Back to School After March Break

It is hard even for a typically developing child to go back to the long hours of learning at school after the leisurely hours at home or on out-of-town vacation during March Break. It is harder for a child with autism spectrum disorder to do the transition from a week-long break at home in mostly unstructured environment to have to adjust to the school routine and hours of focussing on academic learning. Parents have to be aware of the seriousness of the ordeal of such transitions. But there are ways to help that child better prepare for the return to school. The following are some of the ways a parent can help their child with autism handle the inevitable situation.
1. Review school and classroom rules and expectations:
It has been a week-only break but that might as well have been months or years or never at all for a child with autism. He/she might not remember at all what he is supposed to see, feel and hear at schools or what the rules and expectations are. So, it will be important for parents to make a visual (whether pictures or written) to refresh the list.
2. Tell him/her any new changes expected at school that you might know about.
3. Play a pretend school game with the child.
4. If possible, have the child go and play in the schoolyard the afternoon before and have him look around at the entrance, parking lot and talk about sounds and sights he/she might see.
5. Give appropriate reinforcement for paying attention to back-to-school preparatory activities at home.
I strongly believe that time taken to do the above will have an impact in how well the child transitions back to the school routine. All it needs now will be an equally prepared proactive staff ready to positively help the child back into the classroom with well-planned strategies that works the best with that child. So, good luck to us all tomorrow morning!