Tips for PreK

Has your daughter been evaluated with the school district for an IEP or has an IEP? If so, that's half the battle won already. The IEP should make sure she has accommodations in order for her to learn more effectively. Does she have other means of communication (PECS cards, ASL, a device, etc.)? This would help immensely to prevent meltdowns due to communication barriers. Is your daughter in therapies? If she is in ABA some centers offer school readiness programs for younger kids. This is something I wish I did for my son and am currently looking into. They will help with skills like attending to tasks, sitting in class, teaching them what to expect, etc. Have you asked her teacher for a meeting or a tour of the classroom? Try to get in touch with your child's teacher before school starts so she can get to know her teacher(s), the classroom, and the school environment in general. You can also address your concerns about your child's learning and fill her in on tips to help her learn.

Try to start having your daughter get into a school routine starting now. Go through what you would typically expect to happen when she gets ready and goes to school. If possible, make a social story (or find books) about what to expect at school, who her teacher is, what she will do at school, etc. Drive by her school and tell her she will be going there starting at this date. The more prompting and prepping you can do with her the better she may handle going to school when the time comes. Hope your daughter has a great preschool experience!

My daughter also starts in 3 weeks, 3 years old and autistic. It’s been hard determining what I can do to help her. Thank you all for the advice you’ve given ❤️

Have you tried to get an EHCP? And is your daughter going to have a 1-1? I would advise that you take your daughter to the school for walk arounds if possible as much as you can to get her familiar to the place and also see if there’s a teacher / TA or 1-1 that can meet with her a couple of times before starting too so she knows somebody. Work closely with the staff your daughter will work with, make sure you’re trying to implement the same sort of routine at both school and home. Best way to do this would be to change your home routine if possible. Ask when lunches are, what time her breaks are, what a day to day typically looks like at school and try to adapt your routine as best you can. I work with SEND students in mainstream so I have lots of advice and tips if you need you are more then welcome to pop me a message but honestly communication is key. I hope she settles in and I hope she has lovely staff working with her xx

My 3 year old (4 in October) started pre school last calendar year. He’s on the spectrum, non verbal. They did evaluated him for IEP. It’s not a special need school either but they did have a para who is certified in his condition. I always pack him his favorite food. I was so worried for him. I brought an apple AirTag and I put it in his pants. I wanted to know how he was doing in school cause the teacher sometimes will not update me. So, I purchase a notebook specifically for him. I told the teacher to please day to day even if it’s 2 sentences let me know how his day went. Did he eat? What did you work on? What I should be working on with him Anything.! The notebook was such a success I wished I had started that since school opened. He loved going to school. Now in a few days he’s going to start PRE-K. He started ABA few months ago🙏🏽 it is helping..he can count to 10,he finally said mama, & they will be travelling to his school for ABA. I’m not as scared as I was last year.

@Fiona we are currently in the process of getting the evaluation for an IEP. But she will start school a whole month before the evaluation unfortunately. I applied for CCC+ Medicaid waiver so I'm praying they accept it so we can afford ABA. Without that waiver it's too expensive for me and her dad. We are working on more signing and her pecs cards. She is in speech therapy right now. We just set up a meeting yesterday with her new school. They want us to have a couple of tours so she can get familiar with her teachers and school.

@Deema yes we are working on all of this! I will definitely make sure I request the pec cards though that's a great idea. I guess I'm more so worried about if there is anything I need to be doing at home as a mom you know? Like should I start teaching her to trace her letters? I've just started doing random stuff to prepare her . I think I'm freaking out more than she would be lol

@Fiona thank you!! This is helpful because I've been scrambling trying to find things to teach her before hand!

@Katie Albert yes we are currently working on that process of an education plan and have tours scheduled with her school and teachers! I didn't think to change my home routine that's a great idea!! Thank you so much 🥹

@Cassandra that's a great idea! I was thinking about the Apple tag as well. It's hard though because my daughter does not like anything on her person 🙃 so I have to figure out ways to finesse it! I love the notebook idea and snack idea though! Omg that's amazing!!! I know we need ABA so bad but I can't afford it right now. I'm so proud of him and YOU! That made me feel a lot better. Hopefully she can start ABA soon🙏🏼thank you so much

@Kazh my son doesn’t like anything on his person either so I attach it to his belt loop in the back so he can’t see it… in regards to ABA, the state should help you it’s a disability.

@Cassandra Yes to the notebook, and keep it up every year! I have started doing this with my son since first grade but the school staff has been inconsistent with filling out his daily logs. I am always frustrated that it takes me setting up a meeting with his teachers to get the SPED staff to start filling it out again. If you are going to do a daily log, make sure the staff is filling it out consistently! @Kazh I am glad you are applying to get state sponsored benefits for your daughter. It is always a hassle to get everything done. Hope finding ABA will be easy once you get everything settled with Medicaid.