Theme Resources: Back-to-School: COVID-19, Home Learning, IEPS, Advocacy and More.
Back to school is going to look like nothing we have seen before this September. Here are some resources and tips that may help to make it a little less stressful.
Back-to-school according to an Autistic Teen: Ask Andrew
B.C. Government News Release and Information
- Here are your COVID-19 questions answered: B.C. heads back to school on Sept 10
- Back to school plans roll out
- The latest news release from the Ministry of Education (Aug 12, 2020)
- For further details about planning for the 2020 school year, please read the Frequently Asked Questions
BC Restart & Return to School Plans
AutismBC Talks with Kaye Banez on Inclusive and Accessible Education for All Students Petition
What you need to know about health & safety, your child’s right to attend school full-time (in person) and more!
- K–12 Education Restart Plan
- BC Back-to-School Plan
- K–12 Operational Guidelines for Masks and Learning Groups
Back to School during Covid-19
- CBC Radio: How to talk about back to school plans with your kids during a pandemic
- CBC News: Your Back to School Covid-19 Questions Answered
- Kelty Mental Health: Setting Children & Youth up for a Successful Return to School in the Era of COVID-19
- Anxiety Canada: Tips for educators returning to school during Covid-19
- BC Ed Access, Inclusion BC, FSI: Survey about Return to School
- Teleroo World: 5 Helpful tips for getting your child to wear a mask(video)
- Autism Little Learners: Covid-19 Social Stories for Back to School (various topics)
- Autism Speaks: What if your child is afraid to go back to school and how to get ready for new routines (handwashing, etc.)
- Developmental Disabilities Association: Tips for Back to School During Covid-19:
General Back-to-School Resources
- AutismBC: Autism Q and A: Back to School Planning
- Meohmy by Rebecca Campol:
- Interview with Jacob podcast: More general questions and insights about school, middle and high and post-secondary from Rebecca’s son Jacob, an autistic teen.
- “Start the Car” Blog
- Tes
- BC Ed Access: Back to School – 8 things you can do to prepare your child
- CBC: 15 Tips To Help Prepare Your Autistic Child For The School Year
- Kelty Mental Health: Back-to-School Anxiety: Tips for Helping Your Child
- Autism Awareness Centre: Great Expectations – Starting the School Year off Right
- BCEdAccess: Exclusion Report, 2020
School Options
Home Learning & Distributed Learning
- AutismBC Talks: What does Home learning look like? (Video)
- Home Schooling: A comparison of Distance Learning and Homeschooling (according to the B.C. government)
- B.C. Learning Services: Distributed Learning School Finder
- Homeschool Canada: Home Learning Resources Link in B.C. and support groups (if that is something you and your family are going to be starting.)
Facebook Groups
- BC home learners: homeschoolers dlers unschoolers
- This group has a ton of “how-to” information: SN Home Learning Families BC
Transitions
Transition to kindergarten
- Edutopia: Helping Children with special needs transition to kindergarten
- Autism Little Learners: Social Stories that include various school transitions, preschool to elementary, elementary to middle, primary to secondary
Transition to High School
- Autism in High School Resources (Transition to High School, In High School, Not attending classes, Transition out of High School)
Post Secondary Transition
- ACT: Post Secondary Opportunities
- Meohmy: College—The Next Chapter (Blog)
- Autism Speaks: Preparing post-secondary students for the fall semester
- Yale University: A video on how to prepare students for post-secondary (it’s from 2016, so it is a bit dated, but still has some useful information)
Bullying
- BC Government: a website about bullying, what it is, how to deal with it
- PREVnet: Bullying – What we know and what we can do
- Empowering Parents:
Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
- AutismBC Talks: IEPs with Bohdanna Popowycz
- AutismBC Talks: IEPs and IEP Meetings
- BC ED ACCESS: IEPs—What you Need to know—Advocon 2020
- BCCPAC IEP: A Guide for Parents
- The Mighty: An excellent article by a special education teacher and her experience/tips when she attended her own son’s IEP
- Adoptive Families Association of BC: 10 tips for IEP Season
Resources for Early Learners during Social Distancing
BC Government:
- Early Learning Resources
- Strong Start:Find your school district and contact them to see if your local Strong Start program is open and what safety measures they have in place currently.
- Child Care: Rules and regulations regarding daycare services change according to B.C. Health guidelines. Find up to date information about daycares open in your area here.
- Affordable Child Care Benefit
Advocacy & Inclusion
- AutismBC Talks: Inclusive Education and Advocacy with Family Support Institute
- Five Moore Minutes!: An inclusive education channel supporting the teaching and learning for ALL students by Shelly Moore.
- InclusionBC
- BC Ed Access:
- Children with Disabilities Excluded from School during Covid-19 Report
- Tracking Exclusion 2019/2020: BCEdAccess’Exclusion* Incident Report Form (used when students are experiencing partial schedules, gradual entry, sent home, excluded from field trips).
- Advocacy and Conflict Resolution for Students with Disabilities in B.C. Education – A Rights-Based Primer
- Effective Approaches to Resolving School Issues for your child with special needs (2017)
- Your Child’s Voice: A Caregiver’s Guide to Advocating for Kids with Special Needs, Disabilities, or Others Who May Fall through the Cracks (Book)
- Autism Support Network: Advocacy Road Map
- ACT
- The Essentials of Advocacy: A Parent’s Guide to Advocating for their Child with Special Needs (Video from 2015)
- The Role of Parental Advocacy in Navigating the School System
- The B.C. Education System: An Introduction for Parents of Students with ASD (includes IEP information)
- B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils
- Guide to School Legislation in British Columbia
- Conflict Resolution: A list of current and useful references for parents and students when facing conflict.
