Transition Difficulty/tran-ZI-shun DIF-i-kul-tee/
Struggles moving from one activity, environment, or mindset to another.
Andy says:
Think of attention like a train—it needs time and signals to switch tracks.
Detailed Explanation
Transitions demand task closure, attention shift, and new rules. They’re hard with monotropic focus, high sensory load, or time blindness. Supports add preview, anchors, and softer ramps.
Community Context
Common in autistic and ADHD profiles; also after deep focus in anyone. Good transitions respect momentum and predictability.
Quick Tips
- Preview what’s next; use countdowns and “last steps”
- Build bridges: carry over a small element from task A to B
- Allow a short recovery buffer
Do / Don't
- Do: use visual timers and clear end/start cues
- Don't: spring abrupt changes without reason
Scientific Context
Executive shift costs and sensory load explain friction; structure reduces it.
Language Notes
Related: monotropism, time blindness, context switching.
Related Terms
Time Blindness
The difficulty sensing how much time has passed or accurately estimating how long tasks will take. Living in an eternal "now" where time flows unpredictably—five minutes can feel like an hour, or three hours pass in what seems like moments.
Context Switching
Context switching is the brutal cognitive price tag attached to every "quick question," every notification ping, every "this'll just take a second"—the hidden mental machinery required to save your entire cognitive state, dump it from working memory, load an entirely different program, run it, then somehow reconstruct where you were before the interruption shattered your flow. Like a computer forced to constantly swap between heavy programs on insufficient RAM, context switching transforms what could be smooth cognitive performance into a stuttering, exhausting cycle of mental stops and starts that leaves you wondering why you're so tired after a day of "just emails and meetings."
Monotropism
The theory that autistic minds naturally focus like a laser on one thing at a time, rather than spreading attention thinly across many things. This intense single-channel processing creates both superpowers (deep expertise) and vulnerabilities (difficulty switching tasks).
Co-regulation
When one nervous system helps stabilize another through presence and connection. Not talking someone through their emotions—literally sharing your calm until their system remembers how to regulate. Like emotional jumper cables: you can't charge a dead battery by yelling at it, but you can share power from a working one.
Visual Schedules
Structured visual representations of daily activities, tasks, or routines using pictures, symbols, or text to support planning, transitions, and time management.
Sources
Community Contributions
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