Photo created by Tiffany Szerpicki
Back to school tips for your special needs child.
Back to school can cause a lot of anxiety for your special needs child. They may be beginning school for the first time, or they may be moving on to a higher grade in a new building. Whatever their age or grade, back to school can be very hard on the special needs child. Adjusting to a new teacher with new rules is something they are going to have to deal with each new school year.
Here are some tips that can help your special needs child adjust to their new teacher when they head back to school this fall.
Back to school tip 1 for helping your special needs child adjust to their teacher.
Write a letter to your special needs child’s new teacher. Introduce your child. Explain their strengths and their weaknesses. Give the new teacher an idea of what to expect from your special needs child. You could also include a little about your child’s disability. Not all teachers have had experience with children that have special needs.
Back to school tip 2 for helping your special needs child adjust to their teacher.
Attend meet the teacher night, or try to arrange a meeting before the kids head back to school. This will give your special needs child and the teacher a chance to get to know each other before there are twenty other kids in the classroom competing for her attention. Your child may feel better knowing where their desk will be, and what the classroom will look like. This will give you a chance to talk to the teacher about your child’s seating. If they need to be by the teacher’s desk or in the front row, it is better to have that arrangement made before the start of school.
Back to school tip 3 for helping your special needs child adjust to their teacher.
Keep an open line of communication with your special needs child’s new teacher. This will make sure that any problems that should occur are dealt with quickly. Explain to the teacher that you look forward to, and invite lots of communication from her.
Back to school is a time of excitement and anxiety for your special needs child. By following these back to school tips you can help relieve some of the anxiety your child may be feeling.
For more information on special needs children and back to school read the following articles.
Ways to save on back to school shopping for children with sensory disorders
Preparing for your child's IEP meeting
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