InterSECT - the All Things SEN transition approach

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Any aspect of transition can prove especially problematic for youngsters with additional needs. All Things SEN works closely with learners throughout their time with us to support transitions at every level, from the everyday (between activities, staff, and locales) to those signaling more permanent change (educational and life provisions). 

Irrespective of scale, All Things SEN utilizes our bespoke InterSECT approach (based on research from the Child Mind Institute) to support transition: 

Foster interest and curiosity around the new context. It really doesn't take much to get children and young people intrigued, and nothing helps neutralise fear and anxiety like a healthy dose of interest and curiosity. 

Create a structure to ‘contain’ changes (use of visual timetables, ‘now and next’ schedules, named staff to support each phase, transition objects where appropriate) - structure is the opposite of chaos. Children and young people need to feel 'held' in the liminal space between one situation and another.... 

Clear expectations need to be outlined in advance; what does the setting look like, how does it work, who will be there to help? What also needs to be factored in are the the learner’s hopes, anxieties, social needs and aspirations. Not knowing what to expect create anxiety in any of us....

Ensure cross-contextual continuity:  meetings and communications between staff to share approaches, agree targets, and communicate the learner’s own wishes and opinions. Equally, continuity on a very small scale might be something as simple as a transition object, or a favoured member of staff to 'bridge the gap'... 

Many of our learners have a very poor sense of time and duration. This in and of itself can be a massive source of insecurity around transitions. When will the change come? How can the time-frame be communicated if the individual has little or no concept of time? This is a difficult one to surmount. At All Things SEN we use countdowns, now and next cards, visual prompts and schedules mapped out in time-based concepts that the learner can actually grasp (for example, we had one learner who counted days as ‘number of sleeps’).