Connecting with Parents of Students with Disabilities Before School Begins

                                        

Connecting with Parents of Students with Disabilities Before School Begins

It is important to establish a positive home-school connection with parents of students with disabilities before school begins.  Parents will be able to provide valuable information  about how the student's disability manifests itself in the child's behavior and daily activities.  Parents can also provide suggestions for effective strategies and practical accommodations that have worked for their child at home or in other school settings.

Before the school year begins general and special education teachers should:

• Plan a meeting for the parents to visit the classroom.  This can help proactively pin point any environmental concerns and allow time to brainstorm solutions before the student arrives for classes.
• Have honest and open conversations related to establishing realistic expectations for the school year.
• Work through apprehensions and defensiveness by being consistent and open to suggestions.  Some families may have had negative experiences with other schools or teachers in the past.
• Conversations should focus on individual characteristics of the student highlighting and identifying areas of strengths and uniqueness along with areas of challenge.
• Align and embed a home-school communication system to use throughout the school year.  Communication needs to be frequent, efficient, and easy to use for both the teacher and the parent.  
• Obtain input from siblings and other family members.  They may give age-appropriate suggestions or may be able to give specific social information from a peer's perspective.
• Invite parents to participate in different ways such as volunteering or doing an awareness presentation to classmates and school personnel.

Adapted from Region 13 Autism for General Education Teacher's Worksho