The Play Attention team focuses on helping families living with ADHD successfully navigate life’s daily challenges. Play Attention integrates feedback technology with cognitive skill training and behavior shaping. Visit: www.playattention.com

1. Back to School Tips
Written by Parents
For Parents

2. Intro
The Play Attention team focuses on helping families living with
ADHD successfully navigate life’s daily challenges.
Play Attention recently ran a contest asking parents to submit
their best, most creative back to school tip. This tip should be
one they’ve used to help their child make a successful
transition into the new school year.
The following slide show is a compilation, all or part of, their
invaluable tips.
Parents helping parents. What could be better than that?
Thank you for sharing,
Play Attention

3. My tip is consistency. Follow the same schedule every day
and try not to vary. In our home, when the schedule varies,
things like lunches or homework are forgotten. Here's to a
great year now that we have 2 months of Play Attention
under our belt!
Kristi

4. Some of the best strategies I have used with my ADHD kids is two
weeks before school starts I begin to prepare them for getting up
early. We go to bed at the normal school bed time (cutting back 15
minutes per night so it doesn't seem so extreme). Then we get up
close to the time each morning (subtracting 15 minutes until the
correct time). In this way it is not a sharp change and it feels more
relaxed.
Later we play a game that is entitled "What if?" Sheets of paper are
folded and placed in a bag and then drawn to see the challenge of
the day. What if we forgot to bring the signed paper to school?
What if we did not have our homework? What if someone calls us a
name?
These social skills are just as important to the child as the preparing
for the academics.
My child is happy because the routines have been set, practiced,
and is now automaticity occurring.
Catherine
Lockhart Elementary Third Grade Teacher

5. Our 8 year old has ADHD.
We talked often about going back to school and rode by the school
several times during summer break. We also counted down days on
the calendar until the first day of school.
He was so excited to return to school and meet his new teacher and
be back with his friends.
Before school started we began a regular schedule for bed time for
easier transition, and I'm happy to say it paid off with great
cooperation.
Evelyn

6. We found that one of the biggest aspects that affects our kids’ behavior is
their sleep. Therefore we make sure they have a fairly routine bed time.
However, during the summer, we allow our kids to go to bed a bit later
and get up a bit later.
To get ready for school we start shifting back towards our
school routine about 2 weeks in advance to allow their
sleep routine to have time to adjust. Therefore, we
avoid having issues with: “I can’t fall asleep it is too
early”. In case someone does have difficulty
sleeping, we set bedtime for at least 9 hours of
sleep. This insures they get at least 8 hours.
The other thing we try to do is make sure they have protein in their
breakfast - not just starch. If they don’t feel like eating in the morning, we
make homemade shakes with frozen fruit and pea protein powder.
Diane

7. Start the earlier bed time at least the week before........
Pick and lay out clothes for morning......
Decide if they are buying or taking lunch....
and what they want if packing lunch......
Put a little note in lunch box letting them know you love them....
They need to hear it about mid day.........
Make sure all papers and books are in book bag, sitting by the door,
ready to go ........
Makes life run much smoother in the morning.
Teddi

8. Thank you for creating this contest!
I have a 10 year old who always keeps me on my feet. We get him ready
for school a month early by going over my list (I made it over the past 4
yrs.), of what works for him.
Setting up a bedtime
Set a wake-up alarm and check off the things already done from a chart.
Morning exercise 30 minutes at most.
Breakfast
Hand him school readiness materials to work on to strengthen his
weaknesses. Work on those for an hour a day.
Reward
Mind challenging focused games (of course not noticed, cause the games
are fun). :-) See Play Attention’s cognitive games!
We weren't like this before, but I found it a necessary change. What
works best is a must do. It helps avoid some but not all the struggles
faced each day.
Definitely a better start, it puts your best foot forward!
Lori

9. We prepare my son through occupational and speech therapy.
It really gets him focused.
We use the calendar to count down the days and I let him pick
out his school supplies and clothes.
We read all summer and also sit and do the search and find
books. We discuss the last year and the coming years in
school.
Deserai

10. My idea is to create a memory/scrapbook. This can be done either at the end
of the previous school year or anytime during the summer. Once you know
who your child's teacher will be and what classroom spaces they will be in, go
to the school with your child. Take pictures of the classroom, favorite places
in the school, teachers, staff, etc.
To make this even better, you can take pictures of your child in the classroom
space (i.e. reading in story corner, playing games during computer time,
playing on the playground, putting backpack and supplies in their cubby).
After taking pictures, print them out and put them in a memory book or
scrapbook. Have your child help you create other things to fill in on the page
with titles like "My Favorite Things to Do at School", "Outdoor Fun", "My
Teachers", "Field Trips I Want To Go On", "Things I'm Excited to Learn About".
Spend the summer writing down some things your child is looking forward to
for the next school year, or fill in the pages once your child is in school to
keep as a memory book of all the activities of that school year.
This tip also works great for children transitioning to a new school or making
a mid-year move. Take a field trip with your child to their new school and
create a book about all the fun things they will be able to do there!
Carisa

11. My best advice would come down to one word
Communication . . .
With your child, teacher, bus driver and whomever else is part of your
child's academic/school life.
Make sure your child feels comfortable
speaking to you with any questions or
concerns.
Take time out from the "back to school"
rush of preparing . . .
To just talk.
Hope
Get your FREE Play Attention
‘Back to School eBook’
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school year for your student with ADHD.
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12. My son is in middle school, so learning the routine of each teacher as well as
effectively managing the transitions to get to each class on time can be a challenge.
We get his schedule the week before school starts, then map out the location of each
classroom. Next, he gets to choose his locker location as centralized as possible, while
still being on an end so he has more space to maneuver. Then we start the stopwatch,
which is a huge motivator for him. Without running, we time his transition between
each class and determine the best route and how efficient he needs to be. If it’s a
tight transition, we evaluate if he needs to skip going by his locker that time or if
there is anything else he can do to improve the time. Since lockers aren’t assigned to
most other students yet, we also have the option of trying a different locker location
at this time. Once we determine the best location for his locker, we set it up with
binders, supplies, and textbooks when possible.
By the time we leave school he has the sequence in his mind that he can practice
mentally for a few days. When the first day of school comes, his routine is already
established and he knows where his time pressures are, so he can stay calm and
collected during what is usually a very chaotic time full of distractions.
Thanks for doing this great contest! I can’t wait to read other tips that are submitted.
It really does take a village!!
Kristi

13. Play Attention would like to, once again, thank all of our
contributors for their wonderful back to school tips!
Play Attention integrates feedback technology with cognitive
skill training and behavior shaping. You may learn more about
Play Attention at one of our upcoming Speed Webinars. At the
webinar you can learn how Play Attention can help your child
develop coping skills that will last a lifetime.
www.playattention.com800-788-6786