Support for Transition from a Day Care Center to a Regular Elementary School for a Child With a Developmental Disability

Abstract

The present article describes support for a boy who had been diagnosed as having Asperger syndrome and was in transition from a day care center to a regular elementary classroom. The following were considered to be important: (a) organizing a team, (b) arranging tools for sharing information, and (c) appointing a manager responsible for integrating the support. A meeting for the transition team that was held before the boy entered the regular school brought a sense of coordination and cooperation to related parties both in the day care center and in the elementary school, which, in turn, resulted in the implementation of support in the elementary school, based on an individualized education plan. Further, successive meetings after the boy had entered school provided transition support within the school system. The boy adapted to the school better in the second semester than in the first, which reduced the parents' concerns. Based on these results, the discussion recommends the method of sharing information during the transition, holding meetings for transition support continuously both before and after a child's entrance to regular school, and management of integrated transition support by an itinerant consultation team. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)