First Day of School Success Tips
By Dan Coulter
Most of us can remember some wonderful and terrible things about
school. In many ways, the first day of class can set the tone for a
whole school year. If you have a child with special needs, you can
help lay the groundwork for a successful year’s launch with some
basic preparations.
Start by anticipating things from your child’s point of view. What
is he going to encounter and how is he likely to react?
Get in touch with school personnel and do some research.
• What will be your child’s schedule?
• Who will his teachers be?
• What subjects will she take?
• What activities will he be involved in?
• How long will she spend at each activity?
• How will he need to physically move about the building during the
day?
I’m a video producer. I can tell you from experience that one key to
a successful day’s shooting is scouting a location in advance.
You can use this same technique to help ensure a successful school
year launch.
Contact your school staff before classes start and arrange a
“preview” visit for you and your child. Get a staff member to
explain what’s going to happen on that first day step by step. Do a
location walk-through with your guide, checking out hallways,
classrooms, restrooms, cafeteria, gym, playground, sports fields –- the works. Meet
as many of the teachers and other school staff who your
child will encounter that first day as possible. Discuss the schools rules. Find
out what students should and shouldn’t do. If he'll ride a school
bus, get the details about pick-ups, drop-offs and the riding rules.
As you’re touring, make some mental notes. Is your child interested
or excited about anything in particular? Is there anything that he
or she is likely to encounter that could trigger a sensitivity or
problem behavior?
The more familiar your child becomes with the school, the staff, and
what to expect, the better his chances of having a great first day.
Knowing what will happen can also raise her confidence level and
help her relate to other kids, as she’ll be something of an expert
on her surroundings.
After your visit, write out a one-page profile of your child for
teachers and other staff. This should be a short outline or bullet
points, and not a treatise. Note your child’s strengths and
challenges. Describe any difficult behaviors the school staff is
likely to encounter and any effective ways you’ve found to deal with
them. For example, you might note that your child sometimes becomes
frustrated and angry in stressful situations, and that allowing him
to go to a quiet corner of the room for a few minutes will usually
enable him to calm down and rejoin class activities.
You’re not using the document to tell teachers how to do their job.
You’re providing information to help them recognize what’s happening
from your child’s point of view and use their best judgment to deal
with the situation effectively.
It’s best if you can use this profile as a guide for a pre-school
year conference with your child’s teachers. At the conference, you
can hand out the profile, go into more detail about your child, and answer questions.
Having the profile gives the teachers a resource they can refer to later,
and helps lock what you’ve said in their memories. If possible,
identify a staff member, such as a counselor, who your child can
seek out if he or she gets stressed or has a problem. Your child
should meet this person before school starts and know how to find or
contact him or her during the school day.
The more teachers and other staff understand your child, the better
they’ll be able to respond appropriately to any quirks he or she may
exhibit. I found a great example of this when I recently interviewed
Karra Barber about her book, “Living Your Best Life With Asperger’s
Syndrome.”
Kids with Asperger Syndrome tend to take things literally. Karra’s
son, Thomas, did just this when he got a call from a counselor at a
camp he was about to attend. The counselors called the campers to
introduce themselves and tell the kids what to expect at camp. Karra
called her son to the phone, “Thomas...Tom, it’s your counselor from
camp!” When Thomas picked up the phone, the counselor (having heard
his mom call him both Thomas and Tom) asked him what he’d like to be
called.
“Ben,” he said.
When Thomas and the counselor were finished talking, Karra confirmed
with the counselor that her son’s name was Thomas and they had a
quick laugh.
After the call, Karra asked Thomas why he’d told the counselor to
call him, “Ben.”
He responded that the counselor had asked him what he’d like to be
called and he told her “Ben” because he’d always liked that name.
It made complete sense from his point of view.
Giving teachers some insights into your child can help
avoid misunderstandings and encourage them to use students’
different perspectives to enrich their teaching. Giving your child a
preview of his school can help prepare him for success.
You can think of a school year as a mountain road with a lot of
twists and turns. A bit of preparation can serve as a guardrail to
help your child and his teachers keep his car on the road, make good
progress and enjoy the ride.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dan Coulter is the writer/producer of the
INTRICATE MINDS video that help students understand and
accept classmates with Asperger Syndrome and other differences. You
can read more articles on his website at: www.coultervideo.com.
Copyright 2006 Dan Coulter All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
