4 minute read
S.E.N.D in the Clowns • by Suzy Rowland
Supporting children with additional needs during lockdown. An article by Suzy Rowland - Author of 'S.E.N.D. in the Clowns'
A key element of maintaining the well-being of your family is having a routine that feels safe and organised. Knowing there is enough food in the cupboards, who is in and out at what time, and everyone having enough to eat! Covid-19 changed all that. Instead of a newnormal, we seem to be in the midst of a system re-boot. Some have experienced a comfortable lockdown; others have experienced the uncertainly of furlough, job losses, illness or even the bereavement of a family member. It’s been an intense time for many families.
Parenting children with additional needs is challenging without a global pandemic. The changing routines and not being able to go outside when they want or see trusted carers has created heightened anxiety in many autistic or ADHD children. Children with complex needs, especially those requiring hospital care, have been at risk during lockdown, causing more stress for hundreds of families. Trying to organise daily life is difficult, when the world around you is changing so fast.
How can I reduce my family’s anxiety levels?
1. Create new systems and plans. Draw a basic timetable of daily activities for everyone in your family and stick it on the fridge so your days have a structure. Put everything on it including play time, walking the dog, home learning, mealtimes, taking a walk. Feeling in control plays a major role in maintaining self-esteem and mental health.
2. Make time to talk. Talking to your partner or your children about their feelings can be awkward, consider conversation when you’re doing something else, so it feels more relaxed. Children like to ‘protect’ their parents but it’s not healthy for them (or you) to carry stress and worry alone. Use openended questions when talking to your children, avoid the word ‘should’ if you can. Young Minds has great tips on talking to young people.
3. Solutions to soothe an anxious child. Autistic & ADHD kids are highly sensitive to atmosphere and mood, if you’re tetchy and irritable, they reflect that back. They may become stressed about things that didn’t bother them before. Here’s what you can do to help:
• Share your knowledge of how worry affects the body: it can cause headaches, tummy aches, difficulty sleeping, being short-tempered. Reassure them these feelings are normal. If your kids are worried about something bad happening to a family member or anxious when you leave the house, this is normal too. Visual timetables help them understand what the day will look like.
• Sensory soothing. If your child is highly sensory, provide a toy or game to keep their hands busy and help calm the nervous system.
• A worry box or jar. Use an old cardboard box or glass jar, as place for your child to ‘store’ their worries. Write the worries down with your child on a strip of paper, fold each worry and put it into the jar or box. Once they’re in the box, they’re not in the child’s head. You can take them out later to discuss, or discard with the child’s permission.
• Yoga movements & breath work. Lots of kids take to yoga instinctively. Even if they’re not naturally flexible, the action of moving the body in a slow and deliberate way whilst mindfully breathing increases blood flow around the body, and helps them to feel calmer.
• Mindfulness is simply mastering the technique of absorbing yourself fully on one activity to the exclusion of everything else. It works as the brain focuses on the present moment, it becomes calmer and so do you, as you’re not fretting about what’s coming next. Examples of mindful activity are making a daisy chain, potting some seeds, colouring, etc.
• Colourful or rainbow eating. Encourage your child to taste food of different colours. Not only will it ensure they eat a healthy diet full of mood boosting nutrients, but it can become a fun, learning activity in itself.
Hurrah they’re going back to school!
We thought it would never come, but it’s time for some children to go back to school. Some of your kids have been going to school since lockdown started, but what about those who’ve been at home, or shielding? It’s another big change in routine. If you’re a single parent household, and according Gingerbread there are 1.8 million single parents, life with children with additional needs, can be difficult due to increased financial and emotional strain.
How to make transition back to school easier
-Review your paperwork: SEN support/EHCP – If you’ve had a risk-assessment, make sure you’re happy with what support will be in place for your child at school post-Covid. If your child had an LSA at playtime before lockdown, will that be in place once they’re back? What if your child’s learning support assistant is ill or shielding? How will school support your child, in a socially distanced school or classroom?
Check online - Councils post their back to school protocol online and have lists of registered childminders. Academy Schools will post re-opening plans on the SEND (special educational needs and disability) pages of their website. Find the helpline number for your local SENDIAS (information service). Local disability support groups and charities will build your special educational needs network. It may not easy, but however you manage this, stay healthy, stay happy. © Suzy Rowland
