Before Each School Year Starts

Visit school ahead of starting each year if possible for your teen to meet the teachers and staff and see their classroom(s), where the bathroom is, and where main activities are held. Share information about your teen’s strengths and needs, and ask how the teachers and interventionist prefer to communicate.

Have your teen walk through their schedule going to their different classrooms and main activity areas like the cafeteria a few times on a day when there aren’t many other people around.

If your teen is attending school virtually make sure you are clear on how the technology works and help your teen practice and learn the most important steps. Check your Internet bandwidth. If you’re in need of internet access or better quality access, check your child’s school or county to see if they have free or reduced rate Internet access in your community. If your child is more impacted, keep notes on the issues you are seeing your child having, and share w the teacher or interventionist.

Issues to Discuss with the School Team

Share with the teachers or interventionist issues you’re working on including anything that involves safety, how you and your teen are learning what might set off or feel like a meltdown coming on, how you address that at home and how you’re handling safety in general at home.

Ask how assemblies, celebrations and special occasions are handled and where they are held, such as in an auditorium. They may involve food, loud music and sounds, bright lights that may also be challenging for your teen.

Preparing Your Teen for Success

Make sure your teen learns at the start of each school year what the school rules are including being clear on what to do if they need to leave the classroom to go to the bathroom. There is often a school handbook that outlines what behavior expectations and rules are. Bring up any issues that you think may be a challenge.

Help your teen learn how to manage their own schedule, from when they wake up to how the day flows into evening and bedtime, especially as they make each school year transition. Encourage them to think about allowing enough time to get ready for school independently, before and after school activities, therapy appointments, homework/studying and planning their evening so they get enough sleep. Before the beginning of each school year, consider if they are being realistic about what they can handle. Have they allowed enough time for each of the important areas of their life -- school, homework, therapy, social/friendship opportunities, relaxation, sleep. Ask them to plan when they will take a break.

If possible have your teen pick and make their lunch and snack and check their school’s lunch schedule to decide if they will buy or bring. If your teen attends public school, they often provide reduced or free lunches or breakfasts.

Leave room for typical teen activities, such as attending Friday night football games or other sporting events with their peers, visiting a popular hangout or going to the mall. If they want to go.

For some teens it’s helpful to have a visual schedule on an iPhone, a wipe off board or a piece of paper. It gives them a sense of a routine, what to anticipate and a way to be able to build in different activities such as homework and choice time when they can pick what they want to do. It breaks down their schedule rather than an endless power struggle of vast amounts of open time. The Milestones Visual Support Tool Kit provides ideas and advice.

For Teens Who Will Be Applying to College

If your teen will be college bound, think about whether they will need time in high school for college entrance exams if the colleges they apply to require the SAT or ACT. It depends on which schools they are interested in as more schools are not requiring tests for admittance.

Completing college applications can be time consuming, ranging from very simple to much more complex with an essay required. The Milestones Postsecondary/College Tool Kit provides information about the college application process, things to think about in choosing a college, and the transition process.

Additional Resources

Milestones Afterschool Activities & Independent Leisure Skills Tool Kit

Leisure Skills article in the Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool

School Tips and Strategies for Teens article in the MAP Tool

Back to School Tool Kit from Mental Health America (available in English and Spanish)