How to help your autistic child cope with transitions and change with this simple organization strategy Autism-Friendly Home Organization Strategies for Overwhelmed Parents Part 3 #150

Autism-Friendly Home Organization Strategies for Overwhelmed Parents – World Autism Acceptance Month 2025

For many autistic children, transitions — even the small everyday ones — can feel overwhelming and emotionally exhausting. And when a bigger change comes along, like moving house or changing schools, it can completely throw them off.

In this episode, I’m exploring how organization can be a powerful tool to help autistic kids feel safer and more supported through transitions — whether it’s getting dressed in the morning or adjusting to an unexpected schedule change.

I share real-life examples from my own parenting experience (including a Friday that did not go to plan), and offer simple, actionable tips to prepare your child for change — and take the pressure off you too.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why transitions are so hard for many autistic kids (and how PDA adds another layer)
• How to use preparation, routines, and visual cues to reduce resistance
• What to say instead of setting timers if your child finds countdowns stressful
• Practical ways to organize your day, your time, and your environment for smoother transitions
• How to prepare for big changes like school moves or home moves
• How to build in backup plans for unexpected disruptions — and why they matter

We also talk about why organization isn’t just about tidying the house — it’s about planning time, managing stress, and helping your autistic child feel secure in an unpredictable world.

Key message: When we plan ahead and create flexible, supportive systems, we give our children what they need to feel calm, prepared, and capable of handling change — and that benefits the whole family.

Mentioned in this episode:
🎁 Download The Frustrated Parents Guide – How to Get Your Kids to Tidy Up Without Them Even Realizing It. Full of fun, neurodivergent-friendly strategies for building tidy-up routines without pushback.

Tomorrow we’ll be diving into how to help your autistic child let go of clutter without stress or resistance — I hope you’ll join me for that one.

Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Autism-Friendly Home Series
• 1:14 Why Transitions Challenge Autistic Children
• 2:34 Making Daily Transitions Smoother
• 5:59 Managing Big Life Changes
• 7:22 Handling Unexpected Changes
• 10:38 Episode Closing and Tomorrow's Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Autism Friendly Home Organization Strategies for Overwhelmed Parents a special mini -series with me, caroline, for World Autism Acceptance Month in 2025. This year's theme for World Autism Month is Celebrate Differences, and I could not love that more. I'm a mum of a child with autism and PDA, so I know firsthand how unpredictable life can feel. Flexibility isn't just helpful in my world, it's essential, and while our home is far from perfect, having it organized in a way that supports us has made all the difference. I created this series to share practical, realistic strategies that help you create a calm, clutter-free environment, one that works for your child, your needs and your energy. Even if you're not raising an autistic child, these tips can help any family, because building a home that supports your real life and celebrates what makes you unique benefits everyone. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Welcome back to my mini-series day three, and in yesterday's episode I was talking about routines and predictability, and part of that included transitions, and I wanted today to talk more about tackling transitions, but not just daily routines, also big life changes. So we're going to talk about why transitions are extra hard for autistic kids and look at some strategies for making transitions smoother and less stressful. So we're going to build on what we were talking about in the previous episode. So why are transitions hard for our autistic kids? Switching gears is mentally exhausting for anybody, but when you have autism it's especially exhausting and it can lead to shutdowns and anxiety and resistance. And if we look at our day, it's full of daily transitions. We have to wake up and get out of bed, we have to get dressed. We then have to perhaps leave the house. All of these transitions are causing potentially anxiety and resistance in your child. And then sometimes there are bigger changes, like moving home or moving to a new school. So let's look at them in two separate ways. Let's start with small transitions first and how to make them easier. So I talked yesterday about timers and visual cues. Sound timers are great. Alarms work really well for some kids. Countdown apps work really well for some kids.

Speaker 1: 2:51

As I said yesterday, for my child, timers are an absolute nightmare. As a child with PDA, it just triggers him totally because he feels the demand of the time. So I always just give like a verbal warning just to let you know we're going to be leaving the house in about 20 minutes. Let me know if there's anything you need help with and then at least he's prepared. I've worked out with him that a 20 minute warning is long enough. It didn't used to be when he was in burnout, but we've got to a point now where 20 minutes is long enough and we've got the routine practiced enough that he knows what to expect and then preview changes. So in five minutes we're going to be putting away toys and going outside, or in 10 minutes we're all going to be putting away toys and going outside, or in 10 minutes we're all going to need to come to the front door and put our shoes on, ready to go and allow for wind down time.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Don't rush these transitions suddenly, and this is where I think, as mums of kids with autism, it is really hard because we have to build this into our time as well, and this is also applicable if you've got young kids like toddlers that really the same things apply. You have to allow time so that you don't feel that everyone's being rushed, because when you do, the kids pick up on that pressure and that's when things start to unravel. So give them a time warning, then allow a bit of time for winding down and moving slowly through the transition. Make sure that you've got what they're going to need for the next phase. They're ready. So that's an organization thing, but it's also an organization just planning your time. I have to really look at my morning before I'm going to get out of the house and think, okay, I need to make sure that I've got snacks ready, I've got drinks ready, I've got everything ready by the front door. If we've come in the day before and I've made sure everything's put away, I don't need to go and check that. But sometimes I just will do a check. Okay, are his shoes really there? Is there anything he needs for school today that he wouldn't normally take with him, like sports stuff? Have I got that ready so that when we get there I'm not having to look for things, because once he's there he just wants to go, and if I start then having to look for the sports bag, it's going to make the transition feel wrong to him and that's when we get into all sorts of trouble. So that are some ways that you can make small transitions easier by organizing your time and organizing your environment so that it supports that transition.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Now big transitions moving home try and visit the new space ahead of time. Try to show pictures Especially important with autistic kids pack gradually. If you suddenly in one foul swoop pack their room up and it's gone, that is really going to unsettle them. So, giving them warning that this is going to happen, gradually start packing stuff so that by the time it comes to the move they've sort of got the bare minimum in their room and then on the last day those last things can be packed up. If you can visit the new space ahead of time and start unpacking some of their stuff already in the new space so they can start to see what it's going to be like, that is going to be really helpful, but it's not always possible. Then you've got school changes. Can you go before and meet the teacher? Can you walk through the routine beforehand? Will school be able to perhaps let you in and you can walk from one classroom to the other as if you were going through a day, so they can see what's going to be happening. And things like that are really going to support your child with these changes, and I know it doesn't sound like organization, but it is because you as a mom have got to organize for these things to happen in advance so that your child feels safe and secure when it comes to this transition.

Speaker 1: 7:02

So for me, organization is not just about the physical stuff in our home. It's about our calendar, it's about our time, it's about organizing our day. It's everything to do with organization. And then, of course, we've got unexpected changes, and these are always going to come up. Maybe suddenly one of the kids is taken ill and has to be taken to hospital and you've got to take your kid with autism with you. So can you have something ready near the front door where you know that you have got a comfort item there that you can take with you, or a safe space that you can put them in while you're trying to deal with a situation? Or is there a backup plan, a person that they would be happy to go to, so that if there is a sudden unexpected change, you can deal with it?

Speaker 1: 7:56

So we had this last week where my child had been really excited about going to school in the morning for the sport first lesson because they were going to be playing badminton and because for us, fridays had been going really well. I had booked to go and see a new client about a 45 minute drive away my husband was doing home office so that he could be there should our child need picking up early from school. Not managed to go to school that morning, whatever the scenario happens to be. So I'm driving along on the motorway minding my own business, listening to a podcast, enjoying the peace and quiet, and I get a phone call from school and I've only dropped him off about 20 minutes beforehand and they're saying he's saying he wants to go home. And what's happened is the sport teacher has decided that, because the weather is so gorgeous, she's going to take the class outside for sports and not take them to the sports hall to play badminton.

Speaker 1: 8:55

And because that was a change from what he was expecting and he doesn't like going to somewhere where he's not prepared for he wasn't able to go. He basically put his foot down and said no, he couldn't go and he couldn't stay in school unsupervised. So it meant one of us was going to have to pick him up. So this was one of these cases of a transition happening not as he was expecting and us having to pivot. I had to say I'm really sorry. I'm driving on the motorway, I'm on my way to a client. I cannot come. As soon as I get to my destination I will message my husband and ask him to come and collect him, and that's what we ended up doing. So we did have a backup plan ready, and it meant that our child knows we will always come. We always have a backup plan. He will never have to stay in school if he's feeling unsafe or stressed, and so that worked really well. So transitions can be easier with preparation and patience.

Speaker 1: 9:57

If one thing you really struggle with is getting your kids involved in tidying up and helping, then go to the show notes and grab my free guide the frustrated parents guide how to get your kids to tidy up without them even realizing it. It has fun and engaging techniques that work for kids of all ages and take into account your kids' unique needs, including neurodiversity and personality, to help them with tidying and help you learn how to turn tidying into a game and create tidying routines. And tomorrow we're going to get on to decluttering and letting go. I hope you'll join me for that. Until next time. If you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it, subscribe and leave a review. I look forward to bringing you more organising tips next time, but if you can't wait until then, you can go to my website or find me on Instagram, at carothor, or on Facebook, at Caroline Organiser. Thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter-free ever after.