Need AM transition ideas please

[Autismkids]

I've finally nailed downa bedtime routine that doesn't need medications!

Now I need an AM routine for school days.

My little man (5, with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified and loads of other issues) gets up at 7 for his asthma medications.

After medications is breakfast, bathroom stuff, diaper in trash, dressed, pack snack, check school bag. (he was done by 7:30)

The bus doesn't come until 8:25, but I need time in case he has a meltdown.

After he's done with everything and has earned marbles along the way, he can play the Wii. Everything was fine and dandy this morning, ran perfectly smooth...Until it was time to turn of the Wii and wait for the bus.

That triggered a tantrum. He ended up going out without his coat (it's in his bag, not a battle I'm fighting!), and crying until he got on the bus. He was fine once he got on.

I reminded him that if he turned off the Wii and went to wait for the bus that he would get his 5th marble for the morning and could pick from the prize box before school. I used a whole bunch of "if/when...then" directions, and nothing helped.

I can't drive him because he's trying to get out of going to school, and I can't let him miss the bus and make him walk because it's too far in the cold.

So once he's done getting dressed, what can he do until the bus comes? Maybe a set of transition activities? He has a DS but that gets him from the driveway to the bus because he sits with a kid who is really good at a certain game.

 

[timer lady]

I'd take the transition down even further. My son wm would freak when he had to shut down his games for school.

I verbally warned wm that he had 15 minutes & then warned him every 3 minutes until it was time to shut down. I also set 2 timers - one in the kitchen & one in the living room. It took awhile but wm learned that the longer he fought after the timer went off was time he missed that evening on his game. Additionally, once the timer is set it's not me telling him it's time to stop it's the timer. Seemed to stop his arguments with me but he'd throw the timer every now & then.

We slowly worked wm from playing games to reading a book outloud. Now, in his group home, wm reads the paper in the morning.

Give it a shot - may or may not work.

 

[DaisyFace]

I agree with Linda--

That is waaayyy too much of a change for him...and it sounds like you need to implement a "step down" from the stimulation of video games.

--DaisyFace

 

[Shari]

Does he like any tv cartoons?

You could record or purchase short cartoon clips and ahe can watch those until bus time based on how much time you have...if its 35 minutes til bus time, you can pick a 30 minutes cartoon, so he's not leaving anything "unfinished" or in the middle.

The timer is a good idea. Also, you can get a timer that has a "stoplight" on it. You set when the lights change, but its green while there's plenty of time left, yellow when its almost time to go, and red when times up. Helped my wee difficult child since time and numbers on a clock are so foreign to him....he could "get" the red/yellow/green that he can easily see.

 

[JJJ]

We had the same problem with video games so we do as Shari suggested. I start the 30 minute video, 35 minutes before the bus gets there. If he is 100% ready for school (medications, dressed, hair, backpack, etc) then I turn on the sound. When the video ended he knew it was time to get his coat on and go to the door. That was last year. This year he is able to watch regular tv and when it is time, if his show isn't over he just hits record and goes to the bus. It does get easier with time (spoken as the mom who took her child to school in his underpants once because he refused to get dressed thinking it would get him out of school).

 

[Marguerite]

Keep him aware of exactly how much time he has got, the whole time. Yes, we found that giving warnings of "OK, you have 15 minutes left." "Now you have ten minutes left" was good, but often he would get frustrated with being told this repeatedly and would even say, "You distracted me! I just lost my place," or whatever.

Wii Fit is a good ting to play before school. Or Big Brain Academy. But these days I wouldlet my kids know from the beginning, how mi=uch time they have, so they can plan their whole game play.

For example, "difficult child 3, we have to leave in an hour and a half. This means that whatever you choose to play, you have to shut it off in an hour and 25 minutes. So what will fit in with this plan?"
It gives him better control. And yes, using a timer can really help. A large clock can also help, with a Post-It note showing at what time on the clock the game much be switched off.

I also set a slightly earlier switch-off time, you notice - that gives a little "wiggle room" so the child can get the game to a "save" point before shutting it down, so he doesn't lose the data. Ask him ahead of time (if he is a skilled enough player) to assess how long he will need to save the game, then deduct tat time from the game time allowed. Show him you're doing this, to help him realise you WANT his game play to be positive, enjoyable and not a waste.

Really, I think you did very well. The coat in the bag is a nice touch - a kid throwing a tantrum is often burning off a lot of energy and won't feel the cold until he starts to calm down. By not making the coat an issue, he will have no problem reaching for his coat to put it on when HE feels the need of it.

Marg

 

[Autismkids]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to use a timer so it's not my fault he has to turn off the game; the timer says so.

I'm also switching the game. Lego Indiana Jones is very hard for him to play alone, and he doesn't really know how to. So with this game, I could warn him an hour prior to shut off and he may not be able to complete a level to save. I'm going to limit Indiana Jones to saturdays after chores. This way he has all day. He's going to play Wii sports before school. No saving needed, and the mini games are quick.

 

[Marguerite]

Good thinking!

Let us know how it goes.

Marg