Summer is coming to a close, which means we are looking ahead to the new school year! So much opportunity for growth and learning for our kiddos. Meeting new people, your child learning a new routine, a new teaching team, and new peers learning how to communicate with your loved one. There are so many new experiences to be had with the start of another school year. We have put together a few tools and resources to help make this school year a great success for you!
What is Rett Syndrome? An Introductory Guide
Having to explain Rett Syndrome over and over again to those that will be working with your child can be so exhausting. Having a bit of information on hand about what Rett Syndrome is, and how our kiddos learn best, is such a powerful tool to have when entering the new school year. These pamphlets are useful to give out to bus drivers and aides, the school nurse, the principal, administration staff, and of course your child’s entire teaching team. The Rett Syndrome-Introductory Guide, found on RettUniversity.org can be downloaded and printed out for you to share as you wish. This introductory guide is great to print out and keep a stack in your car, you never know when you may need one!
Introductions to the Class
Introductions to a new teacher and a new set of peers can be a little nerve-wracking for anyone, but being non-verbal, adds a little more challenge to what ordinarily would be so simple. A letter of introduction from your child to their class is a great way to break the ice on their first day at school. We have attached for you a sample letter of introduction to the class that you can personalize as you see fit; including some of your child’s favorite things and activities, likes and dislikes, as well as some very poignant details on how your child communicates, can help set the tone for the rest of the school year!
Click below to download a sample introduction letter (PDF and Word formats available):
Open Communication is key!
Having daily open communication between home and school is a necessity for our kiddos. If they had a hard day, it may be difficult to get to the root of what took place. Did they eat all of their lunch, seem uncomfortable, what stories did they read, did they attend to their work, and what was their favorite activity? Having some insight into your child’s day and being able to offer some input to your child’s teaching team about how their afternoon, night, or morning went may help others know what to expect.
Simply having a notebook to be sent to and from school so that you can talk about your child’s day when they get home, or having something for your child’s aide to communicate to her friends makes for a greater social experience for your child. Another option for communicating is to use some sort of shared document such as Google Drive, with various tabs-keeping track of sleep, different medical issues, upcoming appointments, etc. A simple option is a daily communication log to be sent to and from school. We have created for you a downloadable daily communication log to print off, put in a binder, and communicate away!
Click below to download a sample communication log (PDF and Word formats available):
We hope that with these simple tools in place we hope that this school year is a great success!
