Making Transitions Easy

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Transitions can be difficult. Whether it is a big transition to a new school year or what we might think of as a simple transition from one activity to the next the transition could be hard. One way we can make the transition less stressful is to teach the power of “One more minute please”.

I always think of waking up in the morning. I am an early riser but trying to get my children up was another matter. They often will beg for “one more minute”. When I gave this to them I was assured of a happy child rather than insisting on them ” get up NOW” which then resulted in a cranky child that dragged through getting ready for the day.

one more minute please transition card Rakovic speech and language chat

ONE MORE MINUTE BEHAVIOR STRATEGY

If you take this concept to the classroom or therapy room you can create a system that aids the transition from one activity to the next. One simple way to do this is to have a visual that you pair with the phrase ” One more minute please”.

An easy way to teach this is to do this is to involve the student in a fun activity that they love. Set a timer and tell the child how much time they will have to do the activity. When the timer goes off and the child protests or is reluctant to leave the activity show them the visual and say you want ‘one more minute’ and also show them a visual of what the next activity or location will be. Then give the child one more minute setting the timer again.

During this time, don’t talk or interrupt the child involved in the activity. When the timer goes off show the visual and say what the next activity or setting will be. If the child says or uses the card for ‘one more minute’ allow them the minute. This demonstrates that they have some understanding of what it means and you want to give them reinforcement of this.

TIMERS

I often now use my phone for a timer telling the student that I am setting it. Sometimes we will choose what the sound will be when the timer goes off. This to me is the simplest and I always have my phone on me so I always know that I have this strategy handy.

There are some great commercial timers out there including the TIME TIMER which is made by the company Time Timer. It now can be bought through Amazon in their Time Timer Store. There is a variety there.

I can tell you when we first adopted this to use in the middle school ALL of the teachers asked if they could have them in their classrooms. They were finding that their students also wanted to know when was class over, or when a particular activity was going to start.

We are living in interesting times in which most classrooms have an analog clock but most students can only read a digital clock. This time timer is another visual that really assists students. You can turn on the alert on the clock so that it is visual and auditory stimuli.

You can use this strategy with a variety of students. My middle school student has been using this technique for years and is able to verbally tell someone that he needs one more minute. There are occasions that he may ask for another minute especially if he is on a break so that he can finish an activity that he is involved in. When this is honored he is polite, respectful, and cooperative. If a staff member insists that the child follow their direction immediately this same student will become very belligerent and aggressive in his words and actions and have a very hard time recovering often ‘holding a grudge’ toward the individual that is not being flexible.

WHO CAN BENEFIT?

This behavior is seen across the spectrum from severe to mild as well as age level. The acknowledgment of their needs to have a slower more transition assists them.

One particularly challenging young student whose home language was not English is non-verbal and cognitively impaired, had a particularly remarkable transformation when this was employed. He would have significant tantrums at every transition. When given ‘one more minute’ he would look at the adult, smile, return to the activity, and when needing to go to the next activity would do it without needing further encouragement. This child needed the visual, and a timer either a visual or auditory timer.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

Remember whenever you are teaching a behavioral concept that it does take time. You need to be consistent in your presentation and in your follow-through. You can’t give up without consistent teaching and practice for a sufficient time.

Sometimes people are reluctant to try this strategy as they will say that the student will take advantage of it. They are afraid that the student might keep asking for a break or one more minute. It is true there may be a student that initially asks for breaks and for ‘one minute’ several times. You should honor this to teach the behavior. Once the skill is taught you are able to limit the number of breaks and ‘one more minute’. For particularly difficult cases you may want to show the breaks on the student’s visual schedule. Based on the child’s needs for a particular day you may allow two ‘one more minutes’ for each break.

Transitions are made easier with notification, ‘ one more minute, please’ does this.