During the School Year: Supporting Your Child at Home

A typical challenge for school age children is getting ready for school and the transition home afterwards. A picture schedule breaking out step by step instructions with photos or graphics can help you teach something like getting ready for school. For example you could tape laminated picture cards on the bathroom mirror or have them on a metal ring for your child to flip through as they complete each step. You can use this type of visual for any activity to understand the steps.

Talk with your child about how their day went. Depending on their level of functioning you might make a routine of asking their highs and lows, meaning what were your favorite things about school today and what were challenges. Questions like how was your day may get you a short answer like “fine,” rather than an open-ended question that is specific like what are you learning about in math? Listen to their perspective. For children who are more impacted you could use a chart with smiley, sad and angry faces for them to choose from.

You can use a label maker to label different common items you want them to learn, expanding vocabulary and communication skills for asking for things. You can also label items with painter’s tape, Post-Its, anything that sticks!

Balancing Learning, Activities, Fun and Stress Relief

Be aware that some children can hold it together at school and they sit still all day. It’s important to understand they may come home and release that tension in different ways. Giving them a chance to let off steam, run around, and de-stress in whatever way they express it is important. Understand your child might show more tics, stimming or whatever autistic traits they’re trying to control during the day.

Balance having fun and taking breaks with teaching life skills and doing therapy with your child. School-aged children have most of their day scheduled, while needing to conform to school, adult and peer expectations. Help them learn how to take a break, and share when they need help or feel overwhelmed. Learning coping strategies and to take breaks heads off problem behavior while teaching making smart choices for your child.

As your child develops skills, help them gradually learn to express their needs, strengths, what they’re working on to develop self-awareness and eventually be able to share that with teachers, friends and other professionals to best help them. As your child grows older, it is important for them to learn how to ask for help when something is difficult.

Over time test out different strategies to help your child cope starting with preparing them for an activity. You can prime your child in a number of ways, which means preparing them for what to expect and basics for how to handle an activity or situation. A helpful tool is a social story, which is a story with images that shows an activity or situation that you want to teach.

Collaborating with Your Child’s School Team

Check in with your child’s teacher and interventionist periodically if you are having challenges and sharing if anything is happening at home that might affect them at school. Let them know if there are issues you are dealing with at home to see if they are seeing similar things at school. The teacher may have suggestions that can help you at home and you may have ideas for school. Coordinating the message and approach at school and home can help your child.

Monitor your child’s progress and grades. What do their homework assignments look like? The Milestones Homework Tool Kit gives tips for homework success and building studying skills.

If homework becomes difficult for your child discuss it with the teacher to see if the quantity is appropriate. Could they do a shorter version of the homework that still gives them sufficient practice, such as every other math problem? This should be an accommodation in your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Tracking the homework and how long it takes your child to do different assignments for each class can help document for the teacher and interventionist the need for this accommodation.

When your child starts taking tests and quizzes in school, they may qualify for an accommodation in their IEP of extended time on exams. This means they get a set percentage of extra time such as time and a half or double time. They could also have an accommodation to take tests in a separate testing room which reduces distractions such as background sounds of students tapping pencils, etc.

For state testing, you can get a waiver (meaning not take the test). Or your child may be able to get an alternative assessment. For example, they can have someone ask the questions and help write down your child’s answers.

Planning for Summer

Early each spring consider whether you think your child may qualify for Extended School Year (ESY) services and discuss it with their interventionist. ESY services are special education and related services that are provided by the school district beyond the traditional school year, usually during the summer. The school district can provide ESY in a variety of ways, but the services must be provided at no cost to parents. Your child’s IEP team makes the decision about ESY eligibility. Qualifying for ESY is a complex process. Contact the Milestones free autism Helpdesk for more information.

Planning early for a summer camp experience gives children an important opportunity for growth, education and social skills experience while helping to naturally learn self-advocacy skills. The Milestones Camp, Social & Recreation Tool Kit provides tips and information.

The Milestones School Tool Kit provides useful information on a variety of topics and our Helpdesk is here to connect you with resources and advice.

Impact of Sensory Issues on School

Discuss your child’s sensory issues and other needs with the interventionist and teacher(s) and what strategies and accommodations might help. For example you could ask if there are things your child could do like taking a break to walk down the hall when they are overwhelmed. Or could they be given an activity like pushing a cart with something heavy in it.

Think about how school routines might be impacted by their sensory needs. For example if in younger ages sitting in activities on the carpet like reading group time is hard for them a cozy chair or beanbag chair may give them sensory input and calming to help them.

In typical classes there are so many colors and decorations on the wall it is a very distracting and overwhelming environment that may impact how children behave.

Are children talking and other background sounds distracting them, especially as they get older and take tests.

Will you bring or do they have food options that work for your child’s sensory needs?

Are there things in the various classrooms, eating, recess or larger school meetings (such as auditorium) environments that are harder for your child because of sensory issues that you can work with school to help with? Sounds of children screaming and running around during recess outside, or a crowded auditorium with many kids and adults talking at the same time, echoing/clashing sounds and loud microphone with static can be difficult for am autistic child.

A Note about Executive Functioning Skills

Many autistic children and adults have challenges with what are called executive function skills. Executive functioning refers to a set of brain functions for managing your daily living including working memory, organizational skills, flexible thinking and self control. To learn more see this related article in the the Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool.