The first step in helping children who are struggling in school is to figure out what’s interfering with their ability to learn effectively and get along socially. In this section we explore what some common classroom behaviors might mean, how problems like anxiety, OCD and ADHD might show up in school, and how we can help kids with learning disorders and behavioral challenges. We offer strategies for helping kids stay organized and succeed with homework, and advice for parents on how to communicate with teachers and other staff, and get accommodations for a learning disorder.
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- Academic Setbacks During COVID
- Teenagers and Back-to-School Stress
- Preparing Your Child to Go Back to School In-Person
- Keeping Kids Engaged in Remote Learning
- Questions That Parents of English Language Learners Should Ask Schools
- Back-to-School Anxiety During COVID
- Modifying an IEP or 504 for Distance or Hybrid Learning
- Preparing for Back-to-School Success
- Tips for Partnering With Teachers in the New School Year
- How to Set Priorities This School Year
- The Case of Grace
- Grades 10-12: Tips for Supporting Learning at Home
- College Students: Tips for Supporting Learning at Home
- Grades 3-6: Tips for Supporting Learning at Home
- Preschoolers: Tips for Supporting Learning at Home
- K-2: Tips for Supporting Learning at Home
- Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?
- Tips for Surviving Standardized Tests
- Back-to-School Tips for Kids Who Are Struggling
- Why Are Kids Different at Home and at School?
- How to Help Kids With Math Anxiety
- How Phones Ruin Concentration
- How Trauma Affects Kids in School
- Back to School Anxiety
- Tips for Recognizing Learning Disorders in the Classroom
- Is It ADHD or Immaturity?
- School Success Kit for Kids With ADHD
- School Success Kit for Kids With Sensory Processing Issues
- Tips for Beating Test Anxiety
- Does Your Child Lack Motivation?
- How to Help Your Child Get Motivated in School
- Metacognition: How Thinking About Thinking Can Help Kids
- Quick Facts on Executive Functions
- What’s ADHD (and What’s Not) in the Classroom
- Help for Kids Struggling With Learning
- Tips For Getting Off to a Good Start in High School
- Helping Kids Back Into the School Routine
- Not All Attention Problems Are ADHD
- How Does Anxiety Affect Kids in School?
- Tips for Helping Special Needs Kids Change Schools
- Are Schools Driving ADHD Diagnoses?
- Accommodations at School: Who Deserves Them?
- Animals, Nature Offer Children a Fresh Start
- Strategies for Managing Disruptive Kids
- How Sensory Processing Issues Affect Kids in School
- School Success Kit for Kids With Executive Functioning Issues
- Quick Facts on Specific Learning Disorder
- What Is a Neuropsychological Evaluation?
- What Is an Educational Therapist?
- How Can We Help Kids With Non-Verbal Learning Disorder?
- What Is a SEIT?
- One-on-One Help in the Classroom
- Understanding Special Education Laws
- Building Your Education Team
- How to Make the Most of Your IEP meeting
- What Is Auditory Processing Disorder?
- Help for Kids With Auditory Processing Disorder
- Being an Effective Advocate for Your Child
- Richard Engel on Finding Success With Dyslexia
- School Success Kit For Kids With Auditory Processing Issues
- Mindfulness in the Classroom
- What Does OCD Look Like in the Classroom?
- Strategies to Make Homework Go More Smoothly
- 7 Things to Tell the Teacher About Your Child
- Teacher Conferences — A Guide for Parents
- Finding the Balance With After-School Activities
- How to Work With Your School District to Get Services
- When Is a Child Ready for Mainstreaming?
- Top 10 Things to Look for in a School for a Special Needs Child
- Finding the Right Fit in a School
- Back to School Dos and Don’ts
- Tips for Getting a Good Start in High School
- Back to School Tips for Parents
- School Psychologists: Breaking Down Barriers to Learning
- Tips for Helping Kids With Selective Mutism Go Back to School
- What Teachers Should Know About OCD
- Caring for Kids After a School Shooting
- Breaking the Behavior Code
- Improving Behavior in the Classroom
- The Teacher’s Role When Tragedy Strikes
- How Teachers Can Help Kids With OCD
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All Ask an Expert- My school’s new emergency plan includes lockdown drills. How can we keep them from scaring the kids?
- What should a worried kindergarten teacher do about imaginary gun play in her class?
- What should a teacher do if parents aren’t concerned about selective mutism?
- What is the best high school school environment for a student with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety?
- Should my son with Tourette’s syndrome get exposure therapy for his school anxiety?
- Should my son switch to a school that focuses on behavior challenges?
- Should my daughter who might have selective mutism switch classes?
- Our 6-year-old is too anxious to participate in school activities. What should we do?
- My son, who has been taking Prozac for selective mutism, is now completely verbal in school. When can we start taking him off it?
- My son needs extra time on the SAT. Does anyone test high schoolers?
- My son has trouble sleeping on school nights. How can I help him overcome his anxiety?
- My son has made great progress in day treatment and is ready to return to a regular school. How can we get the school to work with him if he still has occasional outbursts?
- My daughter’s school would like her to repeat second grade. When is it good to keep a child back, if ever?
- My daughter wet herself at school and now her older sister is afraid the same thing will happen to her. What can I do?
- My daughter is so frustrated by her learning disorder she’s having tantrums at school. What can we do?
- My daughter is nervous about starting middle school this year. Do you have any tips for calming her anxiety?
- My daughter doesn’t talk at school or karate. Any advice on getting her to speak?
- My anxious son is 16, home-schooled, and prefers ‘cyber friends’ to real ones. We want him back in school, but can he cope?
- My 7-year-old, who has a mild form of cerebral palsy, has been having outbursts at home since starting school. What should I do?
- My 7-year-old son with dyslexia is easily frustrated or angered by things outside of school. Is that common?
- My 7-year-old daughter keeps wetting her pants at school. What should we do?
- My 6-year-old son is in trouble for being defiant in school, but we don’t see any of this behavior at home. What can I do?
- My 5-year-old is being disruptive towards the end of the school day. What can I do to help him?
- My 5-year-old has selective mutism and a life-threatening nut allergy. How can we keep her safe in school?
- My 4-year-old has been kicked out of preschool for behavior problems we don’t see anywhere else. What can I do?
- My 11-year-old daughter gets sick to her stomach and cries when I take her to school. Is this an anxiety disorder?
- My 10-year-old daughter with anxiety won’t participate in gym. Should we push her?
- When should you get a neuropsych evaluation for a child starting school in the fall?
- Is it common for kids with ADHD to have great behavior at school and difficult behavior at home?
- I’m homeschooling my daughter with selective mutism because the school wouldn’t help her. Am I doing the right thing?
- After being home sick for four days, my daughter, who loved school, now cries when I leave her. What can I do?
- A 10-year-old boy has severe memory issues. What do you recommend his parents do? His public school?
- A kindergarten student with SM refuses to use the bathroom at school. Do you have any suggestions?
- A child whose mother is hospitalized cries daily, disrupting the class. Should we pity her or demand that she perform?