DR RADICA MAHASE
In about six weeks, schools will reopen in TT. Starting a new school, or returning to school after some time can lead to anxiety for many children. For some children on the autism spectrum, as well as children with other special educational needs or disabilities, the whole idea can be a very intimidating one.
Many may find change very confusing, others might suffer anxiety because of a new routine and many are faced with sensory challenges. With this in mind, it is important to prepare children in advance, to help them to deal with the school environment and the changes that might come with going out to school. Author Kate Barrington noted that, “If you have a child with autism, you may need to start preparing him early – before he even sets foot in the classroom.”
Many children on the autism spectrum need to be introduced to new routines slowly. Thus, it might help to start adjusting sleeping hours and eating habits from now, rather than in September when they begin attending school. In this way, they will adjust to waking up and going to sleep at a specific time and accustomed to the idea of a new schedule. Doing so will allow your child to get comfortable with the new changes prior to the start of school.
If your child has difficulties adjusting to new routines, consider using visual aids such as animated videos. Having a calendar with important days marked quite clearly, and also social stories can help your child to understand the entire process and what is expected of him/her. Keeping a scrapbook or photo collection might also help to create a sense of familiarity – photos of every and anything associated with this "new life" – uniform, books, the school, classrooms, the teachers, etc, can help a child to adjust to school with less anxiety.
[caption id="attachment_966504" align="alignnone" width="681"] Involve your child in the preparation process for the start of the new school term. - courtesy Sataish Rampersad[/caption]
In cases where the child is attending school for the first time, or is now coming back out to physical school since pre-covid times, it might help to do some "test runs" – that is drive the route to the school, let the child see the school that s/he will be attending. It might also help if the child is allowed to tour the school area, see the classroom, shown how to get to the bathroom area and so on. This will give a sense of familiarity and will help the child to settle in.
Feel free to introduce your child to teachers, staff and aides before school opens in September. For children on the autism spectrum, they will have some time to understand that they will be going into a new environment, with new people so that the while process is not too traumatic for them. It will give the teachers, staff and aides an opportunity to meet and interact with your child before formal classes begin. Also make sure that they are aware of special requirements for your child, so that everyone is on the same page.
Prepare all material before, and let your child get accustom
