Jennie Sjursen 0:01
The beginning of the new school year is so difficult. My child starts getting really anxious and worried about the new year, lots of tears and sleepless nights. And the school year hasn't even started. Why does it have to be so hard?
Jennie Sjursen 0:18
I'm Jenny Sjursen, an ex-special educator turned dyslexia interventionist, and wasn't so long ago, that I too, was overwhelmed by balanced literacy versus structured literacy, education speak, and everything in between. Fast forward after many, many hours of self driven education. And you'll see I've built a thriving dyslexia practice helping students from ages six to 18. My specialties, working with a quote unquote difficult almost always to the student, and breaking down the complexities of dyslexic to everyday language strategies and action steps.
Jennie Sjursen 0:55
Before we dive in, could you do me a huge favor? Would you mind sending this episode or just sharing my podcast with three of your friends, I've been working really hard to put out valuable content to support parents with dyslexic children. And I want to make sure it gets into the hands of the people that need it the most. So grab the link to this episode or podcast, text it to three friends, or you can just click the share button and send it that way. Whatever works best for you. But I will be forever thankful. Thank you.
Jennie Sjursen 1:25
Each year, as the end of the summer gets closer, dyslexic students begin to struggle with starting another school year. But this year, if you both had a plan of action, it could go so much smoother. But let me guess: No matter what you do, it seems like the beginning of each new school year is wrapped up in stress and anxiety. Am I right? To help you out I've put together an eight step plan for starting off the new school year on the right foot. We've also created a PDF with all the steps and linked to it below in our show notes. You can download it now to follow along or download it later and place it in your IEP binder as an extra resource. So let's get started.
Jennie Sjursen 2:07
Step one, review previous school year before talking with your child reflect on their previous school year experiences, challenges, areas where they improved, and areas that still need improvement. Two, discuss concerns and expectations. Sit down with your child and talk openly with them about any concerns or fears they have or you have about the new school year, assure them you're always in their corner, you're always going to be there for them. Three, review accommodations and IEP 504 plan. review with your child, their IEP and 504 accommodations and supports. Knowing their accommodations and supports will help them build their self confidence and self advocacy skills, they will feel more comfortable asking for them when needed. And if they don't know what they are, they can't ask for them. This is a big one because a lot of my previous students never knew what was in their IEP. So I would sit down and go over it with them.
Jennie Sjursen 3:08
For explore assistive technology. Sit down with your child and research assistive technology tools they could use to help them with their schoolwork, such as text to speech and speech to text. Many are already built into the apps we use every day like Word and Google. So those apps already have them built in to their systems. And they're easy to access and get to use. Some of them do need to learn your voice. So you want to practice using them before school starts. Also, it's in your phone. If you think about it, you can now do voice text messaging. So it's in a lot of areas already built into things that you have.
Jennie Sjursen 3:51
Five, set realistic goals together. Now that you and your child have collected and discussed expectations, their IEP 504 accommodations and supports and assistive technology sit down and set some achievable academic and personal goals for the upcoming year. involving them in this conversation helps give them ownership of the process. If they don't have ownership, they're not going to buy into it. So you want them to own a piece of this so that it is something that they are working on and not just you.
Jennie Sjursen 4:26
Six develop a homework routine. Developing routines will help your child reach those goals you set together. A consistent homework routine will provide your child with a way to effectively manage their time and reduce stress. If your child knows they have to come home, have a snack half hour off and then start their homework that is going to help them manage their time and emotions. It's not going to become a battle of getting them to start because they already know what to do and what's expected of them. then
Jennie Sjursen 5:00
seven, prepare school supplies. Many Dyslexics struggle with organization before school starts, help them prep all the necessary school supplies and go over strategies that can help them stay organized throughout the year. And it may be you have an A back day backpack and you have a B day backpack, or you have an eight day notebook and a B day notebook. My sister used to put tags on the back of her daughter's backpack. Today's a school bus day today is pickup by mom day. So not only did she let the her daughter know, she also let the teachers know and it was a great system for them. But build in those things. Talk about them, introduce them. Let them know what is happening, and why before the first day of school.
Jennie Sjursen 5:50
And finally eight. express love and support. Above all else, express your love and support to your child, reassuring them that you believe in them. And you're always there to help them through it all. You don't expect them to be perfect, you just expect them to try. If you have any further questions about strategies for starting the new school year. Please feel free to sneak into my inbox. We'd also love your input. What would you like to hear from us in the future? Is there a topic we haven't covered yet? You really want to learn more about or do you have a pressing need and you're not really sure how to handle it or move forward? Send us a DM on Instagram or drop us an email at Jenny at literacy untangled. That's je n n ie at literacy untangle.com We can't wait to hear from you. Until next time. Buh bye.
Jennie Sjursen 6:44
I hope you enjoyed this episode of literacy untangled if you love this episode as much as I did, head on over and rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you want to continue the conversation or share your takeaways, head on over to our Instagram at literacy untangled and comment on your favorite part. I can't wait to hang out with you again soon. Bye
