Back to school we go!
How to support your child’s re-entry to the classroom
Time to put the beach towels away and break out the school bags, go school supply shopping and plan out lunch menus.
For any child, moving from one set of routines to another can present challenges, but for those kiddos with sensory sensitivities, this change can be overwhelming and cause a lot of fear and anxiety. In this blog post, I will give you a few OT tips and tricks that can help prepare and regulate your child to help ensure a successful transition back to school.
As a pediatric OT, I work with children everyday (no matter the season) in need of support for self regulation, emotional regulation and motor skills development. Pediatric OTs are adept at meeting each child where he or she is at, and we try to problem solve individual solutions to support success in daily occupations, so this summer to school pivot is a natural opportunity for OTs to step in and help families. Here are some of the suggestions that we have crafted for my clients to address possible motor, social and sensory challenges:
Get Your Child Moving
Over the summer months, there is no shortage of opportunities for your child to move - think walking, running, jumping in puddles (especially if you live in New England), making sand castles, swimming, and just playing. Now comes the classroom setting where there is still movement - walking in the hallway to specialists and lunch, gym class, recess, and even moving from desks/chairs to the floor for lessons.
With the return to full time learning, there will be more routine, movement and peer-to-peer interaction, which is so exciting! Kids are going to be happy to be back with their friends and beloved teachers. They are also going to be SO TIRED! As a parent, I can acknowledge that when something is challenging for children and they are tired, that experience can become even more challenging.
By building up your child’s physical endurance, you can head off some of this fatigue and any related emotions and reactions. Try some of these ideas:
Go on a scavenger hunt (check out this article from Good Housekeeping for ideas)
Play hide and seek
Have a dance competition
Get your kids to help in the garden
Grab the chalk and draw an obstacle course!
Check out more cool chalk courses at Hands On As We Grow
Remind your child how to have fun by moving with them. By modeling this active approach, you can re-build your child’s endurance and tolerance to movement in preparation for the more traditional classroom experience.
Practice Unstructured Play with Peers
This sounds like a paradox - how do you practice something that is unstructured and how do you practice playing? Children who have difficulty with social participation in less structured settings truly benefit from the chance to practice these interactions on a smaller scale first, in a familiar location, before returning to the school setting where they are tired and overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. By giving your child the opportunity to play with peers on the playground, or play in small groups at home, your child will be able to have successful play experiences before returning to the schoolyard, plus they have parent support to help negotiate and problem solve the social nuances that arise.
Read Books with Your Child About School Routines
Age-appropriate books that talk about school routines and expectations, as well as any fears, feelings and questions your child may have can act as a social story to help your child remember what the structure of the school day will look like and how to be ready to navigate it. Social stories can be read right before and during the transition to a new routine, in this case, back to school. Here are a few of our favorite reads (more at Ella’s Way):
Practice the New Daily Routine
School Tours and Meet & Greets
Give the school a call or check their website to see if there will be a meet and greet scheduled. If not, ask if you can set up a time to bring your child in for a walk through. As school is not in session yet, it could be the perfect time to go for a visit when the classrooms are empty and quiet. Make sure to schedule this as close to the beginning of the school year as possible so you kiddo doesn’t have weeks to worry. If a visit is not an option, ask the teacher to send pictures of their classroom or do a zoom call walk through.
Visual Schedules
Visual schedules can be extremely helpful for a child who benefits from consistent routines and understanding expectations. A visual schedule should be concrete and highlight the expectations and transitions throughout the day or you can have activity-specific schedules. Here’s an example of a schedule from our King’s Day Out series:
Click on the image to download!
More resources at www.kingsdayout.com
Your child’s teacher will most likely have a daily schedule, which you may be able to request ahead of time. Some children benefit from having a picture schedule with them in school so they can cross off tasks upon completion and know what is coming next. If your child receives in-school support (IEP or 504), contact your child’s specialists and ask them to implement a visual schedule in the classroom for your child.
Put Sensory Supports In Place AHEAD OF TIME
If your child has difficulty with sensory processing and/or self regulation and benefits from a sensory diet, it is very important to have a conversation with your child’s occupational therapist and ask them to review and update your child’s sensory diet prior to the return to school. Moving from a summer, at home environment to a busy classroom setting is a transition that can create more anxiety and worry for a sensory sensitive or sensory seeking child.
A consistent sensory diet should be implemented before school, after school and before bed, at the minimum. Ideally, sensory strategies can be implemented during the school day as well (and can be designed by your child's OT), and the bulk of your child’s sensory diet can be completed at home. By providing your child with the necessary sensory input consistently at home, your child will be better able to remain self-regulated during the school day, with less meltdowns after school or at night. Included in sensory health is remembering to facilitate healthy sleeping and eating patterns as much as possible, which will further support self regulation throughout the day. Shoot me a message if you’d like to discuss developing a personalized sensory diet for your kiddo.
Switching from summer to full time learning will require time to adapt, so be sure to give your child the support they need and the time to adjust. We are all in this together, so when all else fails, know that children are resilient.
Stay Strong and SHINE On!
Dr. Amy Wheadon, OTD, OTR/L
Owner of KidSHINE LLC
Co-Owner of Kings Day Out LLC