Before we know it, the school summer holidays will be here, and it will be another change of routine for your child. It will then be the preparation for the transition back for the new school year. This may mean a new class teacher or even a move to secondary school in the Autumn term.
Should your child be moving to secondary school there should be a transition plan in place and introductory visits to their new school. They then have to deal with the long summer break before their start. However, most secondary schools use a staggered start date in the Autumn term to allow year 7 pupils to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings. It may also be that you have to carry out some ‘travel training’ with them if they are getting a bus to their new school. Both your child’s primary school and the new secondary school will be providing you with resources, However, an Essex based charity SNAP have developed a useful downloadable guide full of practical ideas to help with the transition and changes associated with the move to secondary school.
Also, the following links might be helpful.
Perhaps using visual aids like this one where items can be stuck on to a reminder with blutac or Velcro so they know what is needed for that day can help.
For those children moving to a new class, it is important to reassure them that some things may not change i.e. they will still have lunch in the dining hall, play times will be the same, they will still have the same class mates. In addition, an end of term transition booklet is often provided with photos of the child’s new classroom, desk, coat hook etc. It may be a rather last minute resource as often families and pupils are not informed of their new teacher until a few days before the end of term and then a photo of them needs to be included in the booklet.
Also, Reachout ASC have produced a resource that school may want to use with you.
Transition from one environment to another and change of routine can cause high levels of anxiety for a child with fragile x. These changes will be difficult for them to process along with the long summer holiday. So, it is knowing how your child will react and then decide when the right time is to share the information with them. Some can cope with the preparation throughout the summer break as they are getting new items for school, for others it might be just a few days before the start of term.
Visual schedules and reminders will be helpful for the new school year but don’t forget that they can be useful resources for the holidays to enable your child to know the daily activities and what is going to happen next. Don’t forget to link to the other blogs covering visual aids. Using Visual Aids (fragilex.org.uk) and social stories Using Social Stories from Early Years to Adulthood (Part 1) (fragilex.org.uk)
Please don’t forget to contact us should you want help with visual prompts and social stories to meet your child’s specific needs.
I trust the school holidays and the transition to the new school year goes well for you all.
This will be my last blog, but I will leave you in the capable hands of Alison, who will be more than willing to help you further alison@fragilex.org.uk.