End of the School Year Anxiety
The end of the school year is often filled with excitement. Students are making summer plans, teachers are wrapping up the school year, and parents are lining up activities for the summer. With all the excitement that surrounds the end of the school year it is important to keep in mind that the many changes in routine that accompany summer vacation often cause anxiety in students with autism, and students without autism as well.
To help alleviate some of that anxiety parents and teachers can:
- Broadcast changes ahead of time: Create a calendar for the last month of school and discuss the changes with your students or children. Knowing what is going to change and when it is going to happen will help ease anxiety.
- Create a scrapbook to remember the school year: If a student is transitioning to a new classroom they may be sad about leaving their teacher and friends. Creating a scrapbook for the student to put pictures in and notes from their friends may help them deal with the transition.
- Ignore minor behaviors if possible: In response to the anxiety students are feeling about leaving their friends and teachers for the summer they may begin to act out. Instead of punishing a child for acting out, try and help them process what they are feeling. Let them know it is ok to be feeling sad or anxious, and give them a better way to handle what they are feeling.
Using Social Stories is a great way to teach students new ways to deal with their feelings.
Book of the Week:
My Anxious Mind: A Teen's Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic/ by Michael A. Tompkins and Katherine A. Martinez ; illustrated by Michael Sloan. Magination Press, 2009.
The author offers ways for teens with anxiety to improve their inter-personal skills, whether it be with friends, family, or teachers; manage stress; handle panic attacks; use diet and exercise appropriately; and decide whether medication is right for them.
Contents:
-- When anxiety is a problem
-- When, who, and how to ask for help
-- Breathing and relaxation
-- Anxious thinking versus smart thinking
-- Facing your fears one step at a time
-- Learning to float with panic attacks
-- Managing friend, school, and family stress
-- Nutrition, exercise, and sleep
-- Straight talk about medications
-- Hope, help, and heart
This book is in the SESA Library. You may search the library catalog via the SESA website (http://www.sesa.org), or contact Anne directly by email at afreitag@sesa.org or by phone at 907-334-1301.
