'FASD Informed' Transition Support
- somersetmiracles
- Sep 21
- 3 min read
For those supporting children and young people with complex presentations of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and overlapping Complex Needs who struggle with transitions in School or College
This is bespoke session designed to consider the needs of the child that your support who struggles with transitions due to preservation, anxiety or/and aversion to change of routine which triggers feels of being unsafe and out of control.
Book early ideally 3 months ahead of any transitions, for example:
Moving from Early Years to Primary, Primary to Secondary School, Secondary to College or to Supported Internship or Supported Living
Transitions between classrooms throughout the school day
Transitions from year group to year group
Transitions of changes in circle of 'safe people'; new teaching staff or Teaching Assistant 'safe person'
Transitions out of secondary school and into the community*
Transition to Residential Placement
Book early to ensure careful consideration is given by the wider team around the family, do you need to extend the team to consider further assessments, does the team need to consider triggers and work with families to dig deep into understanding that the slightest change can destabilise a child, particularly those with adverse childhood experiences, in care or previously looked after; where children and young people might hold or mask all of their anxiety until home where the grenade goes off often leading to Child to Parent Violence and Abuse.
Transitions of any kind are especially difficult for children and young people with FASD due to the unique cognitive, physical and behavioural impacts of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Difficulties with cognitive flexibility, memory, planning, and executive functioning make day-to-day transitions much more demanding with FASD.
This might include difficulty with getting out of the door to get to School, struggling with new people, perseverance and demand, remembering what class they need to go to and how to get there, switching between subjects or topics, and generalising information and behavioural expectations from one context to another. These cognitive challenges often hinder their ability to meet age-based expectations related to education, employment, as well as general adaptive functioning as they approach adulthood.
General adaptive functioning – that is, how well someone is able to meet the demands of daily life, taking into account their age and societal norms – is often impaired in young people with FASD.
Adolescents with FASD typically show a pattern of dysmaturity, that is, varying levels of maturity in different areas of development. For example, a 16-year-old adolescent with FASD may have the emotional regulation skills of a 10-year-old.
Consequently, when transitioning into adolescence and adulthood, the emotional, social and adaptive skills of a young person with FASD may not align with the typical expectations of someone their age.
There are general principles that are best practice in supporting young people with FASD. These include things like routine, repetition and consistency.
These principles should always underpin approaches to working with students of all ages and stages with FASD and be used in conjunction with the specific strategies to support schools in our 4 Stages of our 'FASD Informed' Schools programme.
This session is a bespoke session or consultation where the family will be consulted and brought in to consider what works and what doesn't, where we will work together to find the best strategies to make a plan.
*Best practice suggests that individualised planning for transitions out of school should begin by 13 to allow time for robust assessment and to plan the best options for the young person.
We subsidise these sessions to ensure they are affordable to support the importance of getting transitions right.
To book a place early to start considering the next transition email us: info@fasdinformed.co.uk
Please find details here of our Stage 4 FASD Informed Programme for Schools
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