Sunday, August 8, 2010

Autism checklist for your child in school

So here we are at a new school year. This means new routines and people are coming into your child's life. Not only should you be preparing and discussing with your child, these new events and changes, but you should be doing things to make sure that his or her education team is all on the same page.

One way of doing this is to make a personalized check list for your child and all their quirks or behaviors. It's kind of like a list of forewarning and notice of various behaviors that anyone who works with your child are going to see.

The idea is to help others not be so surprised when your child with autism or any other disorder does something out of the ordinary.

Things to list:

-reactions to sensory, students, frustrations, and any sudden changes.

-behaviors of any kind that are habitual to your child and when they might come about.

-how long it might take to get into school routine

-how to handle outbursts and redirect your child in ways that you have seen work the best.

I'm sure with this list you can see the possibilities of what you can point out to help your child's educational team. And that's what they need to be along with you, a team. This is a short blog, but I think many of you will find it quite helpful.

A couple of tips in writing this list.

-write it like a "list" as I've done with the little dash marks here. It's easier to read than a giant block of paragraph text.

-check spelling and use your word processor. Avoid hand writing it if you can.

-be sure to request that a copy of the list is given to everyone who will be working with your child.

No comments: