Some of us feel a little apprehension about starting a new school year alongside our children. This can especially be difficult for parents of children who struggle with reading, writing, math, staying focused or being organized.
In the United States, one in five children have issues with Dyslexia, ADHD, focus and other struggles with learning new things. While some students may simply have issues that require slightly more attention and assistance than their peers (something that could be remedied with additional tutoring or more intensive teaching strategies applied through the Multi-Tiered System of Supports), other students will go on struggling throughout the school year undiagnosed, possibly having to deal with self-esteem issues and anxiety during state assessment season.
Understood.org has partnered with the Ad Council to promote ways parents can get their kids First Day of School ready, and the resources they have available are outstanding.
One of the best resources available on their site is their First Day Ready Guide. It features information, tips, practical strategies and personalized advice on how to start the first day of school on the right foot!
I have a handsome twelve year-old son named Tiki starting 7th grade this year and his major issues have always been with executive function and writing. One of the issues we have with getting him prepared for the school year is about how to be organized. Tiki tries to rely solely on his memory with regards to school work, homework, projects, and tests. Of course, it should go without mentioning his memory has failed him time and time again. Getting him use to writing in his planner wasn’t easy. Over the summer, we started using a chore chart at home to help him and his older brother with autism learn to rely on daily task lists and check items off upon completion. Of course, we included a reward and consequence list that was attached to their chore chart, and it worked out well for us. Visiting the Understood.org website, the First Day Ready Guide gave me some other great ideas too. I love the backpack checklist and the homework contract.
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I also have a fifteen-year-old with autism. Richie is a wonderful, smart, young man who has an IEP and is a new tenth grader this year. The First Day Ready Guide provided great resources like the IEP Goal Tracker, IEP Binder Checklist, and a parent/teacher communication log.
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I found the First Day Ready Guide to contain a perfect set of practical resources for helping our family to be First Day of School Ready, I think you will too!
Disclosure: I am sharing this resourceful information as a social good post to promote the collaborative works of Understood.org and the Ad Council. I did not get paid for this post, but my opinions on these practical resources are true and my own.
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