How to Prepare a Child with Cerebral Palsy for Elementary School

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24-04-2018, 23:00
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Starting school can be hard for a child with Cerebral Palsy; however, getting a proper education can lead to a better future for them. This article will help you make that first transition into a school a little less stressful, for you and your child.

Setting Your Child Up for Success

  1. Talk to the special education team and teachers about your child's needs. In order to make sure that your child is going to get the best support, you need to be able to tell them about any classroom changes that may need to be made, or any extra 1-1 teacher support that your child may need.
    • This may include physical tasks or situations your child may need help in, for example, carrying items, using maths equipment or moving between classrooms. Coordinating with physical therapists, occupational therapists, and any other school specialists available can help determine the necessary accommodations and make sure your child's needs are met.
  2. Work with your education system to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or the local equivalent. This plan is put in place to help educate the child most effectively. Regular scheduled meetings organised between the parents and teachers are held to track progress, which can be a good chance for everyone to communicate about the child’s needs, and change them depending on how the child develops over the years.
    • Take the opportunity to inform any changes to your child with the school staff, so they can adapt the support put in place to help the child.
    • Communicate with the school if you feel as though there are any other areas, such as mental and emotional, that need to be addressed, including bullying.
    • Also use the IEP meetings as an opportunity to discuss and set goals for your child. Include your child in the process as much as you can, at an age-appropriate level, to help them feel in control of their world and future. At a young age, this won't mean giving them total independence, but it may mean asking them, for example, where they prefer to work, or what kinds of rewards systems encourage them.
  3. Find types of technology and equipment that may help your child learn more efficiently. Certain types of technology can aide tasks that your child may find challenging, and help them be more independent. For example, a tablet or lightweight laptop may help them to take notes faster and keep up with the rest of the class, without needing any additional support. Depending on their needs, they may also benefit from adaptive equipment for communication, feeding, toileting and dressing, and classroom tasks like writing, drawing, cutting.
    • See an occupational therapist or physiotherapist; they will be able to help find the best equipment to suit your child's individual needs. Your school may well offer these services directly, so work with your education authority to find out what supports your child is eligible for.
  4. Ensure the school has good attitudes towards students with disabilities. If the school is supportive of your child's needs, then your child will feel more secure and settle in quicker to the new transition. There are generally legal requirements that public schools have to provide a supportive learning environment for children with disabilities, but you are your child's best advocate at this age. Ask lots of questions about how the school plans to handle your child's needs, and work with school officials as a team to prepare your child for success.
    • Make sure the child will be involved and encouraged at all times, and that they will always receive support when needed. Prepare your child to ask for help when they need it, and follow up with the teachers if your child ever communicates to you that needed support wasn't provided.

Preparing Your Child For School

  1. Talk to your child about school, early and often. It's never too early to start preparing them for the idea that they'll go to school. Be enthusiastic, tell stories and read books about school, and talk to them about friends and loved ones who already attend school.
    • Once you know the details of what school they'll be attending, fill them in. Let them know who their teacher will be, talk to them about what their day will look like, and start asking them about their thoughts, both good and bad. At a young age, they may not be able to understand and communicate their fears, but the open dialogue and preparation will help them build a concept of what's to come.
  2. Practice certain daily tasks with you child before the first day of school. Starting to practice and learn how to complete a few daily tasks before starting school can help them to feel more comfortable about going to school. This can also enable them to increase independence before school, which can help the child feel happier at school.
    • Some daily tasks you can try include putting on uniform, carrying items and cutting up food.
  3. Set your child up with a productive and consistent daily routine. Routine and predictability can help any child succeed in their daily tasks. Setting up a good routine for bedtime and the mornings can help your child structure their day and succeed independently in many areas. It'll also help ensure they get adequate rest so they can be productive at school.
    • Many children with Cerebral Palsy take more time to get ready for bed, particularly when carrying out tasks independently. Try introducing a new regular nighttime routine to help your child be as independent as possible, but also prepare for earlier mornings. Include things like reading their favourite book or having a nice bath to help them feel more relaxed.
    • Give your child enough time to get ready in the morning. Ensure that you give your child a decent amount of time to get dressed and ready for school, so that they can do so as independently as possible to help them feel happier about starting school. Children with Cerebral Palsy may take longer to get ready, and rushing them will only cause more distress.
  4. Make a homework plan. Homework can be challenging with children who have Cerebral Palsy, but keeping a consistent routine will help them understand that they need to do the assignments, and avoid any behavioural issues.
    • Try taking frequent breaks and offering constant reinforcement to help motivate them to complete their homework, and feel good about doing so.
    • Encourage them to keep a daily planner so they can track what work needs doing, and when. Provide support to start this habit, but step back as their age and maturity allows, to give them independence in completing their assignments successfully.

Helping Your Child Enjoy School

  1. Encourage independence. Although your child will not be able to accomplish every task by themselves, they may still want to be left alone to complete things on their own, even if this takes a while. When your child is at school, they may not want people helping all the time, as this can embarrass them.
    • You can help them achieve this by stepping back and letting the child learn how to accomplish a task by themselves.
    • Step in if they are becoming distressed or have tried for a while. Praise them and complete the task.
  2. Help your child play with others. The best way for your child to make friends and develop social skills is to plan play dates or events where they can play and learn with children, such as at the playground.
    • Stop an event if your child feels uncomfortable or finds it too challenging. It may take time for your child to gain social skills.
  3. Encourage school clubs and activities. Allowing your child to partake in after school clubs can help them make new friends, but also help them get rid of any excess energy. After-school clubs can also help your child to develop independence and confidence to help them feel safer at school.
    • Don't force anything onto your child, as this will most likely cause them to become upset. They may feel pressured if you do not let you child choose the activities.
    • Let the child choose the activities themselves based on activities they like doing and would enjoy.
  4. Always encourage your child. Show them that what they are achieving is great, and to keep it up. Many children with Cerebral Palsy like encouragement to acknowledge that they have learnt something new.
    • Consider giving your child small rewards if they do something that they have never been able to do on their own before.

Dealing with School Refusal at Home

  1. Try different ways that your child can communicate their emotions. Communication is important to help you find out why your child is struggling to like school, so you can try and fix the problem.
    • There are many ways to help your child to communicate, for example using visual aides. If they can't tell you what's wrong with words, trying augmented communication may be helpful.
  2. Give your child a worry book. A worry book can help your child to write down all their anxieties and worries down, personally, without feeling judged or getting embarrassed. You can then use this to help coach your child to help them get over their fears.
  3. Reward small progress. This way, your child will feel like what they are doing is good, and that they will get something out of it at the end if they achieve something new.
    • Use small toys or edible treats as rewards. Structure this reward system with the eventual goal of phasing out tangible rewards, but use them as needed to help build independence and confidence.
  4. Teach you child about the importance of school. If you can get your child to understand the importance of learning, and how this can help them in the future, they might be more accepting or willing to go to school.
    • Use visual aides, basic vocabulary and social stories to help your child understand better why everyone goes to school.
    • Use the child's interests and goals in the future to increase the chance of your child accept the idea of school.

Dealing with School Refusal at School

  1. Make sure the school environment is suitable. Many children with Cerebral Palsy have issues with areas where the sensory aspects can become too overwhelming. Speak to your education/support team about environmental changes that could help with this problem.
    • Suggest quieter rooms as this can help aide sensory overload. For other strategies that might help, see How to Reduce Sensory Overload.
  2. Make sure your child is receiving the right support. Your child may be getting too much or too little support; that can affect your child's confidence.
    • Ensure that enough support is given to help your child feel safe and secure, but still appropriately independent. Assuming they're able to, ask them to tell you about their day and how each part went. Ask open-ended questions to get an idea of what they like and don't like about the support they're getting at the moment. What you learn may enable you to collaborate with the school on improving the support structure.
  3. Consider whether your child needs more encouragement. Sometimes, the way that your child is spoken to after doing certain tasks can become very overwhelming if there is not enough reinforcement. Not getting enough encouragement can make the child feel like they are doing something incorrectly, which can knock their confidence.
    • See if there are different ways the child can be rewarded. For example, consider using a sticker chart or rewarding them with a small prize. Work with your child's teacher to find appropriate reward systems for the classroom.

Tips

  • Look out for changes in mood or indications that something is wrong. They may not tell you if something has happened or if they are upset about something, so try and see if you spot any unusual behaviour that could indicate an issue.
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