Back to school time can be hard for anyone, but it can be especially hard for children with sensory processing are emotional regulation challenges. The anticipation of all the changes can make many children feel anxious and it’s possible you might see an increase in sensory seeking or negative behaviors. As parents and caregivers, there are several things that we can do to help make our children feel supported during this big transition. In this post, I will be sharing some of the things I share with the parents of the kids I work with to help get them through the first few weeks of the new school year. Keep in mind that during big moments like this, your kids may experience a lot of big feelings and the most important thing to do is validate those feelings while also offering them tools and comfort. Wishing everyone a great school year!
- Start school year return at least a week before school begins
-this is especially important if you have a child who has trouble with big changes. I encourage parents to have kids start to wake up and do their morning routine of the school year well before the first day of school so it doesn’t feel so rushed and stressful. This would include picking out an outfit the night before, eating breakfast, brushing their teeth, etc. The same goes for bedtime. Start your school year bedtime routine so they can get the hang of what is expected well before the hustle and bustle of the chaotic school days. This will also give you an idea of what kinds of changes you might need to make to your routines for things to be as efficient as possible. - Create visual schedules
-even if you feel like your child is really knows what is expected of them, I find that children who have sensory challenges or difficulty with executive functioning skills really benefit from a clear visual schedule. Visual schedules help to foster increased independence and gives children a better understanding of sequence of the days events and helps them learn how to manage their time better. Visual schedules make it easier for children to move between activities. By knowing what is coming next, children can mentally prepare for the transition and are less likely to resist or become upset. For some activities such as free play or watching tv, you might consider getting a Time Timer Clock so they also have the visual of how much time they have left in that activity before they have to transition.
Deciding which kind of visual schedule is best for your child might be the tricky part because there are so many great options out there now. You can go very simple and take pictures of your kids doing the activities and then put them on a large piece of cardboard with velcro so they can remove them as they complete each task. You can also go to Etsy and do a search and find the perfect one for your child. And if you really want to splurge, I am obsessed with the Springboard by Charmspring. This is a customizable physical board with magnetic tiles that can be arranged to show a child’s daily routine. There are a ton of tiles to choose from so each board can be built for each child’s unique needs.
- Choose clothes for the week
-one of the biggest complaints I get from parents is that their children have such a hard time making clothing choices in the morning. While I often encourage parents to have their kids pick out their clothes the night before, that might be too much for some children. One thing I have found helpful is for parents to set aside some time during the weekend when things aren’t so rushed and stressful and pick out their clothes for the week. You can find a hanging clothing organizer that has 5 storage compartments and you fill each spot with their chosen outfit. If you know that your kid has gym or some kind of physical after school program on a certain day, you can put a picture of that inside the compartment so they know that they will need to pick out appropriate clothes for that day. - Set up breakfast and snack bins with easy access for your kids
-another complaint I get from parents is that their kids have a hard time picking out what to eat for breakfast and snacks after school. One way to make this easier is by having bins in the cabinet and refrigerator with child and parent approved breakfast and snack options. For breakfast, you might fill up some baggies with their favorite cereal that they can grab, have a handful of breakfast bar options, cheese sticks, yogurt, fruit, etc. that they can easily grab. Same goes for snacks. Fill up bins in both spots again with their favorite snack choices. One thing that I have seen that I love is that some parents have a basket of “have as much as you want” snacks such as fruits and veggies and then fill up another basket with a the number of snacks allowed from the approved options like chips, crackers, bars, etc. - Practice the walk to school or the bus stop before the first day
-this is especially important for kids who might be starting at a new school. If you can, find out from your school where your child will be gathering to meet their teacher and classmates on the first day so you can show your child exactly where they will be going. For children who can be easily overwhelmed in new situations, it’s helpful for them to have a real understanding of where they will be going. If you are within walking distance of your school, practice the walk to school a few times to get your - Pack your backpack and organize school supplies inside it before school starts
-so many of the kids that I work with have a really hard time keeping their backpacks organized which means it can take them forever to find what they are looking for. Organizational skills can be really tricky for my kids with attentional or executive functioning delays so I always recommend that kids start the school year out with an organized backpack. I encourage that the kids are an active participant with this so they can see where everything is and also make some decisions about what they think will work best for them. The first thing I recommend is that you get a backpack that is the right size for your child and what they will be carrying back and forth to school. If they have a backpack that is too big, it’s easier for things to get lost. Another tip is to store things like pencils, crayons, scissors and other school supplies in labeled clear plastic pouches to make it easy for your child to find what they need. I am a big fan of putting a luggage tag on a backpack with a checklist to help kids with staying organized. Understood.org has two great ones that you can print out and slide into a clear luggage tag: Younger Child Checklist Older Child Checklist. To make sure that your child’s backpack stays as organized as possible, be sure to do a backpack check each weekend and make any changes before the school week starts. - Create a calm down corner for your child
-one thing that I hear from the parents of many of my sensory sensitive kids is that their kids melt down as soon as they get home. There are a lot of expectations on kids during the school day and it takes everything in them to keep it all together during the day so as soon as they get home, they lose it. This is very common in kids with sensory processing delays. For those who have the space, I suggest that parents set up a calm down corner for their kids to go into and decompress when they are experiencing these big feelings. Setting up a space safe with a variety of tools that help your child feel more calm and relaxed. I love the idea of a small, enclosed tent with beanbags, favorite books, fidget toys and other comforting tools can go a long way. For those of you who are interested in figuring out how to create a perfect calm down corner for your kids, you can read my Creating A Calm In The Emotions Storm blog from a couple of summers ago. - Hang up a feelings chart
-kids aren’t great about talking about their feelings. Sometimes it’s because they don’t really know how to identify their feelings and sometimes it’s because they are embarrassed by their feelings. I have found that having a feelings chart for your child has so many benefits, including learning to recognize and classify their emotions, which builds their emotional vocabulary and understanding. Before introducing the feelings chart to your child, you might find that reading them a few books about feelings and emotions will help them learn about a variety of emotions. My favorites are The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings, Emotions Aquarium: A Tank Full of Feelings, Glad Monster, Sad Monster and In My Heart: A Book of Feelings. There are a ton of different feelings charts to choose from, from simple with fewer feelings to choose from to more sophisticated with a larger number of feelings to choose from for older kids. If you are looking for the right chart for your child, I suggest taking a look at Etsy and seeing all of their options. They offer a variety of physical feelings charts and also a large choice of ones that you can download and print at home. I really like this one I found on Etsy that not only provides a couple different feelings chart options, but also extras like an alphabet feelings poster and a chart that describes what certain feelings look like and what you can do to help you through some of those big feelings. - Come up with a question of the day for your child so you can talk about their day
-I know as a parent myself that getting information about your child’s school day can be incredibly challenging. I also know that an open-ended question like “how was your day?” can be hard for children, especially those with learning or language delays. As. your child is leaving for school, remind them what the question of the day is and remind them that you will ask them again when they get home. Make the question something fun and very specific. Check out some possible questions you can ask your child during the week:
*What is something that made you laugh at school today?
*What is something you learned in school today?
*Who did you play with at recess today?
*Did you try something new in school today?
*Were there any friends out of school today?
*What did you have for snack today? - Create a get to know my kid guide to share with your child’s new teacher
-this might be one of my biggest suggestions if you have a kid with sensory or emotional regulation challenges that I learned from one of the moms of a child I worked with years ago. While many of the kids I work with have IEPs with goals there is often so much more about a kid then what is in that document. Sadly, teachers are quick to interpret sensory challenges with a child being bad and don’t always handle the situation in a way that is helpful. I have found that if you can describe your child’s sensory challenges and strategies that help them get through those tricky moments, it can make a huge difference in a child’s success in school. For example, if you have a child who is easily frustrated by more challenging activities, you might describe what that looks like for the teacher and share some tools that help them get through those tricky moments. You might also share sensory diet activities that help your child focus and attend to tasks for longer periods of time.