We can support your child to make the leap to ‘big school’ or high school. Every child will have different things they need to learn. Your child may need to learn to feel comfortable around new classmates and talk in public, while another child may need support to learn to get themselves dressed in the morning, whereas another child may need support with focusing in class

We’ll make a plan with you and we’ll adapt our therapy to help develop whichever skills will help your child and family the most.

For example, we can help your child with:

• setting up an orientation program before school starts
• feeling comfortable in a new environment
• communicating with their teacher
• socialising with their classmates
• getting dressed
• brushing their teeth and showering
• doing their homework
• focusing in class
• we can also help your child’s teacher know how to best include your child in class discussions

Emily’s Story

Emily has just turned five and she’s starting school next year. Her mum, Kate, wants to make the transition as easy as possible so that Emily doesn’t get overwhelmed. Starting school is a huge milestone for every child and Emily has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and mild autism so it will take some additional planning and support to make it as easy and positive as possible.

Kate knew that it was important to have a plan, but she had no idea where to start so she came to SDN for help.

As part of our Integration to School package, Kate was assigned a key worker who helped to develop an orientation program to help Emily get to know her new school. Emily met her teachers and support staff long before classes started and visited the school ahead of time to get used to her classroom, the bathrooms, the playground, and assembly hall.

This preparation and repetition of her new routine made transitioning to school a lot easier. The keyworker also helped Kate with some strategies for the home to help Emily get ready for school and to do her homework more smoothly. School is nowhere near as daunting now as it could have been. Emily now knows that new stages of life can be exciting and not scary.