Have you ever noticed how often we discuss the weather? It's always on the news - sometimes it's so important it leads the news. We discuss it with our families, friends and co-workers. The weather report is the butt of jokes - when people have nothing else to discuss, they discuss the weather.
Why?
I believe the reason we spend so much time discussing the weather is that we like to anticipate, we like to know and plan what's coming next. Will I need a sweater, a coat, an umbrella? Short or long sleeves? We understand how important being uncomfortable is and want to avoid that.
This is similar to the need to help our kids, with or without disabilities, transition. A lot of ink is spilled about helping kids transition from one activity to the next. One major difference between the kids need to be prepared to transition and our desire to know the weather is that we understand how being unprepared for the weather can be a problem. Our kids don't understand, and don't want to understand the impact of transitioning on their emotions or behavior. They just want to have fun. They just want to fully express their energies on whatever activity they're doing at the moment, particularly when it's a "preferred" activity.
So when parents don't prep their kids and just expect them to turn off their electronics of choice - even if it means "pausing" the current game, or put down their book, or for their friend to go home etc. they're asking for trouble. Kids need lots and lots of prep for transitions, even if they don't say they do, or if they don't act like they do.
If you're unsure how important this is to your kids, try to go a few days without listening to the weather report.
