Preparing Your Child For School (Part 1)

First day in school can be an exciting or an anxiety-filled experience for children on the spectrum. Whether the child feels excited or the latter greatly depends on how much the child is prepared for the new big change! Even if your child seems to be okay and has no tantrums in school, do watch out for signs of exhaustion because it can be a taxing experience to cope with all the social demands and environments of the new school. It is important to remember to go gradual in increasing the school hours to ensure a positive and successful school experience at the start, because your child will need to spend the next decade of his/her life in school! 

 

Children who are ready for school have a certain level of communication and social skills, good level of social motivation, and have adequate peer skills. Hence, the child is ready to generalize the skills he/she learned in a tailored environment into the 'real world' and are further able to learn new skills in a new environment.

 

We have been emphasizing on predictability in our clinical work all this while and for our school-going-children, this will be an essential step to do a couple of weeks before the big day. Use the method that works best in explaining and preparing your child. These are some of the strategies that we at EAP Malaysia use:

• Social story; about going to a new school. Include what he will see, who he will meet, what he should do, and what he can do. 
• Calendar (or a cross out chart) to help your child understand how many more days left before the big day.
• Visit the school. You can make a few visits to the school with your child before the real day. You can choose to make the first visit when the school is empty, and another visit when the kids are around. Help your child to familiarize and build rapport with the teacher. 
• Pre-teach basic school skills; such as circle time, coloring, task completion, lining up, snack time routine, getting familiar with his school bag and so on.
• Trained shadow aide will be necessary to ensure a smooth transition experience.
• Sleep; yes, it is a very important factor to ensure your child will enjoy the whole schooling experience. Build a good sleeping routine a week before your child starts school. Make sure your child gets a good night sleep. 
• Practice the school routine at home! Allow your child to wear the school uniform, practice snack time and allow your child to do things for himself!

Written By:

Yu Ying

Supervisor, EAP Malaysia