7 Tips to Ease Back to School Anxiety
While going back to school after summer break can be exciting for some students, others can struggle with anxiety when heading back for a new school year. This anxiety can be increasingly more present for students with pre-existing anxiety for change, separation, or school, as well as for students starting at a new school. Anxiety is a natural response for new or experienced transitions and can naturally fade for most students as the weeks and days go on. While natural, it can also be hard for a parent or caregiver to see your child in distress, particularly if you know they will either love or be “just fine” in their new class or school. The role of the parent or caregiver is to recognize signs of anxiety (this can look different for everyone), validate, and gradually prepare your child to lean into the anxiety to overcome it rather than avoid it. It is an innate response to want to prevent any distress or discomfort your child may experience, however, when supporting anxiety the message should be one of validation and letting them know that “yes, this is scary, and I am here to help you through it". While some children may need more direct or intentional skill building from a professional when it comes to coping with anxiety, here are seven tips to ease back-to-school anxiety so it does not grow into bigger fears, avoidance, or self-doubt.
What is Cognitive Overload?
Is your child struggling to complete homework, remain organized, or stay focused? Does this lead to increased frustration, avoidance, and parent/child conflict? Working memory is an aspect of our intellectual functioning and we need it to attend and respond to instructions, organize and recall our thoughts, and work with multiple bits of information at once. Think of working memory as our brains “sketch pad.” It is the place where we organize and work through tasks. Working memory is part of our executive functioning, which is the brain’s “control center.” Executive functioning develops over time and helps us juggle tasks, complete mental operations, and regulate our thoughts/behavior during tasks, especially non-desired tasks (cue homework!).
How can I support my child with homework?
If you would like to reduce homework hassles and help your child develop greater independence, it is time to take a look at current routines, or lack thereof. Homework completion can be a time of increased frustration, conflict, and dread for not only students, but also their caregivers. Undesired tasks like homework are easiest to accomplish when you stack them to existing routines. By establishing daily routines for homework completion, you can set yourself up to reduce the power struggle, all while providing structure, order, and predictability for your child. When established, routines help your child develop a greater sense of autonomy, which is important when homework expectations increase in high school and college.
Mental health symptoms in school
Everyone feels sad, angry, or anxious at times. For children and teenagers who are navigating both growing independence, as well as adjustment to change in the school setting, the list of stressors can go on and on. Ordinary worries, stress, or sadness may evolve into distress or impairment. This is particularly common throughout the Covid-19 pandemic when isolation, virtual learning, and other stressors simply exacerbate what is already a big transition for students. Just like caring for physical health, mental health should be addressed and supported openly as research trends show evidence of the increase in anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns in the school setting. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 6 school aged children experience mental health conditions each year, yet only half may receive any kind of treatment. Undiagnosed or inadequately treated mental health symptoms can significant interfere with a student’s ability to learn and develop relationships in school. However, it is not always easy to detect symptoms. While schools can be a source of stress for students, they are also the frontline of early detection and ongoing support for mental health.
What are Neurodevelopmental Disorders?
Today’s post will highlight additional classifications in special education, but more importantly signs and symptoms of how Neurodevelopmental Disorders may present themselves in home and school. Let’s break it down- “Neuro,” means brain and “developmental” indicates manifestation in a child’s early growing years. A “disorder” simply means that the symptoms are significantly impairing some aspect of a child’s ability to function in their environment. Neurodevelopmental Disorders are diagnoses that occur within a child’s early developmental period and they can impact thinking, communication, behavior, motor, or other developmental skills due to differences in the brain. Why is this important? Students with Neurodevelopmental Disorders can be challenged with weaknesses in attention, memory, behavior, social engagement, speech, or other skills that are observed as behavior or learning challenges when they transition to mainstream education. Similar to how weaknesses in these areas may impact us at work or in day-to-day activities, children will also struggle with aspects of functioning in their “job” of learning in school. Therefore, even though symptoms are likely evident prior to school entrance (and may be diagnosed at this time), they are recognized most often as a child enters the structured and mainstreamed school setting as this is where impairment in their functioning becomes most apparent.
What is a Specific Learning Disability?
It is not unusual to have a child struggle with a specific topic or subject from time to time. This in itself does not mean they have a learning disability. Children with learning disabilities struggle with a specific set of skills, even when their overall intelligence or other aspects of functioning are not affected. Learning disabilities are a result of brain based differences that make some subjects or school-based activities difficult for children if they do not have accommodations. Children with a learning disability may feel frustrated they cannot complete tasks despite their hard work and you may see hopelessness, behavioral outbursts, withdrawal, or negative perceptions of school develop over time if undetected. Eligibility requirements in determining whether your child can be classified as having a Specific Learning Disability may differ by state, however, in the state of North Carolina a Specific Learning Disability is generally defined as the following.