BACK TO SCHOOL ANXIETY

Here in Turkey its the first day back to school after the long school holiday !! In this dyslexia blog article I want to talk about the anxiety and stress children can endure when they return to the classroom...

Its normal that most kids will be anxious about returning back to school ( or starting school ).Some children however may even develop sleeping problems,or wet the bed or have stomach aches and pains, even nausea as a result of their anxiety.

Those children with dyslexia and learning disabilities will also be more prone to suffer from anxiety and stress when returning to school.As a result parents need to be more understanding and patient.

Children may try to stay off school in order to escape their worries. As a parent it's best not to encourage them to miss days ; however you do need to listen to your child's worries and try to empathize with them.If possible,try to discuss with your child practical ways to alleviate their problems at school.

Make some time each day to talk with your child about how things are going at school. I often find that my child doesn't want to be quizzed about school when he first comes home, he needs some time to chill out for an hour or so .

Make sure your child knows you are always ready to listen to his worries.Remember you can't always solve his or her problems completely but sometimes just being a good listener is enough to help them !!

Neil Alexander-Passe from South Bank University undertook a study in 2008.It investigated whether dyslexic children, by way of their educational and social difficulties, experience higher levels of stress at school. Dyslexic children in Grades 3-5 were found to experience high levels of stress, particularly with regard to interacting with teachers and school tests.

See Neil Alexander-Passe's web site with useful information :
(The article on dyslexics, stress and anxiety)



http://www.dyslexia-research.com/


Heres a useful article about 'How to Relieve School Anxiety'.

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/specialeducation/ht/anxiety.htm

Good luck to all dyslexic children and their parents with the start of school !!