Tips for Back to school virtual learning.

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 We are living in unprecedented times amid the pandemic. The schools have reopened in most of the places either in person or through virtual learning. 

It is a well-known fact kids with autism thrive on a routine and structure. They have been missing this since March when schools first shut down due to the pandemic.

We chose virtual learning for my son as we didn't feel comfortable sending him to school due to the pandemic. The first whole week of virtual school just got over

. I must confess it was very stressful in the beginning but as the days went by the kids got used to the routine which they crave so much. Overall my son has made so much progress during the week.

The virtual school does involve a huge investment of time on the parent's part as our kids learn better in hands-on learning in school. This way of learning is novel for everyone as it is actually a whole day of school the kids have to participate in five days a week.

There are a few things I would like to share here with the parents to help your kids get used to online learning. It is very hard for our kids with autism to get used to new things

. They have been out of school for a long time so it is important we give them some time to get used to virtual learning. it might look different for every child. 

It is important to discuss this with their teacher. The parents can help the kids by slowly helping them to get used to the school as it is not realistic to expect our kids to sit through a whole day of school right from day 1.

The key is to start slow so maybe the kids can attend school in the morning session at first and after they are used to then add the afternoon session. Alternatively, you can do one class at a time if that helps your child. 

The other thing which helps is to give them lots of breaks in the beginning until they get used to the routine. It is important to communicate the strategies with their teacher so they are fully on board.

The other thing is for our kids it is not one size fits all. All our kids are working on varying academic skills. I found there were some programs in online learning which were not suitable for my son.

 So I spoke to the teacher about the kinds of skills he was working on and the different programs he was successful in before summer break. The teacher was very understanding and accommodated his needs so my son is now able to do the work he can do.

The first few weeks of school the focus is to get our kids used to a routine as they thrive on it.This will hopefully help them in transitioning to the virtual school and become successful for the term of school whether it is for one semester for the whole year.

I hope you will find the strategies I shared here helpful. If you have any other strategies which might help other parents do share in the comments so we all can benefit from it.













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