For children with ASD, rigidly adhering to routines and spending their time in repetitive behaviours are ways for them to reduce uncertainty and maintain predictability and clarity of the environment (Autism Spectrum Australia, 2013). Changes in a routines or facing unpredictability can often lead to abrupt behaviours and anxiety. For Sam, adapting to new situations is often a challenge as he demonstrates a fear of the unknown. This is a common trait for people with ASD caused by a deficit in cognitive function (National Autistic Society, 2013). The cognitive function is an intellectual process that allows people to think, reason, understand and remember ideas.  A deficiency in this function can cause people with ASD to face difficulties in processing information, predicting the consequences of an action, understanding the concept of time, and the ability to see the whole picture.

To eliminate the chance of partaking in any experiences that could potentially make him overwhelmed or distressed, Sam relies on structured routines and regular timetables throughout the school day. Sam often resists participation in significant events or changes in his routine such as school excursions. Without prior preparation of these events, Sam will struggle to manage his behaviour throughout the event. All aspects of excursions including the interruption to routine, riding on the bus, meeting new people, participating in new activities and being in an unknown setting can prompt anxiety.

These times of change or transition to new locations can prompt negative emotions such as stress, anxiety or confusion. In addition, Sam will often demonstrate specific behaviours such as property destruction, fidgeting and pica that signal to his class teacher that he is uncomfortable with the absence of routine. Pica is an extreme and challenging mannerism where indigestible substances are swallowed, often exhibited by children with ASD (Parry-Jones & Pary-Jones, 2013). Sam tends to ingest objects such as glue, dirt and sand, which are observed as a coping mechanism for Sam during high stress situations.

However, school excursions are a “change” that occurs at least once a term in Sam’s school. Rather than avoiding these situations to prevent negative behaviour, teachers can support Sam to surmount this obstacle by providing him with strategies to prepare for change. Sam’s optimum environment is one that contains an appropriate level of consistency and clarity; Sam should know where things belong, what is expected of him, and what comes next.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder such as Sam will often resist changes in their routine to avoid stress and uncertainty. Sam, in particular, tends to organise his every move to allow himself to process in his mind what he should expect that day. However, it is impossible to avoid changes in daily activities due to school schedules, staff absences, excursions, weather changes, or human error. It is important that educators of inclusive classrooms can introduce students to novel settings, materials, peers, and activities throughout the school year to increase exposure to a broad range of experiences. In turn, ASD students will be prepared for the possibility of change, as well as the procedures that will be followed when changes occur. These tools are vital for Sam in increasing his ability to engage in successful transitions.

There are many strategies that can be implemented to prepare Sam for changes such as school excursions. Visual supports throughout the preparation phase for the school excursion and teaching positive routines around change can be helpful. For the purpose of this assignment, the priming method will be utilized to assist Sam in coping with unpredictability in the new setting.

Priming is a method of previewing information or activities that a student is likely to have difficulty with prior to the student engaging in the challenging situation (Hume, 2006). This technique allows Sam to preview future events (school excursions) so they become more predictable. Schreibham and Whalen (2000 as cited in Hume, 2006) assert that priming has been used effectively in academic instruction and social interaction, and has recently been successful in preparing students with Autism Spectrum Disorder for novel settings or changes in routine. The priming strategy used to assist Sam in preparing for the school excursion is a social story.

The social story explains social concepts and situations in a visual format that can increase understanding for students with ASD (Gray, 2000). The visual aid explores all possible unpredictability’s of an excursion from riding on the bus, the plan for the day, to who will be there. The story is written in first person (from Sam’s perspective) at a level of comprehension that suits Sam’s abilities. A number of illustrations are incorporated in the story to support the text and to enhance Sam’s understanding. From previous observations, it is evident that the journey to the destination (particularly bus rides) is the most challenging phase of an excursion. Therefore, two social stories have been created, one for riding on the bus and the second for the excursion. The “Riding on the bus” social story provides Sam with an overview of all details he needs to know to avoid unpredictability. The story explains how to get on the bus, how to share a seat on the bus, how to conduct a conversation on the bus, and how to behave appropriately on a bus.  The second social story, “My excursion”, is written specifically to suit the excursion Tom will go on. However, each story covers the general idea of who will be at the excursion, where it will be, how to behave appropriately, and what will happen during the day. These social stories are introduced to Sam three to five days before the excursion, and are read through each day leading up to the excursion. This gives Sam enough time to mentally prepare himself for the change and new setting of the excursion.

The priming strategy is a useful technique to explain and prepare students with ASD for significant events. A social story provides the students with a detailed overview of what to expect in a visual format. This allows the individual to gain understanding of the answers to questions they may not know how to ask.