3 ‘Back to School’ tips from C&D Speech Therapy!
Although going back to school after the summer holidays can be really exciting, for some children and young people it can be a time of anxiety and apprehension. For children with Speech, Language and Communication needs, going back to school can be all the more daunting so here are some top tips to support your child as they settle back into school this month!
Help them to understand their routine
(Example of symbols for a visual timetable, taken from Twinkl)
Where you can, try and establish a regular routine and, if needed, prepare a visual timetable for the child to refer back to. This will help ease anxiety as they will understand what is happening next.
You can create visual timetables easily, well known platforms like Twinkl even have readymade symbols that make visual timetable creation so simple.
2. Prepare them for any changes
(Example of a social story purchasable from Teachers pay Teachers)
Although change is inevitable, going back to school involves a lot of it and this can be particularly difficult for the children we work with to manage. You can support your child with managing change by talking about the upcoming change and remind them of any other changes they’ve managed in their life before now.
Interventions like Social Stories (Gray, 1990) and Comic Strip Conversations (Gray, 1994) are also a great way of preparing a child or young person for an upcoming change in a more visual and accessible way.
3. Don’t force them to tell you what they did at school
Have you ever asked your child what they got up to in school and had the response “I don’t know” or “not much”. Although it can be frustrating, it’s worth remembering how many skills children are using in order to answer this question. To respond the child needs to understand the question itself (receptive language), use new vocabulary learnt that day (expressive language), sequence events to tell you stories about their day (narrative skills) alongside having the energy to enthusiastically engage in conversation (social communication).
“What did you get up to at school today?”
”Not much...”
If your child struggles to understand this question in this busy back to school period, we recommend following their lead and giving them the time and space to gather their thoughts on what they would like to share with you. If they do choose to share anything with you - make sure you pay lots of attention and show real interest! By creating a happy, encouraging and relaxed environment on the way home, a child will feel more confident to communicate!