A time of transitions

The school year is ending and summer is on its way. For any family, planning transitions from school to camp, home to vacation, vocational site to rec center, or any other form of change is key for accommodating schedules. For families of children with special needs, transitional planning is even more important to ensure that the child will be comfortable with changes in routine.

The definition of transition is the passage or change from one position or state to another. For people with autism spectrum disorder, or other special personality, these passages may be difficult to cope with. Regardless of how minute or momentous changes are to us, to others, it may be the antecedent to emotional turmoil. While some may say we should try our best to avoid these moments of anguish and anxiety that result from change, the truth is that life is full of variety, passages, and movement.

Here are some ways you can plan for transitions to help prevent the breakdowns brought upon by familiar routines ending and novel events beginning.

Make note of transitions

Work with your child on changes to his schedule by mapping them out on the calendar. Highlight the months of June, July, August, and September (depending on your specific school schedule) as summer months. Mark half-days of school and specify where lunch will be eaten.

Mark the first official week of summer break. Identify when your child’s activities — such as camp, pool, free time, and family vacations — begin. Locate major summer holidays and jot down some possibilities of celebratory festivities. Star the end of the summer and first day of the new school year.

Take walk-throughs

If your child is attending camp this summer, you can help alleviate nervous jitters by taking virtual tours on websites, and following up with actual one-on-one tours of the grounds. As the camper tours, have him take photographs. Looking through the pictures prior to the first day of attendance will be most beneficial. You can also physically de-sensitize a camper who is feeling uneasy by washing, drying, and folding the camp T-shirt.

Communicate with school

The sooner you iron out details, the less hectic it is for all. Articulate with the current support team at school to gain a better grasp of the physical transitional changes that will occur within the classroom. This would include: cleaning out desks, taking home books, removing artwork from walls, and more.

Use this information to make a checklist at home for your special-needs child. Keep it on the refrigerator. As each task is completed, he checks it off and moves on mentally. Ask the school support team to make a copy of the reinforcement system that worked well for your child. Keep this. The new team may have a fresh outlook of ideas that work better for your child after a summer of maturity, but this will provide worthwhile background information.

It is important to respect and consider the rules of each school. However, having knowledge of the future school year is most beneficial. This would involve who the teacher is, the main focus of the curriculum, the exact location of the classroom, and maybe more.

Photographs speak volumes to people with limited preparation skills. With permission, take pictures of the new classroom setting and create a scrapbook titled, “My New School Year.” If your child tends to display stressed-out behaviors when the workload in school is difficult, pre-teach some of the trickier curriculum in a fun, hands-on method. For example, if your child struggles with money and that is a major focus in math for the upcoming year, sell lemonade during the summer to raise money for charity.

• • •

The overall message behind transition planning for a person with special needs is to touch, taste, journey, and experience a future change in small doses before the actual passage takes place. The goal is to have the person move from state to state and setting to setting, smoothly. Planning a transition will not only help with the present passage, but will also help him understand the concept of change.

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CK Kids Summer

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">CK Kids Summer Camps for kids </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">ages 3-16 years old.</span><u></u><u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">Don’t Miss the Summer Fun at CK!  Christ the King has 6 exciting summer camps to offer children of all ages.  Camps appeal to all interests: soccer, basketball, cheerleading, media, dance, drama, cooking, arts, waterslides, and karate.  On-site Math and ELA programs available.  CK Kids also offers special weekly camps for cooking and princess & pirate themed.  All activities take place on the CK Campus.  Come for a week or the whole summer!  Flexible scheduling, convenient location, sibling and multiple week discounts.   </span></p>

ESF Summer Camp

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This camp season promises many exciting opportunities for children to learn new skills, form and nurture friendships and create lifelong memories.<u></u><u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our goal for our 41<sup>st</sup> camp season, through best-in-class curriculum, is for boys and girls, ages 3-15, to grow up ESF - whether it’s sports, science, technology, the arts, or all of the above. Our experienced, all-adult staff knows that the most important role we play in our campers’ lives is to provide a safe place where they can develop the tools to become independent, confident, lifelong learners. Our 2022 program line-up includes 60+ award-winning activities, uniquely designed to encourage exploration and personal growth. <u></u><u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0070c0;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friends Happen at ESF! We guarantee that your camper will enjoy a summer with no-limits, where they can be themselves and try new things while their friends cheer them on. The memories they will make and the feeling of having a summer home to call their own is all part of the ESF experience. Enroll now, spots are limited.<u></u><u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px; caret-color: #222222; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Locations: Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY and Greenwich Catholic School in Greenwich, CT</p>

Mark Morris Summer Dance Camps

<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff;">Fill your summer with dance, music, and art! The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center’s multi-disciplinary camps for all levels provide a full day of activities from dance with live music to visual art. Students will explore a variety of dance styles and techniques, including ballet, modern, hip-hop, jazz, African, and more. Campers will also learn about Mark Morris’s choreography and use concepts to create their own dances. Summer camps are for children ages 6 to 12. Teen workshops are offered for teens ages 13 to 18. </div> <div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff;"> </div> <div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.38; background-color: #ffffff;"> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center, located in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District, is affiliated with the world-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group.</span></p> <span id="docs-internal-guid-c6f61b6b-7fff-a6ca-680e-4a00b4f96c17"></span>Click <a title="https://markmorrisdancegroup.org/dance-center/the-school/dance-camps/summer-camps/?utm_source=BK_Family&utm_medium=Online_camp_guide&utm_campaign=2022" href="https://markmorrisdancegroup.org/dance-center/the-school/dance-camps/summer-camps/?utm_source=BK_Family&utm_medium=Online_camp_guide&utm_campaign=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://markmorrisdancegroup.org/dance-center/the-school/dance-camps/summer-camps/?utm_source%3DBK_Family%26utm_medium%3DOnline_camp_guide%26utm_campaign%3D2022&source=gmail&ust=1640130755643000&usg=AOvVaw0q9f6xU93Ga6SFvt9_fQT6">here</a> for more information and to register, or email <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[email protected]</a>.</div>