Parents and carers should always be ahead of the game when it comes to pre-empting changes that may affect an autistic person. A good example of this is if a teacher is leaving the school the person attends, it is important to find out about the new teacher, and any changes that may occur to timetabling. This will all help ease the transition for the autistic person.
As with any person-centred planning, it is key to make sure that the autistic person is at the centre of any meetings that may be needed during the transition. For example, if the person is changing schools, then staff from both places should be present to help ease this change. The new members of staff need to meet the autistic person and make sure they have learnt what makes them anxious, what their fears are, and how they like to communicate.
Use clear language to describe the change allowing the person time to process what is going to happen. Remember to limit abstract language, use of gestures and facial expressions so that the person has the best chance of understanding what you mean.
Another part of this can be using visual aids. Create a collection of photos, either in the form of a folder or book, or a smart device so that they can be referred to during the process. Inside, put pictures of the new place (a hotel room), person (support staff or teacher), or activity (swimming). Make use of these visual aids to show the outcome of certain activities, for example do not just show a picture of a plane to indicate going on holiday. This may make the person more nervous than necessary and does not show why they would need to be on the plane. Instead, show the whole journey from start to finish as this will help demonstrate why they need to go on a plane and the outcome of them completing the task.
Time is an abstract construct; therefore, for autistic people it can be extremely difficult to put the events of a day in a clear order. Therefore, it is often the case that behavioural difficulties occur outside of structured activity times. For example, breaks at school can be noisy and chaotic, and therefore difficult to deal with.
Some of the following suggestions can help ease any anxiety that may occur around changes and unstructured events, also helping with behaviour that challenges: