Easing Into the New School Year

For those parents whose kids are just about finishing up Extended School Year, or those who might be taking a couple weeks off after summer camp to catch a break before returning to school, there’s a couple things that you could be doing to help make your child’s transition back into school a little less stressful.

Think back to when you were in school. What would you say was the most stressful day of any school year? Yep, it was the first day of school. Not knowing your new teacher, the kids you’re going to be spending your day with, where your classroom is, where you’re gonna sit, and the big question, what time is recess? That might have been you a long time ago, but kids today struggle with the same stuff, and sadly, a whole lot more. So, why wouldn’t we want to set them up as positively as possible from the first day of school?

Before I make some suggestions of a few things that you can do to begin to help your child prepare for the upcoming school year, I just want to remind everybody that the services on your child’s IEP are required to begin the very first day of school. When it comes to things like speech therapy or occupational therapy, if you so choose, you can be slightly flexible in allowing the first week to go by without services, but certainly not longer than that. However, when it comes to inclusion, that should most definitely begin from the very first day. It is the first day of school when the teacher welcomes all of his or her students, directs the children on how to introduce themselves to others, shows them where they’re going to sit and where they’re going to put their personal belongings, reviews the schedule and how the class will flow and basically, teaches the kids how they’re going to work together to have an incredible school year. Imagine being a child that misses out on all of that just because the administration at the school may find it difficult to ensure that the paraprofessional that your child needs is in place from the first day. Don’t let that happen. No matter the age or level of your child, they need you to be their voice.

8 Steps to Ease Into the New School Year

1. Call the school and ask administration if you can come over and take some pictures of the cafeteria, the library, the hallways, the field out back, and even an empty classroom if that’s all they have. If you get really lucky, and they will tell you who the teacher is going to be, then see if you can find them in a recent yearbook or even on Facebook. You want to gather as many pictures as you can about the school and who your child will be spending their day with.
2. Take those pictures and create a social story about the new school year. Be sure to keep it as positive as possible and make it sound like it’s going to be the best year ever!
3. Once you have the social story completed, review it with your child a couple times and then plan a walkthrough on campus. Call administration at the school, explain to them that your child has special needs and that the year would go so much smoother if they were able to come and walk the halls and get a feel for the school environment. This is really ideal if your child’s going to be starting a new school, but it’s also a good one even if your child went to school there last year.
4. If your child is in middle or high school, call the school and talk to the guidance counselor that they will be assigned to this coming year. Ask for their schedule. Typically speaking, the kids don’t get their schedule until the Thursday or Friday before the school year starts, but a persuasive and proactive parent oftentimes will be able to get the schedule well in advance. Yes, they can tell you that they don’t have it yet, but I always suggest asking. Far too often the schedule of kids with disabilities is an afterthought by school administration, but when they experience a passionate parent’s persistence in getting such information, they tend to be more thoughtful in this process.
5. If your child uses any type of technology or physical devices to assist them in school, you want to call and ask if those things are in place before day one. For instance, students who use communication devices need to have those devices from the minute they exit the vehicle on the first day of school. Students who use adaptive keyboards need to have those in place and should be operable from the very first day. If your child uses a pencil grip so that they can maintain their grasp on a writing utensil, then make sure that is in place as well.
6. There are many kids who have medical needs. If your child has seizures, it should be written into their IEP that the staff is trained in recognizing seizures, as well as seizure protocol during and immediately after a seizure has occurred. Contact administration and ask if the staff that will be working with your child has been trained. This goes the same for students who have an epipen for allergies or any other type of medical device.
7. Begin writing your thoughts down that you would like to include in a document that I call, “A Day in the Life”. I will send more specific information about that next week, but basically, you’re going to start keeping a list of things that you think are super-important for your child’s teacher to know about who they are and what they need.
8. Many students with disabilities require a paraprofessional in order to assist them during inclusionary opportunities. If your child is one of those kids, contact administration and ask if that person has been determined and is on the schedule to be with your child from the very first day of school.

I hope that you found this list helpful, or at the very least, gives you a push in the right direction as we begin to think about kids returning to school. I will be sending more information over the next few weeks that will give you more specifics on how to help your child have the best year ever, so watch for that.

Warmest

Stacey