Getting Ready for School - For Families With Autistic Children
For parents with an autistic child one of the greatest challenges is to see that they are provided with a proper education. Some children may have milder aspects of autism and may be able to attend regular school and exhibit only a little discomfort in doing so. Others may be faced with greater obstacles. In either case it is good to be conscious of the fact that a child with autism is not comfortable with change. It is often a source of great anxiety. Parents will benefit from searching out ways to reassure and comfort their child through this transition.
So to help their child deal with this change in their routine, parents will need to prepare well in advance. It has been suggested that visual aids help the child to become acquainted with the school, his classroom and his teacher. Some have used videos to show the route, the school and various classrooms. Others have included a brief interview with their teacher. It can be profitable to walk through the process - going to the school and classrooms well before that ‘first’ day arrives. And other members of the family can discuss their own experience with a positive approach. Still others have suggested using a large calendar with the special day marked in and have the young one mark off the days leading up to the event as this may help to build an anticipation or at least an acceptance.
Acquainting the teachers involved with the strengths and vulnerabilities of your child can also help to mitigate any potential awkwardness or problems. What will help the teacher is finding out what you have observed about ‘how’ your child learns best. What kind of talents or hobbies interest them? What might be things that easily scare or upset them? And is there a subject that they may be curious to learn? Can you provide some examples of their efforts in drawing and writing? All of this provides a groundwork on which to build. In dealing with a child with autism it has been said that working from their strengths is far better and successful in the long run than trying to push them to conform to some other regimen.
And once school has begun it is important to bear in mind that a regular, dependable routine is comforting for children in general but even more so for children with autism. So both teachers and parents need to plan ahead for any upcoming changes and to go over this with the children well in advance.
As an alternative some parents may choose instead to home school their child. They may have done this even if their child wasn’t autistic. Others may feel that their child will be more comfortable in the home environment and that doing so assists with any special dietary efforts they are implementing.. This will require a certain measure of discipline in having a set curriculum. There are, as well, some on line resources that constitute a ‘virtual school’ and provide a certain valuable structure. And the Charlotte Mason method of instruction is a popular program used for children with special needs that uses a literature based method of teaching. Of course it is important to check with your state or province’s guidelines concerning homeschooling before opting for this choice.
