With school day routines working out their kinks and feeling more manageable, it might be time to check in with your children and even their teachers. Are they keeping up in classes and the daily learning? How much homework are they having to tackle each night? Are their first test grades meeting standards? What do their locker and backpacks look like?
If answers to these questions are met with more questions, it could mean that your student may need more help to get organized, learn notetaking skills, and could benefit from help with professionals in the classroom and outside of school, too. It’s important to intervene early in the school year to be able to find a better way forward. Starting new school routines, with new subjects to learn, can be challenging to most. Add in a student who may have a special need, like ADHD, anxiety, or autism, and the school year could feel like there are too many obstacles and not enough solutions.
In this month’s feature articles, 9 Tips to Help ADHD Kids Get and Stay Organized and Navigating Special Needs, there are great tips to consider while navigating the school year with various needs in mind. One great suggestion is to make a fresh start often. Together, go through the backpack, organize the homework folders, clean out the distractions, and reset the workspace. Also, it could be a great time to contact the teachers and do a check-in on your student’s grades, focus, and communicate areas of concern and success. Giving your special needs student time to get a clean start might be all the extra help needed for them to feel more confident in starting a new school week.
Another tip, and a great reminder for all parents, is to let them take ownership. Work with your children on a plan for a successful year. They need to understand where help might be needed and how to keep the lines of communication open at home and at school. Let them make decisions on what is working and what might not be working for them. Brainstorming with you and with teachers on ways to help gives them a personal sense of ownership in the school plan.
East Alabama has an amazing support system for families with special needs. There are various local businesses that offer testing, consulting, collaboration, therapies, and recreation for students and their families as they navigate their special needs at home and in the classroom. For a list of local support and regional support, check out this year’s Special Needs Guide, featuring places to start in Auburn and Opelika and websites to click through for the most up-to-date research and resources.
From one parent to another, it’s time to check in with our students and find out how school is going, and areas that may need help and some intervention. Keep those communication lines open with your children and their teachers this school year, and success will surely follow.
