Whether your child is going to school for the first time, attending a new school or just going back to their previous school, getting ready for a new school year can be stressful for kids with autism/ADHD. A new teacher and classroom is an unknown for your child, which can be exciting or scary depending on your child’s perspective. As a parent or caregiver, you can help them prepare during the weeks leading up to a new school year. Try these 11 tips for preparing your child with autism/ADHD for a new school year.
Find or write social stories about going back to school
For some kids, social stories can be incredibly helpful to understand what to expect and to learn about the expected behaviors for a situation. You can write one on your own or check out Social Stories by Carol Gray (affiliate link) for stories to use about going back to school.
Create a visual guide for your child
Children with autism are usually visual learners. It may be helpful to create a flip book with pictures as a guide to help your child prepare for a new school year. For instance, you can take photos of outside of the school building, the playground and the bus stop (if your child will be riding a bus to school). You also could email your school’s principal or special services director to see if they could send a few photos from inside the school, like the cafeteria, gym, office, hallways and other common areas. Then reach out to your child’s teacher for the new year to see if they can send you a photo of themselves and their classroom. Your child will enjoy having a visual resource they can look at over and over again before school starts.
Visit your child’s classroom
Schedule a walkthrough of your child’s classroom(s) early as part of preparing your child for the new school year. If your school and/or teachers allow it, plan to take your child to the school to see their classroom(s) during a time when few people are in the building. Also, you will want to walk through the school building. If your child is in elementary school, try to schedule it so they can meet their teacher. With middle or high school, that can be a little more difficult, however, you may be able to meet your child’s resource teacher. It is still important for them to be able to walk their schedule and find their new classrooms.
For our son J, this has been a key to helping him prepare each year for school, and he feels much more comfortable being able to meet his teacher and visit his classroom ahead of time. It’s also helped me as a parent to meet the teacher early so I can be sure they have a copy of J’s individualized education plan (IEP) and to get a sense of their interaction with him.
Develop a visual schedule of for your child’s school day
Even if you don’t know what your child’s specific day of learning will look like, you still could put together a high-level visual schedule for the day. It can include getting ready in the morning, transportation to school, lunch, recess time and transportation back home. This could help remind your child of the overall flow of the day and help with preparing your child for the new school year.
Take trips to the school playground
If your child is in elementary school, take them to the school playground several times in the weeks leading up to the new year. They can get reacquainted with the playground and school grounds.
Discuss riding the school bus and rules
If your child will be riding the school bus this year, then walk to the bus stop and talk about riding the bus. If you know who your school bus driver will be, help your child learn their name and even meet them before school if your bus driver will meet you at the school or bus barn before the year starts. Also, remind your child of the rules they need to follow while riding the bus.
Be sure they understand drop-off and pick-up if car rider, bike rider or walker
If your child will be riding in a car, biking or walking to school, be sure they are familiar with the drop-off and pick-up procedures. You can even add this to their visual schedule.
Prepare your child’s backpack and include favorite sensory items
You and your child can prepare their backpack about a week before school begins. In addition to the required school supplies, ensure you pack a couple of sensory items for them such as fidget toys, chew necklaces or earmuffs so they will have them when needed.
Practice the morning school routine
As parents and caregivers, we know one of the toughest times of the school day is the morning. Getting them out the door to school on time is usually a challenge. Practice the school morning routine, so they will be better prepared for the changes they need to make when school begins.
Make any changes for the nighttime routine
If you need to make any changes to your child’s nighttime routine, be sure to do so before school begins. Discuss those changes with your child and have them practice, helping them ease into the changes.
Plan the after-school routine
The after-school routine is important. Decide what you’d like your child to do after school and talk through those steps with them. For instance, when they get home, they can empty their backpacks, determine what (if any) homework they have for the afternoon/evening, eat a snack and start homework at a specific time. Knowing what this routine will be will help your child. I know it has always helped our son J since he usually needs some downtime right after school.
Special considerations for the 2020-21 school year
For this year, parents and kids have even more to prepare for as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Some schools are starting in person, others are beginning the year with eLearning only, and others are offering a virtual option to parents and students.
If your child is going back to school in person this year, the school system most likely will have many additional safety protocols in place such as mask requirements, placement of desks, flow of walking in hallways, recess changes to ensure social distancing and more. Be sure to prepare your child for those changes. Most schools have been sharing detailed information with parents. A visual schedule or creating some social stories can help explain these changes.
If your child will be attending school virtually or switching to an online school, then prepare them for those changes by discussing the schedule, where your child’s school supplies are located, and anything else that will help them better understand how school days will flow.
Have you decided to home school? Talking to your child about those significant changes will be key in helping them adapt to a new way of doing school and for you or a tutor to be their teacher. If you also work from home, download this free resource that discusses ways you can successfully homeschool your child while working from home.
What suggestions do you have for preparing your child with autism/ADHD for a new school year? Leave them in comments section so we can connect and support one another!
