Are you happy to see the school year end? Most moms are. They'd are looking forward to less structure and sleeping in. Well, moms who have children with learning differences are often glad the school year is coming to a close. Why? It may of been a bad year at school and YOU ARE DONE! You need some rest from the advocating process. Well, unless your child stays home and hangs out on a screen (you know what I'm talking about) all summer, there is still advocating to be done. If he's in a lot of structured activities geared toward children with disabilities, you might be able to let the professionals handle it. Otherwise, let the advocating begin!
My son always went to summer Bible camp. They were not accustomed to working with children on the autism spectrum. I sent a fact sheet about my son which was given to everyone working with him. He had supplements that the nurse gave him so I spent a good deal of time with the camp nurses at drop off helping them become the resident experts on my son for the week. We arrived early to help him settle in and so my husband and I could meet with all the counselors assigned to his cabin. We gave them a fact sheet and a 15 minute training on what to do when. Was this adequate? Probably not. But you do what you can and there are some things that don't go perfectly. The first year, was a big learning curve for everyone. I received several calls from the camp asking me how to handle various situations. By year 2, no phone calls. He went 5 or 6 summers. It never was perfect but with a little advocating, it worked well enough.
Inclusion with typical peers is hard. People (even who are very willing to learn) need help and that is where a parent advocate can really make a big difference. Here are some ideas on putting together a fact sheet for your child. These were designed to use for school but with a few changes they could be used for lots of other activities in summer or during the school year.
http://www.shesalwayswrite.com/2014/07/special-needs-student-resume-2014-update.html?m=1
http://autism-support.org/autism-resources/autism-student-checklists/
I would love to hear about ways you have assembled the basic facts about your child to share with others who work with her.
Posted with Blogsy