Transition Tips for Starting High School with Additional Needs

The First Day of High School Doesn’t Have to Feel Impossible

For many families, the lead-up to high school brings a familiar mixture of excitement and apprehension. For parents and carers of children with additional needs, disabilities, or learning differences, that mix can lean heavily towards anxiety. New teachers, larger campuses, more complex social dynamics, and increased academic demands arrive all at once – often without the scaffolding that primary school carefully put in place over many years.

The good news is that a successful high school transition for students with additional needs is absolutely achievable. It requires time, communication, and the right support structures – and the earlier families start planning, the better the outcomes. This article brings together research-backed transition tips for starting high school with additional needs, covering everything from legal rights and reasonable adjustments to occupational therapy support and building independence skills.

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Why Does Starting High School Feel So Challenging for Students with Additional Needs?

High school represents one of the most significant environmental shifts a young person will experience. Where primary school typically involves one teacher, one classroom, and a familiar peer group, secondary school introduces multiple teachers with different teaching styles, movement between classrooms, a larger student population, and greater expectations around personal organisation and independence.

For students with additional needs – whether they have autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, an intellectual disability, a physical disability, or a combination of learning differences – each of these changes carries additional weight.

The Key Changes That Require Preparation

The transition to secondary school typically involves:

• New teachers and varying classroom expectations
• Increased subject complexity and academic demands
• Larger school campuses requiring navigation
• Movement between multiple classrooms throughout the day
• Greater independence around time management and organisation
• Shifting social dynamics and peer group changes
• More complex rules, routines, and unspoken social norms

Research from the Australian Education Research Organisation identifies that effective transitions occur when students develop a genuine sense of belonging, feel valued by teachers and peers, experience the curriculum as relevant and manageable, and can bring their authentic selves to the school community. When these elements are in place, students with additional needs are far more likely to remain engaged and complete their secondary education.

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When Should You Start Planning the High School Transition with Additional Needs?

Early planning is one of the most consistent recommendations across Australian state education departments. For families in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and elsewhere across Australia, the guidance is clear: do not wait until Term 4 of Year 6 to begin.

In New South Wales, families are encouraged to meet with the school’s principal or learning support team at least 12 months before the child starts high school. Where the child requires support related to access or mobility, planning should begin up to two years in advance.

In Victoria, starting in Year 5 or earlier is recommended, allowing time to research school options, attend open days, organise assessments, and begin planning adjustments.

In Queensland, the Department of Education similarly recommends early identification of appropriate educational settings, required adjustments, and key school contacts.

A Practical Planning Timeline

Stage	Recommended Actions
Year 5 (Early planning)	Research school options, attend open days, tour secondary schools with your child, begin transition discussions at Student Support Group (SSG) meetings
Year 6, Terms 1–3	Enrol your child, participate in SSG meetings, meet the Year 7 coordinator and inclusion leader, arrange supported school visits
Year 6, Term 4	Finalise transition statement, practise the transport route, confirm orientation day attendance, request an SSG meeting for the first term of Year 7
Before Term 1, Year 7	Pre-term school visit to locate locker, meet key staff, practise morning routines and packing
Year 7, Term 1	Hold SSG meeting early in term, monitor adjustment and wellbeing, review reasonable adjustments

A transition statement – a document that profiles your child’s strengths, disability-related needs, required adjustments, communication style, sensory needs, and behaviour support strategies – is a central tool throughout this process. Both the primary school and the family contribute to this document, and it forms the foundation for planning at the secondary school.

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What Reasonable Adjustments Can Schools Provide for Students with Additional Needs?

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, all Australian schools are legally required to make reasonable adjustments to allow students with disability to participate and learn on the same basis as their peers. Schools must consult with students and their families to develop these adjustments.

Reasonable adjustments are not a favour – they are a legal requirement. They range from relatively simple classroom modifications to more involved structural changes, and they should always be tailored to the individual student’s needs.

Physical Environment Adjustments

• Installing ramps or modifying building accessibility
• Creating quiet areas for sensory breaks or emotional regulation
• Adapting classroom layout to reduce sensory overload (minimising clutter and glare)
• Reducing distances between classes for students with physical disabilities
• Providing appropriate medication storage areas

Instructional and Curriculum Adjustments

• Breaking lessons into smaller, manageable sections
• Using visual supports such as anchor charts, visual timetables, and word walls
• Providing materials in simplified, enlarged, or alternative formats
• Using assistive technology including screen readers, speech-to-text tools, and communication devices
• Offering more modelling and demonstration of concepts

Assessment Adjustments

• Allowing oral examinations in place of written assessments
• Providing additional time to complete exams
• Scheduling rest breaks during assessments
• Offering quiet testing spaces
• Permitting readers, scribes, or the use of a computer

Social, Emotional, and Organisational Adjustments

• Buddy systems with trained peer supporters
• Structured support for time management and organisation
• Visual timetables and daily schedules
• Consistent routines and clear expectations
• Regular check-ins with key contacts such as the school counsellor or Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO)

If you are unsure whether an adjustment is available to your child, begin by speaking with the school’s inclusion leader, year coordinator, or special education coordinator. Bringing current assessments, therapy reports, your child’s NDIS plan (if applicable), and previous school support documentation to those meetings will help significantly.

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How Can Occupational Therapy Support the High School Transition with Additional Needs?

Occupational therapy (OT) plays a meaningful role in supporting students with disabilities or additional needs as they move into secondary school. Rather than focusing on isolated skill practice, high school occupational therapy shifts towards functional problem-solving, meaningful participation, and preparing students for real-life roles beyond the classroom.

Occupational therapists can assess how a student functions across daily tasks and environments, identify barriers to participation, and recommend practical strategies that school staff and families can implement. This includes:

• Assessing independence in daily living and self-care skills
• Recommending environmental modifications and assistive technology
• Supporting the development of executive functioning strategies (organisation, planning, time management)
• Building self-regulation and coping skills for managing change and sensory demands
• Collaborating with school staff to adjust task demands and classroom supports
• Providing guidance on life skills such as using public transport, managing a school timetable, and navigating new social environments
• Supporting students to develop self-advocacy skills – understanding their own needs and communicating them clearly

Research indicates that when transition-focused occupational therapy is included during high school, students demonstrate improvements in independence in daily living, social participation, community living skills, and self-determination. Despite this, occupational therapy remains underrepresented on transition teams for students with disabilities – meaning families may need to proactively request this support.

For NDIS participants, occupational therapy may be funded under the plan where the student’s support needs extend beyond what the school is required to provide. Importantly, NDIS funding supplements – but does not replace – school-based support.

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How Can Families Build Independence and Self-Advocacy Before High School?

One of the most valuable investments families can make ahead of high school is building everyday independence and self-advocacy skills. These are not skills that appear overnight – they develop incrementally through consistent practice at home and in the community.

Practical Independence Skills to Develop

Organisation and Daily Routines

• Packing the school bag the evening before
• Using a visual or written daily timetable
• Managing a combination lock
• Locating classrooms using a school map

Community and Transport Skills

• Practising the route to school by public transport or on foot
• Reading bus or train timetables
• Road safety and pedestrian awareness

Self-Care and Personal Maintenance

• Managing personal hygiene independently
• Preparing simple meals and snacks
• Understanding and managing medications with guidance

Self-Advocacy

• Describing their own strengths and learning differences clearly
• Knowing who to approach at school when something is not working
• Participating actively in their own IEP or SSG meetings
• Understanding their rights under Australian education law

Teaching self-advocacy is particularly important. When students can articulate their own needs – whether that means asking for a quiet workspace, requesting a task broken into steps, or knowing who their safe person is at school – they are far better placed to navigate the inevitable challenges of a new environment.

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How Can You Support Your Child’s Mental Health During the High School Transition?

School transitions are consistently identified as times of heightened anxiety for neurodivergent students and those with additional needs. Recognising signs of transition anxiety and responding thoughtfully can make a substantial difference to how a young person settles into high school.

Common challenges include coping with environmental change, building new relationships, understanding unfamiliar rules and expectations, and managing the day-to-day functional demands of a larger school.

Before the Transition

• Begin conversations about high school well in advance – not the week before
• Allow your child to name and express worries without dismissing them
• Maintain familiar home routines during the school holiday period before Year 7
• Visit the school together, take photos of key spaces (locker areas, toilets, the library), and draw simple maps
• Identify a safe person at the new school and make sure your child knows who to approach
• Practise the morning routine, including the commute, before the school year begins

During and After the Transition

• Keep check-ins brief and natural – conversation during a walk or drive is often more effective than a formal sit-down
• Celebrate small successes and progress
• Support the development of practical coping strategies such as deep breathing, movement breaks, or music
• Stay in regular contact with school staff
• Monitor changes in sleep, appetite, mood, attendance, or social connection
• Avoid overloading your child’s schedule in the first weeks of high school

If anxiety is significantly interfering with daily functioning, attendance, or wellbeing, seek support early. School counsellors, psychologists, and allied health professionals can all play a role – and for NDIS participants, relevant supports may be available within the existing plan.

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Putting It All Together: A Path Forward for Families

Starting high school with additional needs is a significant milestone – but it is one that can be navigated with confidence when the right supports are in place early enough. The foundations of a successful transition include beginning planning in Year 5 or earlier, building a strong transition statement, understanding your child’s legal rights to reasonable adjustments, developing daily independence and self-advocacy skills, and connecting with the appropriate allied health professionals and school contacts.

Occupational therapy is one piece of that support network – one that focuses on how your child functions in real, everyday environments and helps remove barriers to meaningful participation. Whether accessed through the NDIS, privately, or via a mobile service, OT support during the transition period can strengthen outcomes in independence, participation, and wellbeing for years to come.