Every parent has been there: the meltdown when it’s time to leave the playground, the resistance when turning off the TV, or the tears that come with switching from one activity to another. But for some children, these transition moments aren’t just difficult—they’re genuinely overwhelming. When transitions consistently trigger big emotions, behavioral outbursts, or shutdowns, Fort Myers occupational therapy from FOCUS Therapy can offer practical tools and strategies that make a real difference.

Why Transitions Are So Hard for Some Kids

Before diving into solutions, it helps to understand why transitions pose such a challenge for certain children. From an occupational therapy perspective, successful transitions require multiple skills working together:

Sensory processing plays a huge role. When children are deeply engaged in an activity, their sensory systems are fully activated. Suddenly stopping means their nervous system must shift gears quickly, which can feel jarring or even physically uncomfortable for kids with sensory processing differences.

Executive functioning skills are equally important. Transitions demand that children stop one task, hold information in working memory, shift their attention, and initiate a new activity. For kids with developing or challenged executive function, this cognitive juggling act can be exhausting.

Emotional regulation is the final piece of the puzzle. When children struggle with the cognitive and sensory demands of transitions, they often don’t have the emotional bandwidth left to manage their feelings about the change. This is when parents see the tears, tantrums, or complete refusals.

Children with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, or other developmental differences often find transitions particularly challenging—but any child can struggle with change, especially during times of stress or when routines are disrupted.

Visual Supports: Making the Invisible Visible

One of the most powerful occupational therapy tools for transitions is making time and expectations visible. Children process information differently than adults, and many are visual learners who benefit from seeing what’s coming next.

Visual schedules transform abstract concepts like “later” or “soon” into concrete images children can understand. A simple picture schedule showing the day’s activities—breakfast, school, park time, dinner, bath, bedtime—gives children a roadmap. They can see where they are in the day and what’s coming next, which reduces anxiety and builds predictability.

For younger children or those with limited reading skills, photographs or simple drawings work beautifully. For older kids, written schedules with checkboxes can be effective and give them a sense of accomplishment as they move through the day.

Timers are another visual support that works wonders. Time is an abstract concept for children, making warnings like “five more minutes” relatively meaningless. A visual timer that shows time disappearing (through color draining away or numbers counting down) helps children actually see how much time they have left. The Time Timer is a popular choice among occupational therapists, but even a simple kitchen timer or smartphone timer can work.

The key is giving children multiple warnings: “We have ten minutes before we leave,” followed by “five minutes,” then “two minutes,” and finally “one minute—time to wrap up.” This graduated approach gives their brain time to prepare for the shift.

First-Then boards simplify transitions by showing exactly what needs to happen. These boards show two images: “First we clean up, then we have snack.” This visual contract helps children understand that they’ll get to the preferred activity after completing the non-preferred one. It’s concrete, clear, and eliminates power struggles.

Sensory Strategies: Smoothing the Nervous System Shift

Since transitions can be sensory challenges, incorporating sensory strategies before and during transitions can help children regulate their nervous systems.

Transition objects provide sensory continuity during changes. This might be a favorite small toy, a fidget, a soft fabric square, or even a special bracelet. Having something familiar and comforting to hold during transitions helps children feel anchored while everything else changes around them.

Heavy work activities are occupational therapy gold for transitions. Heavy work means any activity that engages muscles and joints—pushing, pulling, carrying, or lifting. These activities have a naturally calming effect on the nervous system. Before a tricky transition, try having children:

• Push against a wall for 10 seconds
• Carry heavy books or a laundry basket
• Do five jumping jacks or wall push-ups
• Help push the grocery cart
• Carry their backpack or a stack of items

This proprioceptive input (sensation from muscles and joints) helps organize the nervous system and makes transitions feel less overwhelming.

Movement breaks between activities acknowledge that children need to release energy before settling into something new. A quick dance party, animal walks across the room, or jumping on a trampoline for two minutes can reset their system and make the next activity more successful.

Routine and Predictability: The Foundation of Smooth Transitions

Children thrive on predictability. When they know what to expect, their brains can relax instead of staying on high alert for surprises.

Consistent routines are perhaps the most important OT tool for transitions. When morning routines, mealtime routines, and bedtime routines follow the same sequence every day, they become automatic. Children’s brains no longer have to work hard to figure out what comes next—they already know.

The morning routine might always be: wake up, use bathroom, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, pack backpack, shoes on, out the door. In the same order. Every single day. This consistency builds neural pathways that make transitions smoother over time.

Transition songs or chants create auditory cues that signal change is coming. Many occupational therapists recommend clean-up songs, goodbye songs, or simple chants that children associate with specific transitions. When they hear the song, their brain automatically begins preparing for the shift. Music engages different parts of the brain and can make transitions feel more playful than demanding.

Warning systems go beyond just verbal reminders. Some families use specific sounds (a particular bell, a rain stick, or a special chime) to signal that transition time is approaching. Others use visual cues like turning on a specific lamp or changing the room lighting. These multi-sensory warnings give children’s brains multiple channels for processing the upcoming change.

Executive Function Support: Building the Skills to Navigate Change

While sensory and visual strategies help in the moment, occupational therapists also focus on building the underlying executive function skills that make transitions easier over time.

Choice-making gives children a sense of control during transitions, which reduces resistance. Instead of “Time to clean up,” try “Do you want to clean up the blocks first or the crayons first?” Instead of “Put your shoes on,” try “Do you want to wear the blue shoes or the red shoes?” The transition still happens, but children feel they have agency in how it unfolds.

Breaking transitions into smaller steps makes overwhelming changes manageable. “Get ready for bed” is huge and abstract. But a checklist that breaks it down becomes doable:

1. Put toys away
2. Put on pajamas
3. Brush teeth
4. Pick out book
5. Get in bed

Each small step is achievable, and children can experience success multiple times instead of feeling defeated by one large, vague task.

Countdown systems work well for kids who respond to numbers and structure. Some families use a countdown from five: “Five—we’re leaving in five minutes. Four—time to start wrapping up. Three—finish what you’re doing. Two—one more minute. One—time to go.” The rhythmic, predictable nature of this countdown helps children’s brains prepare.

Creating a Transition Toolkit

Every child is different, so occupational therapists recommend creating a personalized transition toolkit based on what works for your specific child. This might include:

• A visual schedule (laminated pictures with Velcro so activities can be moved)
• A visual timer
• Fidgets or transition objects
• A feelings chart to help name emotions during tough transitions
• A portable calm-down kit with sensory items (stress ball, putty, calming glitter jar)
• Transition cards that can be pulled out when needed
• A special “transition buddy” stuffed animal

Having these tools readily available—perhaps in a specific basket or bag—means parents can access them quickly when transitions get tough.

When to Seek Additional Support

While these OT strategies help many children, some kids need more intensive support. Consider reaching out to an occupational therapist if:

• Transitions consistently end in meltdowns that last more than 15-20 minutes
• Difficulty with transitions is impacting family life, school performance, or social relationships
• Children become aggressive or unsafe during transitions
• Multiple strategies have been tried consistently for several weeks without improvement
• Transitions trigger such intense anxiety that children avoid activities they otherwise enjoy

At FOCUS Therapy, occupational therapists work with families to identify the root causes of transition difficulties and develop individualized strategies that address each child’s unique sensory, cognitive, and emotional needs.

Practical Implementation: Starting Small

The array of available strategies can feel overwhelming, so start with just one or two tools. Perhaps begin with a visual timer and a consistent goodbye routine. Once those become habits, add a visual schedule. Give each new strategy at least two weeks of consistent use before deciding whether it’s effective—children need time to learn new systems.

Remember that transitions may be harder during times of stress, illness, or disrupted routines. During these periods, offering extra sensory support, more warnings, and additional patience can help bridge the gap until things stabilize.

The Bottom Line

Struggling with transitions doesn’t mean a child is being difficult or defiant—it means their brain needs extra support to navigate change. The occupational therapy strategies outlined here provide concrete, practical tools that work with how children’s brains and sensory systems develop.

With visual supports, sensory strategies, consistent routines, and executive function support, most children can learn to navigate transitions more smoothly. The goal isn’t perfect transitions—it’s giving children the tools they need to manage change more successfully, building skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

If transitions continue to be a significant challenge for your family, the occupational therapists at FOCUS Therapy in Fort Myers are here to help. Through comprehensive evaluation and individualized treatment, OT can make those difficult transition moments become opportunities for growth, learning, and increased independence.

FOCUS Therapy is a comprehensive pediatric therapy clinic in Fort Myers, FL, offering occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, ABA therapy, ADOS testing, and behavior consulting for parents.

Additional Resources:

Association of Parent Training With Child Language Development, May 20, 2019, Roberts et. al., JAMA Pediatrics

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