Back to School: 8 Tips for a Smooth Transition

by JoleneJul 24, 2014School/Education, Special Needs Parenting8 comments

Our kids with special needs will be back to school in just a few weeks. These eight tips can make the transition smoother for students, parents, & teachers.

Back to school ads. They’re appearing earlier and earlier in the summer. Early enough to create turf wars between back to school and the Fourth of July industries. While early July is way too soon to think about going back to school, the same can not be said for the end of July in many parts of the country. Like my part of the country where the school year begins on August 14.

Yes, you read that right. August 14. Only 3 weeks away.

Just enough time for parents in our local school district to take some steps to make the new school year transition easier for their kids with special needs. The back to school transition tips listed below were first implemented by parents who entrusted their children with special needs to my care during my 25 years as a teacher. Now, it’s my pleasure to pass them along to you.

Back to School Tip #1

Start early. Contact the school office of your child’s building several weeks before the new year begins to make sure everything is in place so your child’s IEP can be implemented as written: teachers, associates, equipment, modifications, etc. If your child is moving to new room or building, set up a time to take a tour with your child. If your child will have new teachers, set up a time to stop by to meet them.

Back to School Tip #2

Help others get to know your child. Create a book about your child for your child’s teachers. You’ll find more information about what to put in the book at DifferentDream.com, along with downloadable forms, and page descriptions. You can drop the notebook off when you stop by to meet the teachers, a few weeks before school starts so they have time to look it over and call if questions arise.

To read the remaining back to school transition tips, visit the Not Alone website.

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By Jolene

Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

8 Comments

Jolene on July 26, 2014 at 4:55 pm

Stacey, thank you for the comment about the link not working. It should be working now. And thank you, too, for explaining how you prepared your son for school transitions. Your story says much about starting the process early and staying closely involved in a cooperative manner. I hope his year goes very well! Jolene
Jolene on July 26, 2014 at 4:55 pm

Stacey, thank you for the comment about the link not working. It should be working now. And thank you, too, for explaining how you prepared your son for school transitions. Your story says much about starting the process early and staying closely involved in a cooperative manner. I hope his year goes very well! Jolene
Jolene on July 26, 2014 at 4:49 pm

Those books for medical appointments are a good idea.
Jolene on July 26, 2014 at 4:49 pm

Those books for medical appointments are a good idea.
Sylvia on July 26, 2014 at 1:52 pm

I made a book all about Bethany when she was in school. I don’t really know how much anyone paid attention to it, though! I also have a medical one that I used to take with me to all her appointments when she was younger. We don’t have so many appts. now thank the Lord!
Sylvia on July 26, 2014 at 1:52 pm

I made a book all about Bethany when she was in school. I don’t really know how much anyone paid attention to it, though! \I also have a medical one that I used to take with me to all her appointments when she was younger. We don’t have so many appts. now thank the Lord!
Stacey on July 25, 2014 at 9:51 am

The website you link to is not working, so I will comment on the two you have above.

1. I contacted the school within a month of our son being diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. The initial contact was in January 2013; our son didn’t start school until that following August. I got in contact with the principal, the counselor (both of whom changed over the summer), and the speech therapist and maintained contact throughout the year. I took copies of all of my son’s evaluations and re-evaulations to the school a few weeks before school started, and we were able to get his IEP in place the very first week of school. His IEP for this coming school year was put in place a few weeks before this previous school year got out. 🙂

2. We are fortunate, in that we get to choose our son’s teachers. He is repeating kindergarten this year. His teacher last year is a friend of ours from church, and her youngest daughter is our son’s age, so she’s known our son all his life. That helped us, and him, a lot when it came to him starting school. We were nervous about this coming school year. Our son does not handle change well, and it was possible that he would have to change buildings as well as teachers (most kindergarten classes are in the kindergarten building; some are in the elementary building).

His previous teacher, the principal, and I had a long sit down and discussed what to do for next year. The teacher and principal each suggested a certain teacher, one who has dealt with kids with speech issues like our son. My husband and I agreed with their decision, even though it meant our son going to a new, bigger building. I spent the remaining weeks walking my son [one day a week] the long way to his classroom by going in through the elementary building, going by his new classroom, and then on to his current classroom, so he could get used to it. His teacher at the time also took him by a few times. Now, our son is in a summer reading program at school, and his reading teacher is his teacher for the upcoming school year AND the class is held in what will be his new classroom, so he is really going to be familiar with the school building and his teacher, and she with him, by the time school starts in a month. He loves his new teacher, so that’s a little less for me to have to worry about next year. 🙂
Stacey on July 25, 2014 at 9:51 am

The website you link to is not working, so I will comment on the two you have above.

1. I contacted the school within a month of our son being diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. The initial contact was in January 2013; our son didn’t start school until that following August. I got in contact with the principal, the counselor (both of whom changed over the summer), and the speech therapist and maintained contact throughout the year. I took copies of all of my son’s evaluations and re-evaulations to the school a few weeks before school started, and we were able to get his IEP in place the very first week of school. His IEP for this coming school year was put in place a few weeks before this previous school year got out. 🙂

2. We are fortunate, in that we get to choose our son’s teachers. He is repeating kindergarten this year. His teacher last year is a friend of ours from church, and her youngest daughter is our son’s age, so she’s known our son all his life. That helped us, and him, a lot when it came to him starting school. We were nervous about this coming school year. Our son does not handle change well, and it was possible that he would have to change buildings as well as teachers (most kindergarten classes are in the kindergarten building; some are in the elementary building).

His previous teacher, the principal, and I had a long sit down and discussed what to do for next year. The teacher and principal each suggested a certain teacher, one who has dealt with kids with speech issues like our son. My husband and I agreed with their decision, even though it meant our son going to a new, bigger building. I spent the remaining weeks walking my son [one day a week] the long way to his classroom by going in through the elementary building, going by his new classroom, and then on to his current classroom, so he could get used to it. His teacher at the time also took him by a few times. Now, our son is in a summer reading program at school, and his reading teacher is his teacher for the upcoming school year AND the class is held in what will be his new classroom, so he is really going to be familiar with the school building and his teacher, and she with him, by the time school starts in a month. He loves his new teacher, so that’s a little less for me to have to worry about next year. 🙂