My daughter (7th grade) has an IEP and has a hard time dealing with anxiety and executive function. Her school is so overburdened and understaffed that she isn’t getting the help she needs. This is also having a negative effect on her emotionally. Is there anything we can do to help her? Should we think of switching schools?
Jenna, Longview, TX
Hi, Jenna! Schools are definitely overburdened right now, especially paraprofessionals and teachers specializing in special education. If your daughter isn’t getting the help she needs, it might be time to consider switching schools. However, we would recommend only doing so as a last resort. At the age that your daughter is, her friends are likely very important to her, as is her routine, even if it is currently unsatisfying. We would suggest going about it in this order before making the switch.
1. Advocate for more support.
If you haven't already, request a meeting with her IEP team to discuss the current issues and identify specific areas where she needs more support. It may feel like you’re trying to squeeze blood from a turnip, but sometimes an extra push helps a lot. It can be helpful to come prepared with observations and possibly suggestions for accommodations that could help her.
2. Seek external resources.
Consider looking for support outside the school, such as a therapist who specializes in anxiety and executive function issues in children. Having the right therapist could help her build strategies to manage her anxiety and improve her executive function skills. A therapist can even help you research ways to help her at home.
3. Connect with other parents.
It’s unlikely that you and your daughter are the only ones experiencing this problem with your school. Get together and form a group. Attend school board meetings. Make demands. Be heard. It’s easier to approach institutional problems as a group than it is by yourself.
4. Switch schools.
If none of these approaches improve the situation, it may be time to look into moving to another school. Reach out to other parents and get the scoop on other options before you make the move, though, to make sure you don’t end up moving from one bad situation to another.
Resources We Love: We highly recommend our Executive Function Group for Girls. This small group meets online with an executive function coach twice a week to focus on organization systems, reminder systems, time management, study skills, and the use of assistive technologies to help them build a foundation of success. They also learn how to advocate for themselves. This won’t fix your school’s understaffing problem, but it might improve her situation enough to last her until high school and prevent a disruptive school switch.