Let’s face it, transition and change can be difficult for even us grown adults. New ideas, unfamiliar activities, routines, places, and people can be down right confusing and frightening for young children, and those who have special needs. In my own family, transition and change has been the long time arch nemesis for a few of my children.
So here I am, bracing myself for the havoc that back to school, and starting school, will reign in our household for the next several weeks as we all deal with the effects. Since this is not my first rodeo in confronting our family’s arch nemesis, I decided to pull out an old friend…Social Stories, to help me prepare my 4 year old daughter for a full day, 5 day a week preschool program.
It has been several years since I have utilized this tool for my older sons, so to become reacquainted; I searched for some resources on how to create a Social Story. In my search, I came across this article which I found to be very useful in helping me develop my daughters own story to use. The article also does a nice job of explaining both the benefits, and purpose of social stories when dealing with transition in young children.
As for my own children, as their mother I know I can not keep transition, and change from happening. I know I cannot make my daughter feel safe, secure, and confident the moment she enters her preschool next week, even though there is nothing more in this world I wish I could do. But, what I do know is as her mother I can do my best to prepare her, reassure her, and embrace the transition of this new journey. By providing her with a social story, I feel like that is our first step in doing just that.
