Back to School Tips

Back to School Tips-10 Things To Do Before School Starts

1. Review your child’s current paperwork-IEP, 504 Plan & evaluations.
2. Visit/tour the school-do a walk through of the school & classroom. 
3. Connect personally with your child’s teacher & service providers-if you can set up a time to go to the school before school starts to meet & communicate with your child’s staff. Provide them with a little information about your child’s particular strengths & challenges.
4. Establish an easy, reliable communication checklist-quick checklist in a binder that goes back & forth every day. Ask quick yes/no or short-answer questions that the teacher or aide can answer while your child gets ready to go home.
5. Collect information about extracurricular options & special events-often non-academic programs/activities are the best place for your child to explore strengths, meet friends & start to enjoy the school experience.
6. Get organized-determine your child’s biggest organizational challenges & come up with solutions before classes begin.
7. Create a “New School Year” calendar & schedule for your child-start the morning routine early. Start that schedule/routine a few weeks early to get them comfortable with it before the first day of school.
8. Help your child preview the new school year-talk about emotions & feelings of anxiety. Keep your language about school positive.
9. Set goals together-set academic, behavior, social, etc. goals together. Be sure to review the goals periodically.
10. Address potential issues/challenges ahead of time-the more proactive you are the better able you’ll be to help your child before a problem arises.