Children on the autism spectrum may struggle with mastering the long-term goal of “transitioning activities and time limits.” This is because they often have difficulty understanding and processing changes, whether those changes are situational or temporal. Children on the autism spectrum generally have trouble adapting when their ways of doing things or their routines are disrupted, which can make setting and enforcing time limits challenging. Inability to transition from one activity to another can lead to meltdowns or tantrums, or at the very least, render daily tasks such as getting dressed, eating, and going to school more challenging. 

When your child moves from one activity to another in a given location (for example, reading a book in their bedroom before bed and then going to bed), or moves from an activity in one location  to a new activity in another location (for example, leaving a playdate), this is called “transitioning.” Many children struggle with transitioning, but some parents find that using a strategy such as setting time limits can help their children navigate transitioning activities more successfully. Both transitioning and the concept of time limits can be especially difficult for children on the autism spectrum. 

Helping your child work towards mastering the long-term goal of transitioning activities and time limits may reduce the length of time it takes to successfully have your child move from one activity or place to another. This is a skill that can be applied broadly and can improve experiences in home, school, and  social settings. 

The following strategies may increase your child’s ability to successfully navigate transitions:

• Countdown timer. Use a timer to visually show your child how much time they have remaining for a preferred activity. This could be a physical timer or a video-based timer. Accompany the visual timer by counting down the time verbally: for example, saying “5 more minutes” or counting backwards from 10. When the time is done, you must follow through and end the activity. You can also help your child understand  when the activity is concluded, For example, if you tell your child, “5 more minutes to play with your toys,” when the time is up, you can then help your child clean up their toys. Use positive reinforcement to encourage them to wrap up activities when directed to do so: offer a piece of candy, a small toy, etc. Phase out the positive reinforcement when the skill has been sufficiently acquired. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behaviors to be supported solely by social reinforcement.
• Visual schedule. Use a visual schedule, which can be in the form of pictures (optionally, pictures may be accompanied by some text), to help inform your child of the schedule on any given day. For example, your visual schedule might include an image of a child eating at a table to indicate lunchtime, an image of a child playing with toys to indicate playtime, etc. Show the typical order of events / tasks that your child is used to. This could look like a calendar or even a daily or weekly timeline. If your child typically has lunchtime before playtime, for example, on a timeline or calendar the image that shows lunchtime would come before the image that shows playtime. On a day when this routine is changed and playtime must come before lunchtime, change the order of the images and show your child. You can create your own visual schedule, or use one of the free resources below. If your child reacts to transitions because they feel a lack of control over their schedule, the visual schedule can prove very useful. You can discuss the schedule with your child and allow them to make some choices about the schedule. If applicable, your child can cross off a completed activity on the visual schedule as a reward for a successful transition. Use positive reinforcement to encourage your child to complete activities on the schedule: offer a piece of candy, a small toy, etc. You may choose to offer a larger reward at the end of the day for completion of the entire schedule - that is, of all activities posted on the schedule. Phase out the positive reinforcement when the skill has been sufficiently acquired. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behaviors to be supported solely by social reinforcement.

For the parent:

Visual Schedules: A Practical Guide for Families

Autism Awareness: Visual Schedule Freebie

FREE Visual Schedule Agenda visual First Then Board Editable Autism ASD TEA SAAC

• Indicate clearly when an activity is starting and it is completed. Inform your child in a very direct manner that an activity has started. Do the same when an activity has ended. Use short sentences, as age appropriate; for example, “let’s start,” “start time,” “all done,” “you finished with this ____ (task),” “math is done for the day,” etc.
• Prepare for schedule changes. When your child is experiencing changes to a routine, they may get confused or upset or experience a meltdown. Examples of changes to routine may include shifting normal bedtimes to accommodate travel, having family or friends stay in your home for a visit, or staying in another person’s home or a hotel during a vacation. Practicing shifts to normal routines, starting with minor changes, may help your child learn to be flexible for when a routine will change. For example, if your child usually brushes their teeth before putting on their pajamas, you can practice reversing this routine and having them put on their pajamas before brushing their teeth. If using a visual schedule, change the order of the images on the schedule to reflect the change. Talk your child through this process, make it fun, and even practice with them! You can practice this throughout the day with small changes to start. Offer praise and positive reinforcement when your child is able to change their normal routine. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behaviors to be supported solely by social reinforcement.

Additional resources:

For the parent:

Autism Transition Strategies: 5 Steps to Smoother Transitions - YouTube

In order to help your child master the long-term goal of transitioning activities and time limits, you can work on the short-term goals of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts, transitions with one prompt, or attending activities for a specified amount of time.

Transitioning Between Activities with Two or Less Prompts

For the short-term goal of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts, you can choose a target such as: transitioning between activities with two or less prompts with five minutes per prompt; transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal; transitioning between play and dinner within five minutes of the first or second prompt; etc.

• Step 1: Decide what type of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal while working on the short-term goal of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts. The task analysis could be as follows:

1. While you are playing, listen to your parent say, “you have five minutes left to play before dinner,” and look at the visual timer with five minutes on it.
2. Continue to play for five minutes and listen for the timer to go off.
3. When the timer goes off, listen to your parent say, “Ok, it’s time to put toys away. It’s time for dinner.” 
4. Put away your toys.
5. Go to dinner. 

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a visual timer plus an image of someone eating dinner, or a verbal SD (“Time to transition from playing to dinner!” or “Let’s play for five more minutes before dinner!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to look at a visual timer and see that there are five minutes remaining, then play with toys until the time has elapsed, followed by putting toys away).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at transitioning between activities with two or less prompts where the initial prompt is a visual timer and the second prompt is verbal over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

Transitions with One Prompt

For the short-term goal of transitions with one prompt, you can choose a target such as transition within one minute with one prompt, transition within two minutes with one prompt, transition from play to dinner with one prompt, transition from bath to getting dressed with one prompt, etc.

• Step 1: Decide what transition with one prompt you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of transition within two minutes with one prompt while working on the short-term goal of transition with one prompt. The task analysis could be as follows:

1. While you are playing, listen to your parent say, “Ok, it’s time to put toys away and have dinner. Please put your toys away in two minutes” and look at a visual timer with two minutes on it.
2. As the time elapses, put away at least one of your toys.
3. Pay attention to the timer being done. 
4. When the timer is done, put the rest of your toys up and go to dinner. 

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a visual timer plus an image of someone eating dinner, or a verbal SD (“Time to put toys away in two minutes!” or “Let’s take two minutes before dinner!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 3 min, 5 min, 10 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of transition within two minutes with one prompt), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to note that there are two minutes remaining on the timer, then put toys away as the time elapses, followed by leaving for dinner).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at transition within two minutes with one prompt over a certain number of sessions. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of transition within two minutes with one prompt by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at transition within two minutes with one prompt over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

Attending Activities for a Specified Amount of Time

For the short-term goal of attending activities for a specified amount of time, you can choose a target such as washing hands for two minutes, brushing teeth for two minutes, playing with trains for ten minutes, reading for ten minutes, practicing handwriting for fifteen minutes, etc.

• Step 1: Decide what activity you would like your child to attend to for a specified amount of time. For example, you can choose the target of brushing teeth for two minutes while working on the short-term goal of attending activities for a specified amount of time. The task analysis for brushing teeth for two minutes could be as follows:

1. Enter the bathroom.
2. Prepare your toothbrush for brushing your teeth.
3. Look at the timer set for two minutes.
4. Brush your teeth while the two minutes elapse and watch for the timer being done.
5. When the timer is done and the two minutes have passed, stop brushing your teeth.
6. Rinse.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as an image of a toothbrush, or a verbal SD (“Time to brush your teeth for two minutes!” or “Let’s brush your teeth for two minutes!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently. For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Alternatively, if your child is able to complete the entire task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 3 min, 5 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of brushing teeth for two minutes), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to attend to the timer showing two minutes, then brush teeth and rinse).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at brushing teeth for two minutes over a certain number of sessions. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of brushing teeth for two minutes by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at brushing teeth for two minutes over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.