Therapists and teachers go in and out of our children’s lives, almost like a revolving door. At onetime, we were juggling three doctors, 5 ABA therapists, one speech therapist, and one physical therapist. I remember getting tired of repeating the same things over and over again every time someone new came into our lives. What does he like to do? What motivates him? What are the best strategies to have a successful session?
To help with these transitions, I finally made a one-page introduction to introduce my child to new people in his life.
This one-page introduction is broken into four different sections.
1.In this section, you write down your child’s strengths and what others say positively about your child. Is your child imaginative, observant, highly energetic, caring, affectionate? Start by bragging about your child and talk about how amazing they are.
2.Photo of your child.
3.What is important to them-Is it essential for them to succeed in what they are doing? Is it vital for them to be around others? Is it important to play with puzzles? Is it important to read their favorite books?
4.How can the worker properly support your child? What does the new therapist or teacher need to know about your child to help them be successful in working with him/her? Does your child need a lot of prompting before you change tasks? Does your child need hand-over-hand help to write his name? Does your child work best when he is working for rewards? Does your child use the token system to earn rewards? Think of this section as building a roadmap for successful relationship-building between your child and this new therapist.