School Stage

The first few days and weeks of a return to school after injury is a period of adjustment. Its a time when you as a parent, the teacher and the child will be assessing the success of the transition. It is important that this assessment be shared with focus on what is working and identifying if there are issues that need to be addressed.

Teachers or students may have mis-information that needs to be corrected. For example,

• a child may report that they were not allowed to participate in a particular activity because the teacher believes it would cause physical harm to the child .
• Your child or his teacher may identify the need for more help with school work and a plan of action to address academic work to catch up is needed.
• Your child may express upset about not being able to participate in activities in the same way they were prior to injury and need opportunity to discuss their upset.

Establishing a pattern of ongoing dialogue with your child's teacher and school personnel is a way to ensure that these issues can be addressed. Parent meetings are important to address these issues as they arise. (tips on talking with school personnel about your child's needs)

It is also important that you talk with your child about his thoughts and feelings and include him in the process. (tips on talking with children about difficult issues)

Teasing and bullying is one of the most common fears that parents have about their well-being in school. All children are subjected to teasing and bullying. A child's change in function or appearance can become a target for teasing and bullying. While there is growing awareness of the problem and strategies to use to counter its adverse effects, we still have a ways to go. Every parent, educator and health care professional needs to educate themselves on steps to take to combat teasing and bullying to protect all of our children. There are things you can do.

Once you have successfully helped your child make the transition back to school you have learned the skills that you might need again. We live in a society that continually changes. Your child will move through the school system. Each year she will enter a new grade with a new teacher and new peers. This new grade may be in another school or another school district. She may also experience different teachers because a known teacher is out on maternity leave and a substitute enters the classroom. You and your child may need re-establish a period of re-entry (reducation) when a period of change occurs. Remember the steps that you followed.