Is your child about to start school? Are they nervous about making new friends or not being at home?
Even when you have a neurotypical child, the first days of school can be very difficult. There are new people to meet, teachers to get along with, and work to do! However, when you have a child who has autism spectrum disorder (or ASD), those first few days in the classroom can be even more daunting for both them and you!
This article will explore how to equip your autistic child with the tools they need to make the transition easier.
Table of Contents
Help Them With Communication
Many children who have ASD may struggle with communication. They may find talking hard or unable to articulate their feelings and needs. Luckily, help is at hand in the form of almost any autism app. If your child’s school is aware of their ASD diagnosis, then your child will likely be able to communicate with the teachers via a phone or tablet.
These apps can help your child identify their current needs and explain them to others. In the short term, this will help them build up their confidence, which will hopefully help them with verbalization.
Help Them With Time Management
Some children with ASD are obsessed with time; even if you are 1 minute late, it can cause them to become frustrated.
However, if your child has a dual diagnosis of ASD and dyslexia (a common comorbidity), then time management can become more challenging. So, it can be worth setting a rigid schedule on school nights and weekends to help them prepare for the week ahead. Print out their timetable and place it in your kitchen or their bedroom so they will know what lessons they can expect the next day. This will help them set a routine in their mind and better equip them to manage in the classroom.
Help Them With Emotional Management
Emotional management is something that all kids have to learn, and while this can be simpler for neurotypical children, children with ASD can struggle.
So, it can be worth investing in an emotional picture chart. These are small, laminated images of facial expressions with words like ‘angry, sad, and happy’ printed at the bottom. Working with yourself and their teachers, these images will allow your child to express their feelings in an easy-to-grasp way, which will also help build their self-awareness. Great!
Help Them With Social Skills
School is a social space, and children with ASD may struggle with talking to other children and teachers. As before, some apps can help your child better read a situation they may encounter at school, but it can be worth talking to a child psychologist about socialization classes for children with ASD.
This will help them to navigate the ever-changing rules of the playground and the classroom without becoming overwhelmed and having a meltdown.
