I have a five year old daughter with autism. She will be included in kindergarten. Any advice on how to help her be successful in the transition would be appreciated.

I do have a few suggestions for you.

I have an 8 year old son with ADHD, dsypraxia, Audiotory Learning disorder and possibly have Asperger's syndrome.

First.. meet with your child's potential teacher and discuss " what you expect" your child to gain from being "included" in reg. ed. Explain your child's strengths and weaknesses.. things enjoyed and "feared".
My son is afraid of loud noises, so letting the teacher know a fire drill would really scare him, enabled her to be by his side when the alarm went off .

I also highly suggest ( and this is from personal experience ) that you give the teacher permission to speak to the other children in the kindergarten class about your child. My son , because of his communication disorder, could not speak well his first year of kindergarten ( he repeated). The teacher spoke to the class and explained to them that Hunter could not talk as well as them , but he still wanted friends and to play. She said he was "shy" ( true). He was well-liked and accepted by his peers because of this. He also has a few "stims" , which to a younger child could be confusing. Socialization is tough for these children, so the more you can get the teacher to "involve" you child , the better !!

Like I mentioned before, my son did repeat Kindergarten. One reason, he has a summer bday and was the youngest in his class. His cognitive scores are well in the ave. range, probably higher, but hard to get a good test score because of his attentional difficulties.

His 2nd year of kindergarten was super! His teacher was very good with inclusion. Proper arrangements were made : priority seating.. an aide.. again.. the class was made aware of Hunter's speaking issues, etc. He had many "mother hens" in the room. The children were excited when he re-joined them ( He went to a resource teacher for certain subjects ).. She made a point to help him "socialize" during recess.. She was awesome.

This past year was not a "success". Hunter's 1st grade teacher did not inform the class about Hunter and his "issues". He could not name one child in his class ! This threw up some red flags. He knew all the children in his prior reg. ed classrooms. He started saying he didn't want to "go to school".. he started getting "clingy", started "acting out" in school. Never before had a behavioral problem!! He was obviously trying to tell us something through his behaviour. His teacher did not "understand" Hunter, she didn't understand he was capable of MORE than he was doing. She didn't want to "upset" him, so she never gave him that extra "push" to socialize or succeed academically. Her classroom was very "LOUD". She wasn't a "take charge" teacher and Hunter wasn't able to learn in that type of environment. It made him very nervous. He found ways to "escape" by hiding under chairs. He NEVER displayed this type of behavior or stress in reg. ed before.

So.. from experience.. speak to the teacher beforehand, make sure your child is indeed being "included".. Find out what you can about the teacher's 'teaching style'.. this can make or break your child's success in reg. ed. My son needed a well organized teacher , who had control of her students. I actually requested a certain 1st grade teacher because of her reputation of being organized and maintaining order in her room. I did not get the requested teacher and Hunter ended up in a reg. ed classroom with a teacher who had no control over her children. She was basically " too nice". She really "babied" him. He took advantage of that and began to "roam" the room and "forgot" all about the "rules" of being in a classroom. All he gained from his previous years in reg. ed were bascially "lost".

I can't stress enough that you "follow" through and make sure the teacher your child has is making a effort to help your child socialize. My son has to "learn" to make friends.. because of his language issues , he avoids social contact with his peers. He is "aware" he cannot speak as advanced as they can. He found a few really good "friends" who accepted him for him. They told me he was "cool".. great for his self esteem! That is what these children need. NOT to be felt sorry for and to know they are accepted no matter what.

I'm sure I'll think of other suggestions as the day goes on.. but , these are just a few that come to mind immediately.

Best of luck to you and your child!

Susan with Hunter