Preparing for 2010-2011: School Smarts

Its that time again and if you’re not already in it, you soon will be. The school year is starting; books and bags are just the beginning! Want a little extra help? Read School Smarts from Bay Area Parents to find great advice on challenges confronting many parents and students.

To learn more about Easter Seals Bay Area, see our website at www.bayarea.easterseals.com .

Building A School Community For Your Child

Mrs. Robinson reminds her son Robbie, ”Make sure you’re home for dinner at 6:30,”  and he promises to adhere to the Robinson family schedule. Sound familiar? From 3pm to 6pm, children become self managed decision-makers opting in for homework, games, and outdoor past-times.

A child old enough to take on the responsibility of time management and unsupervised play learns through routine rituals and role-modeling.  At school, regularly scheduled class activities prompt students’ awareness of the passing hours. James, a child on the autism spectrum, prioritizes his social time subject to his own, unique style.  This style is often characterized as perseverative.  Because of the qualities of this kind of thinking, James may need more supervision to accept and accommodate into his routine a change in the environment.

In the Bay Area when a child’s developmental growth requires specialized learning tools and techniques, many families turn to Easter Seals Bay Area.  Services like the Lily Learning Center in Solano county;  Kaleidoscope After-School program in Alameda county; the Healthy Environments Child Development Center in San Francisco; and the Parent Empowerment Project offered in San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Solano counties offer the help and hope that many families need.

Easter Seals Bay Area’s mission is to ensure individuals affected by disabilities can live, learn, work, and play to their full potential.   You can shape your child’s learning and development early by accessing resources at Easter Seals Bay Area.

• A Regional Center in your area can refer you to specialized support programs.
• Enrollment in schools and programs with specialized curriculums treat your child as an individual.
• Play groups during therapy establish practical everyday application where you, your therapist, and caregivers benefit from sharing helpful treatments.
• Child-peers act as mentors and role-models to encourage inclusion and acceptance, while exchanging the tools and skills involved in making friends.
• Free open houses and events facilitate opportunities to meet experts and new friends.

Check out what we’re talking about at today’s Lily Carnival (4:00pm – 8:00pm) and Saturday’s Kaleidoscope Festival of Art and Sound (2:00pm – 6:00pm).  Both are free, family-friendly events celebrating awareness and appreciation for and by the disability community in the Bay Area.