How to Use ABA Preteaching for a Smooth Summer Transition

A Practical Guide for Families and Educators

Summer brings exciting opportunities for children to explore new activities, build independence, and enjoy a break from the school-year routine. However, changes in schedules, caregivers, transportation, environments, and daily expectations can be challenging for students who rely on structure and predictability.

For some children, sudden routine changes may lead to anxiety, challenging behaviors, or difficulty maintaining important communication, social, and daily living skills.

Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, offers proactive strategies that can help students prepare for these changes. Techniques such as preteaching, visual schedules, task analysis, social stories, video modeling, and positive reinforcement can make summer transitions more predictable and manageable.

Below are practical ABA strategies that families, educators, and caregivers can use to support a smoother and more successful summer.

What Is Preteaching in ABA?

Preteaching is the process of introducing and practicing a new routine, activity, or expectation before the student experiences it independently.

Instead of placing a child in an unfamiliar situation without preparation, preteaching gives them an opportunity to understand what will happen in a calm, supportive environment. This may be especially helpful before situations involving:

• New summer programs or camps
• Changes in transportation
• Unfamiliar staff or caregivers
• Crowded community settings
• Outdoor activities and summer heat
• New sounds, sensory experiences, or social expectations

Students who experience anxiety or difficulty with transitions may benefit from beginning the preteaching process at least one week before a new routine starts.

Use simple, consistent language and provide opportunities for the student to ask questions, express concerns, and practice each step.

Introduce Summer Routines Early

Whenever possible, begin preparing students before the school year ends or before a summer program begins.

Families and educators can:

• Explain what will change and what will stay the same
• Review the new daily schedule
• Visit a new location ahead of time
• Introduce new caregivers, teachers, or staff
• Practice transportation and arrival routines
• Role-play common summer situations

Early preparation can help reduce uncertainty and give students more time to adjust to new expectations.

Use Visual Schedules to Increase Predictability

Visual schedules are valuable ABA tools for helping students understand what is happening now and what will happen next.

A summer visual schedule may include:

• Fotografías
• Icons or symbols
• Dibujos
• Written checklists
• Digital schedules on a phone or tablet

Choose a format that matches the student’s age, communication style, abilities, and interests.

Keep the schedule visible and accessible throughout the day. Review it each morning and whenever the routine changes. When possible, show changes visually rather than relying only on verbal explanations.

For example, a summer schedule might include:

1. Eat breakfast
2. Get dressed
3. Pack a snack
4. Ride to summer camp
5. Complete morning activities
6. Eat lunch
7. Participate in outdoor play
8. Return home

Knowing what comes next can reduce repeated questions and help students move between activities more independently.

Break Larger Activities Into Smaller Steps

Task analysis is an ABA strategy that breaks a complex activity into smaller, manageable steps.

Summer activities can feel overwhelming when students are expected to complete several actions at once. Breaking the routine into individual steps can make it easier to understand and complete.

For example, getting ready for a field trip may include:

1. Put on shoes
2. Apply sunscreen
3. Pack a snack and water bottle
4. Use the restroom
5. Walk to the bus
6. Find a seat
7. Listen to staff instructions

These steps can be written as a checklist or represented with pictures. Depending on the student’s needs, adults can teach one step at a time or practice the entire routine together.

Use First-Then Boards for Difficult Transitions

A first-then board shows the student what needs to happen first and what preferred activity or reward will happen afterward.

Examples include:

• First put on sunscreen, then play outside.
• First clean up, then use the tablet.
• First ride the bus, then go swimming.
• First complete lunch, then visit the playground.

First-then boards can make expectations clearer and help students understand that a preferred activity is still available after they complete the required task.

Practice Social Situations With Scripts and Role-Play

Summer often includes more social activities, such as camps, playground visits, family gatherings, sports, and community events.

Social scripts can help students practice what to say during common interactions. Useful phrases may include:

• “Can I have a turn?”
• “Can I play with you?”
• “I need help.”
• “Can I take a break?”
• “Let’s go outside.”
• “No, thank you.”
• “I’m not ready yet.”

Use clear, constructive language and practice these phrases in a calm environment. Students may role-play with caregivers, siblings, peers, teachers, or support staff before using the skill in a real situation.

Prepare Students With Social Stories

Social stories can explain upcoming events, expectations, and possible challenges in a simple and supportive format.

For example:

1. We are going to the park.
2. The swings may be full when we arrive.
3. I can wait for my turn.
4. I can play with something else while I wait.
5. When a swing is available, I can take my turn.

Read the story several times before the event. Add photographs or illustrations when helpful.

Social stories should also be reviewed and updated as routines change. Summer plans are not always predictable, so stories can include language about flexibility and unexpected events.

Use Video Modeling to Demonstrate New Skills

Video modeling allows students to watch someone demonstrate a routine or social behavior before they are expected to perform it.

A short video might show:

• Packing a bag for camp
• Applying sunscreen
• Boarding a bus
• Waiting in line
• Asking to join an activity
• Taking turns with peers
• Ordering food at a restaurant
• Cleaning up after an activity

Families and educators can record personalized videos using familiar people and locations. Keep videos short, clear, and focused on the specific behavior being taught.

Practice Skills Across Different Settings

An important goal of ABA is generalization, which means helping students use learned skills with different people and in different environments.

A student may successfully follow a routine at school but need additional support using that same routine at home, summer camp, or in the community. This does not mean the student has lost the skill. It may mean the skill needs to be practiced in more settings.

Families, educators, caregivers, and support teams can promote generalization by sharing:

• Visual schedules
• Checklists
• Social stories
• Task-analysis instructions
• Short demonstration videos
• Consistent prompts and reinforcement strategies

Collaboration helps students experience similar expectations across environments while still allowing room for individual needs.

Reinforce Positive Behavior

Positive reinforcement involves recognizing and responding to behaviors that you want to see more often.

As students adjust to summer routines, acknowledge their effort and progress. Reinforcement might include:

• Specific verbal praise
• High fives
• Stickers or tokens
• Extra time with a preferred activity
• A favorite game or toy
• A short movement or sensory break
• Access to a preferred summer activity

Instead of offering only general praise, describe what the student did successfully.

For example:

• “Great job checking your schedule.”
• “You waited calmly for your turn.”
• “You asked for a break using your words.”
• “You followed every step on your checklist.”

Specific praise helps students understand which behavior was successful.

Track Progress and Adjust the Plan

Summer schedules can change quickly, and even a well-prepared routine may need adjustments.

Use simple charts, notes, or checklists to monitor:

• Which transitions are going smoothly
• Which activities are difficult
• What prompts the student needs
• Which reinforcement strategies are effective
• Whether challenging behaviors are increasing or decreasing
• How independently the student completes each routine

Families and support teams should check in regularly to discuss what is working and what may need to change.

Flexibility is essential. A routine that works during the first week of summer may need to be updated as the student becomes more independent or new activities are introduced.

Create a Backup Plan for Unexpected Changes

Even with careful preparation, summer days do not always go according to plan. Weather, staffing changes, transportation delays, canceled activities, or crowded locations can affect the schedule.

Prepare students for these possibilities by including alternatives.

For example:

• If the pool is closed, we will play a water game at home.
• If it rains, we will complete an indoor activity.
• If the park is crowded, we will visit another play area.
• If the bus is late, we will wait with an adult and check the schedule.

Teaching students that plans can change—and showing them what will happen instead—can make unexpected situations feel more manageable.

Supporting a Successful Summer With ABA Strategies

Preteaching summer routines can help students feel more prepared, confident, and independent. By introducing changes early, using visual supports, breaking tasks into smaller steps, practicing social situations, and reinforcing positive behavior, families and educators can create more predictable and supportive summer experiences.

The goal is not to make every day follow a perfect schedule. The goal is to give students the tools and support they need to manage changes, communicate their needs, and participate successfully in summer activities.

Applied ABC supports families, schools, and community programs with individualized behavioral services, practical resources, and guidance for implementing evidence-based ABA strategies.

With thoughtful preparation, consistent teamwork, and a flexible plan, summer can become a meaningful season of learning, connection, and growth.