Get Ready for a Great School Experience!

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Get Ready for a Great School Experience!

School will be starting again before we know it!  All children (and parents!) can prepare for a smoother transition from the flexibility of summer time to the set routine of the school day.

Speech & Occupational Therapy of North Texas serves children of all ages and many of our clients fall between the ages of kindergarten through elementary school.  Most of us can recall at least one first day of elementary school.   We might have been a little frightened, shy or perhaps very excited.   Chances are that younger children may have some fear associated with this new experience.  How can we help make the transition successful for younger children?  Consider these suggestions:

• See if your child can visit his classroom and meet his teachers prior to the first day of school. It will be comforting for your child to see you having a friendly chat with his teacher.  This takes the teacher a little out of the category of “stranger” and places her more into the category of “familiar”.
• If you know other children who may be in your child’s class, consider a few play dates during the summer so that there will be familiar classmates.
• To the degree appropriate, let your child help plan the morning, afternoon and bedtime routines associated with a school day. For younger children, a visual schedule can also be very helpful.
• Get school year sleep back on track by gradually going to bed earlier so your child can wake up at the best time to get ready for school in an unrushed manner.
• Read stories about starting school. Two good choices are I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child and Chu’s First Day of School by Neil Gaiman.
• Acknowledge your child’s feelings and share similar feelings you might recall from starting school. Talk about what made it easier for you, like a friend, or a particular teacher.  Share what you did when you came home after school; a special snack or sharing about your day with Mom or a friend.
• If your child is on the autism spectrum or has a developmental disorder, consider using social stories and photographs of the new classroom/school.  Also be sure you have visual schedules in place for his classroom. A schedule can be requested as a support in your ARD meeting prior to the beginning of the school year.
• For children on the spectrum or other developmental challenges, a visual schedule for the morning routine at home will be very helpful as well.

Developing friendly collaborative relationships with your child’s teachers and school based therapists can also help your child have an easier transition and positive school experience.  Sharing helpful hints about your child, high interest toys and activities, and recent events (and photos of such) can help educators structure for a positive and productive school day.

Speech & Occupational Therapy of North Texas is happy to communicate with teachers of our clients at the parent’s requests.  We all want the same outcome.  A happy, successful school experience for each child!

Many children who still have an identified need for treatment may not qualify for speech or occupational therapy services through the school district due to different qualification requirements.  Or you may have a child who needs additional or individual therapy.  Contact us at 972-424-0148 to learn more about our services.  We work with a broad range of diagnoses, from articulation, fluency, and motor planning deficits, to sensory integration and apraxia in each our three clinics.  Clinics are located in Plano, Frisco and McKinney.

Plano ISD 2016-17 Calendar

http://www.pisd.edu/common/calendar/calendar.glance.1617PlanoISD.shtml

Allen ISD 2016-17 Calendar

http://www.allenisd.org/cms/lib8/TX01001197/Centricity/Domain/71/Academic%202016-17.pdf

McKinney ISD 2016-17 Calendar

http://www.mckinneyisd.net/calendars/16-17_Calendar.pdf

Frisco ISD 2016-17 Calendar

http://www.friscoisd.org/docs/default-source/frisco-isd-calendars/2016-17-school-calendar-approved.pdf[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]