You want soooo badly for this school year to start off right. Your child suffers enough with the obstacles ADHD has thrown at him. What can you do to give him a fresh start?
I know you don’t have a lot of time because as I write this my littles will start school in less than a week. There are endless articles out there on how to get your kid back to school ready so why should you read this one? I know your household is different. You will have to focus on things some parents never think twice about.
The Cheat Sheet (what has worked for us & a few things I want to try)
1. The Binder
Last year Pickles had to start using a 3 ring binder to organize her school work. YIKES! As you can imagine this was a bit of a disaster (thanks to lagging executive function skills). After several heated discussions about lost school work, I sat her down with our tutor and begged for her to help us get organized. A few things that kept us on track were pocketed dividers (where she could stow assignments that were due the next day), and a pencil pouch (where she could store supplies like pencils and those hole reinforcers).
2. Meeting with the Teacher
At our school teacher assignments are made the evening before the first day of school. On the first day of school (after I’ve taken pictures and bid my little ones goodbye), I go home and write an email to the teacher explaining Pickle’s condition and requesting a meeting at her earliest convenience so we can set things up for a successful year. This has always worked wonders to open up the lines of communication. This year I’m thinking about taking it a step further and documenting everything with a letter like outlined here.
3. Reinforce School Routine
This might come a few weeks into the school year after a daily routine is established in their classroom. What this looks like for us is….after back to school night (with school schedule in hand) I will review the routine with my kiddos. I will ask if there are any things that are troubling them. I will ask what part of the day is their favorite. This will give me an idea of where to look for red flags.
So, are you ready? What do you do to prepare for Back to School? Please share in the comments below.
ADHDaze 