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Back to School (al)Ready!

I know, I know… how can we be talking about back to school already, well, the transition from summer to school year can be tough for most children, and for some children, there may be more preparation involved in the transition. We have a few tips and tricks to help make this transition a bit smoother and they would be great for all children. It would be good to start these 1-2 weeks before school starts, but some may be started earlier if that is what your child needs.

Sleep routine

During the summer months it is pretty common for sleep routines to get altered, staying up late — the evening sun and bonfires (hopefully s’mores too!), sleeping in (because who doesn’t love to wake up naturally instead of to a blaring alarm?), and just some good old family/friends gatherings. It is good practice to resume a school sleep routine 1-3 weeks before school starts, depending on your child and how easy or difficult bedtimes or mornings may be.

School routine

Besides sleep routines, you should have your child return to a similar schedule as school, meaning getting up, getting ready for the day, eating meals around the same time they will at school. If possible, have a couple of days planned where they will leave the house in the morning and return home around the time that they would from school, so they are getting used to that component of the school day.

Reduce electronics

For many children, their access to and time using electronics increases during the summer, especially on those super-hot days or those extra rainy days (we know we have had our share of rain this summer). Some children have a hard time transitioning from majority of their day spent watching television or playing video games to majority of their day learning and paying attention to others. Help ease them back to this type of day by decreasing use of electronics and increasing time reading, playing outside, crafts… anything that makes them use their own creativity and minds.

Play dates

If possible, try to arrange play dates with some of their peers from school that they may not have spent time with over the summer, or with a new kid in the neighborhood. Let them start re-establishing those social connections and make the return to school a bit more “friendly” and exciting.

Reading

If you aren’t already, start reading to or with your child each day! If your child is old enough, have them read to you. If they are an emerging reader, have them read the words that they know and you can share the reading responsibilities and experience, ask them questions throughout — who are the characters, who is the main character, where are they, what do you see in the picture. If it is not a picture book, have them draw a picture of what they think a specific scene might look like or what the main character(s) may look like, what just happened, what do you think will happen next, how do you think the character felt. In the classroom, you child will be asked these types of comprehension questions regularly and the more exposure they get to it the more comfortable they may become with these types of questions.

School supplies

Go shopping together for school supplies and let them pick out some or all of their supplies. If you have a budget and your child is able to… share that budget with them as have them pick out supplies remaining within that budget. It can help your child become excited about returning to school, as well as give them a bit of responsibility.

Plan ahead

There is plenty of planning to do and let them be part of the planning… if you pack their lunches, have them come up with a menu of items that they would like for lunches and their snacks (most elementary grades have a snack time), and let them help come up with an after school schedule for homework and playtime. You can actually have them put together a visual schedule or calendar of meals/snacks and afterschool routines, this can get them prepared for writing down their assignments in a planner.

Talk about it

Talk to your child about school starting soon and make sure to keep it positive and exciting. You can start a 1 week count down to school (I am sure Pinterest has a TON of ideas for fun countdowns). Use the countdown to introduce the idea of school work by having a fun but challenging activity for them to have to sit down and do each day (one day a maze, the next a word search, or a color/cut/paste activity, or color by number… the ideas are near endless).
 
–Madonna Smith, MOT, OTR/L

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Patient Reviews

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Patient Reviews

Crystal Scheibe

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Great place, glad we found them. Been going to Medina over 2 months now and he loves Lauryn and Kyler. Wish they had more ABA therapy places available... live in Wooster and long drive everyday.

Karrie Swan LaRock

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My 11 year old son has dyslexia and has made noticeable gains in working At LLA THERAPY. Katie is strong in her approach toward him and also keeps him comfortable enough to perform well. We will continue visiting both the Fairlawn and Hudson offices and recommend them highly.

Ron Monroe

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My 9 year old just completed about 9 months of weekly speech sessions (due to his stuttering) with Matt Hagge at LLA and we are thrilled with the experience and results. What I thought might be a negative (what kid really wants to go to speech class?) was made very positive by Matt, and my son never hesitated or complained when we talked about class. He really enjoyed it and really took what Matt taught him to heart. His speech has been greatly improved and we definitely recommend LLA. Thank you so much!

Heather Dougherty-Pantoja

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My son’s Occupational Therapist, Jess, is an amazing OT! She gives practical tips on working with my son at home and school!

Terri Apgar

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I cannot say enough good things about LLA Therapy. My daughter was a client of Teal Simmons’ for approximately 2 years and was just released from speech therapy! She was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2015 and worked with Teal twice a week. Through Teal’s application of PROMPT therapy, my daughter had age-appropriate speech after one year. All of the staff we interacted with at LLA were absolutely wonderful. They really care about what they do and making sure your child achieves their goals.

Kelli Geisler Davisson

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for my son as well as my family! My son always asks, "When can I go see Ms. Jeannine again, is it Monday??" He has also made huge gains in only 5 months! I would highly recommend LLA and have already shared my experience with friends looking for services!

Victoria Hansford-Price

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We are so grateful for our Speech Therapist Ms.Teal. We have seen a great improvement with our sons confidence and communication abilities since we have started "Prompt" therapy. What we love the most about LLA and Ms. Teal is that Kohl feels comfortable and relaxed which has played a critical role in his progress. Thank you Ms. Teal for all you have done.

Laura Lee Hogsett

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They have helped in numerous ways. Speech, OT and behavioral. I've had numerous compliments on my son's progress thanks in very large part to LLA. I would recommend LLA before I recommend our local children's hospitals, though they are good, they don't have the staff that LLA does.

Amy Furukawa

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We had a great experience with Matt Hagge at LLA! Our Middle School age son was becoming very conscious of his voice, which is nasal due to a cleft palate. Matt helped him to better form his sounds and project his voice in a way that makes the unavoidable nasality less noticeable.Our son is more confident and outgoing & even took on a speaking role in the church play. Matt has the perfect personality to relate with our son, and we would recommend him to anyone needing speech therapy services!

Jessica Havalotti

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for our daughter. I would highly recommend LLA. Miss Grace was so amazing and I can't believe how quickly our daughter showed improvement. Thank you!
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