Parent Teacher Conferences

Now that school has started, parent teacher conferences are something that may be coming up for your child soon, and they will offer an opportunity for you to check in and see how your child is doing in school. While it is still relatively early in the school year, this is a great time to identify any areas of need for your child and discuss possible solutions. By addressing any concerns early in the school year, we can prevent them from becoming a bigger issue and possibly impacting a child’s future performance or grades.
 
Here are some strategies to make the most of any upcoming parent teacher conferences:

• Go prepared – Come to the parent teacher conference with any questions or concerns you have identified so far for your child.
  • Is your child having difficulty with one particular subject? 
  • Is your child having difficulty making friends, or are they being bullied?
  • Is your child become overwhelmed during the school day or having any sensory aversions?

Discussing these questions and concerns with your child’s teacher allows you both to identify any issues for your child and find a solution.

• Make a game plan moving forward – if you have identified any concerns with your child’s performance or engagement in school, discuss a game plan moving forward with your child’s teacher to address these concerns, and to make sure these areas do not go overlooked. 
  • If your child is having difficulty in a particular subject what is needed to help that child succeed? – extra practice, tutoring, etc.
  • If your child is having difficulty with any social skills, what will be done to help your child in this area?
  • If your child is having difficulty with their sensory regulation during the day will they be referred to an in-school Occupational Therapist?

 

• ​Explore what skills can be worked on at home – Seeing if there are ways that learning can be worked on at home can further help your child’s success and engagement in school. For example, would working on social skills with a sibling carry over to the school environment? Would doing things like practicing the alphabet or counting everyday help with school performance?

I hope these strategies help any upcoming parent teacher conferences go well. Email me at blog@goflowoccupationaltherapy.com and let me know how they go.

See you soon!
Michael Jankowski, MS, OTR/L