My inbox has been full recently with parents and educators asking for advice. During this time of CO-ViD19 based on my journey growing up with autism and me and my family having to deal with natural disasters (Hurricane Sandy). With that, I wanted to share with all of you today 5 ways you should consider to help your child during this pandemic.
Check out this Social story to explain the Coronavirus to your child
Growing up with autism – whenever I had facts put in front of me my anxiety decreased dramatically. This social story will explain to your child a little more about the Coronavirus in a very novice way.
Keep your child engaged with virtual tours
One of the worst things you can do for your child is not keeping them engaged. Consider grabbing your Ipad and taking a walk around your house with one of these virtual tours. The National Park Service offers tours including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, etc.
Have your children watch self-advocate videos
During this time things such as nurturing self-advocacy and assisting with social skills training might be especially difficult. Encourage your child to learn more about self-advocacy by watching videos of individuals impacted by a diagnosis who are self-advocating for themselves. Here are a few videos you can watch with your kids right now.
Make a daily schedule
Coming from someone who grew up with a learning disability I can’t stress enough to you that structure is going to be key (especially with remote learning for the next few weeks/months). In this daily schedule remember to include time for exercise (Strong by Zumba has some excellent fun 30 minute workout youtube videos). Check out Brandy Killian’s blog for a template on what this could look like here.
Look at Scholastic’s free ‘Learn At Home’ program
Ultimately there are going to be a bunch of free educational resources popping up in the next few weeks. This one in particular is one of my favorites. This program offers three hours of classes per day with up to four weeks of instruction. A great structure which has academic lessons from K-12.
Bonus tip: Remember to take some time for you for self-care so you can be at your best for your child.
What tips do you have for our community? Post them in the comments! If you found these resources helpful consider leaving a tip to support my nonprofit which nurtures disability advocacy and provides scholarships for students with autism to go to college.
Join us during World Autism Month by RSVPing here for our ‘A Night For Celebrating Our Autism Community Virtual Event’ on April 20th where we will be spotlight several members of our autism community like our scholarship applicants!
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, & Instagram!
My name is Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum that started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help support me so I can continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
