Back to school after winter break.

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The winter break is over. It is back to school for all children. This can be especially challenging for kids on the autism spectrum as they crave structure and routines which helps them feel secure as they know what is expected from them. Going back to school especially the first day of school after the break can be very difficult for most of the kids on the spectrum.

The most important thing we as parents can do to make it easier for our children is to start preparing them for back to school a few days in advance. This can be done in a few ways you can talk about it to them. The other strategy you can use is to cross out days in a calendar so your children can understand after how many days they go back to school. The third strategy can be to read a social story of going back to school. All these can help to reduce the anxiety many kids on the spectrum struggle with.

In the winter break the children might sleep in as there is no school it might help to wake them a bit early to ease them in going back to school on the first day. It also will help if teachers can review the rules and routines in the classroom so kids will exactly know what is expected from them. The other thing which can be helpful is to talk to our kids about what they did during the winter break. 

This will be very helpful particularly when they go back to school and as a class, they discuss about what each student they did during winter break. For nonverbal kids you can use visual supports to answer questions about what they did during the winter break. There are lots of free resources available online so they too can be a part of the discussion.

Going back to school after winter break sets the tone for the remainder of the school year. Hopefully these strategies can help parents to help their children. I find these help my son transition back to school thereby reducing anxiety.

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