Barriers to and Facilitators of Successful Early School Transitions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review.

Delgado-Lobete et al. (2020) read 39 studies about kids with autism or other delays starting kindergarten.

They pulled out what parents, kids, and school staff say helps or hurts that first year.

The big theme: everyone has to plan together.

When parents, teachers, and therapists share goals and visit dates, children settle faster and melt down less.

Delgado-Lobete et al. (2019) asked Canadian early-intervention staff the same question one year earlier. That survey said teams already do lots of joint planning, but schools still drag their feet. The new review shows the drag is global.

Mandy et al. (2016) tested a short teacher-led program for older autistic students moving to middle school. It cut behavior problems in half. The review says the same ingredients—staff training, peer buddies, preview visits—work at age five too.

Webster et al. (2022) looked at later grades and found students rarely get a voice in their own plans. The 2020 review didn’t highlight student choice, so add that gap to your transition checklist.

You can turn the review into a one-page transition cheat sheet. List parent worries, child skills to share, and staff training dates. Hand it to the kindergarten team three months before school starts. One sheet, fewer surprises, smoother first day.