Back to school anxiety is common in every household, and more so in households where school is hard. For students with learning differences, September is not just new shoes and a new teacher; it is returning to the place where the hardest parts of their day happen. Here are four ways to help kids (and you) manage it.
1. Check yourself
How are you feeling? Children feed off the people in their lives and can definitely sense if you are stressed. It is okay to be worried, but take control of how, when, and with whom you are expressing your worry.
2. Do a test run
Even if your child is returning to the same school as last year, it helps to run through a typical day if possible. Routines give kids a sense of comfort. What will getting ready for school look like? It is likely your school will have an open house prior to the first day as well. All kids, especially those with learning disabilities, benefit from visuals; so seeing the classroom may help allay their worry.
3. Listen
Open up a conversation about the school year. What are they excited about? What are they worried about? Don’t forget that anxiety can present itself in a number of ways including anger, sleeplessness, and even headaches.
4. Ask for Help
Before school even starts, it is helpful to communicate any worry with your child’s teacher and/or administration. Their teacher is likely meeting your child for the first time this fall and would benefit from that information. Even just a, “hey, Joey is feeling a little anxious about this school year,” can go a long way.
One more thing worth saying plainly: for some kids, school anxiety is a symptom rather than the condition. When anxiety clusters around reading, writing, or math specifically, it is worth finding out whether a skill gap is driving it. That is a solvable problem, and solving it does more for the anxiety than any amount of reassurance.
