is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/docs/transition-booklet.doc and is intended to be a collaborative planning tool used by all stakeholders to support the successful transition process for a child with ASD. It allows all members of a child's transition team opportunities to view, contribute and collaboratively plan the student's transition journey to Prep.
This booklet is for:
· parents
· early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators
· early intervention professionals
· Prep staff
· any allied health professionals supporting the child or the family.
Parents
Parent can begin to compile information for the transition booklet in the year prior to their child commencing Prep. The parent section of the transition booklet contains child profile options and a parent statement of aspirations to complete. If you wish, you may choose to print and complete only the parts of the parent and child section that are important to you and your child.
Parents may also choose to add current programs or reports from private therapists, allied health or medical staff in the educators section as well as adding to the planning and team sections.
The transition booklet allows important information about the child and the transition process to be shared. While a range of people will contribute to the booklet, it is ultimately the child's book. It is recommended that parents act as coordinators of the transition booklet and work with stakeholders to develop the content.
If parents are not sure how to begin, contact your child's ECEC educator and/or proposed school who can assist them to begin the process and choose sections to print and complete. Before their child's early childhood education and care setting can begin to add information, it is important that they have parental consent to share information about their child. A parental consent form is available in the transition booklet at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/docs/transition-booklet.doc.
Educators
ECEC educators can begin to compile information as soon as parents have given their consent for information to be shared. Initially they are primarily responsible for completing the educators section of the booklet as well as contributing to the planning section as a member of the child's transition team.
Prep staff may begin to contribute to the transition booklet during the first transition meeting of all stakeholders. This is when the child's individual transition plan is first developed. Prep staff may continue to add information throughout the year with specific responsibility to ensure up to date and relevant information is provided during the last term before transition to Prep.
The transition booklet remains the property of the family and it is important that parents are given the opportunity to take ownership of the book. Parents are encouraged to share the booklet with their child's school. All educators are encouraged to provide additional support to those families who may require additional assistance to complete, collate and share the booklet.
Specifically some parents may find the size of the booklet overwhelming and may need support or assistance to only contribute to and print the sections of the booklet that they are comfortable with such as parts or all of the parent and child section.
Allied health professionals and other support staff
Allied health professionals and other support staff may add information as required throughout the transition journey once parental consent to share information is obtained.
Individualising the transition booklet: My journey to Prep
In some sections of the Transition booklet: My journey to Prep, a number of options or templates have been provided so that the individual needs and experiences of all team members may be accommodated. Please select the documents that best support each individual child. Some elements of the booklet may not apply to some children, families or circumstances.
Confidentiality reminder
The information contained within the following document is considered private and confidential. Parent or carer consent must be obtained before providing or accessing information. A parental consent form is available in the transition booklet at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/docs/transition-booklet.doc.
Transition planning
Young children with ASD may make the transition to Prep more smoothly if the family, the Prep staff, the early childhood education and care educators and any other support staff are all involved in the child's transition planning.
It is important to note that transition planning is more than a child visiting a Prep classroom before they start school. It is the collection and collation of information, experiences and aspirations by:
· the student
· their family and support personnel
· school staff
· any other professionals involved
· the student's early childhood education and care staff.
The Transition booklet: My journey to Prep provides templates for the collection, collation and the sharing of information between all involved in the transition journey. The booklet is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/transition_booklet.html.
The following information has been provided to assist you with transition planning:
· Transition timeline
· The transition team
· Transition meetings
· Developing transition goals
· Transition activities
· Reviewing the transition journey.
Transition timeline
The transition to school for a young child is a continuous journey that commences before the child starts school and continues well beyond the first day of school.
It is recognised that a gradual transition over a 12 month period affords all stakeholders the opportunity to plan, develop, resource, and reflect on transition strategies and supports. However, individual circumstances may mean that the transition timeline may be significantly shorter and therefore only key activities can be completed.
This does not mean that the child will not successfully transition to their next educational setting, it simply means that all stakeholders need to carefully consider the 'who', 'what', 'where' and 'when' of transition in order to ensure that all parties are prepared and resourced.
Developing a transition timeline through collaboration between the family, teachers and other relevant people may assist in ensuring the very best start to schooling for a child with ASD. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and aware of what supports are in place and who is responsible.
When developing a transition timeline, the transition team need to consider the unique characteristics of the child, the capacity of the sending and receiving educators to enact key tasks and activities, and the capacity of the family to support all activities.
Tips for transition activities contains examples of best practice transition strategies and activities for a child with ASD. This tip sheet is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/docs/tips-for-transition-activities.doc.
My transition timeline template is available for you to download and complete for your child or student. This template is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/asd-online-resource-kit/transition/docs/transition-booklet.doc.
The transition team
The transition team may consist of members of the following sub teams:
The family team / The sending team: Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) setting/s / The receiving school team / The allied health team· child
· parent/s
· carer/s
· parent/caregiver advocates and support persons such as interpreters, friends, case workers, regional support agencies and other community supports
· social worker / · ECEC educators
· ECEC special education staff
· inclusion support agency staff
· advisory visiting teachers / · school administrator (principal, deputy principal, head of curriculum)
· prep teacher
· guidance officer
· inclusion support teacher / special educator
· teacher aides or school officers
· advisory visiting teacher
· head of special education services (HOSES)
· school chaplain
· school support staff e.g. therapists / · speech-language pathologist
· occupational therapist
· psychologist
· physiotherapist
· child psychiatrist
· paediatrician or general practitioner
· family and early childhood services (FECS) staff
· child development clinic staff
It is important to choose a workable team from the range of options above, taking into consideration a large team is useful in the data gathering stage.