Schedules that Work
You may have given a lot of thought to your child's schedule. You know when he needs to be in bed so he won't be overly tired the next day. You know when he goes to physical therapy. You know which day of the week his spelling sentences are due.
Make a point to think about the overall family schedule. Obviously no one lives in isolation of his family members. The full family schedule also needs to work.
Everyday Schedules
Planning the day-to-day routines helps the family function. Think about mealtimes that work for the group. If your child needs assistance with eating, you may need to plan a two-part meal schedule — one for the whole family and one for the parent who helped with feeding so that he can finish his meal.
Things really do work more smoothly if they happen at the same time and in the same order every day. Put bath and bed times in your overall schedule. If everyone anticipates what is happening next you have won half of the battle. You don't have to convince or remind the children that it's bath time, for example.
Extracurricular Schedules
Some families have extracurricular activities every day of the week. Some of them have back-to-back activities any given evening. If you have a child who needs extra time to complete the basic activities (homework, supper, family time, bath, and bed), extracurriculars can be tricky.
Alert
Often children with learning disabilities feel overwhelmed with homework and extracurricular activities. Try choosing one activity that is really important to your child. If possible, have him participate in a weekend activity. If he knows that he has scouts on Thursday nights, he can finish his long-range homework on other evenings.
Think about the individual needs of each of your kids. Think about their ages, their homework loads, and their stamina in the evenings. Wouldn't it be better to have fewer activities and have everyone enjoy them instead of planning and committing every waking moment?
Sometimes parents split up the activities, with one parent going to one activity and the other parent going to a different one. Sometimes one parent goes to the activities, and the other one stays home with the other children. That plan works sometimes, but if you never see each other and no one has a clue what is for supper, your family is overextended.
Communicating the Schedule
Make sure that everyone understands the schedule. Children on the autism spectrum, particularly, are not fond of change. Sometimes change is so upsetting to them that everyone feels their pain as they act out impulsively. They thrive on routine. The world is tricky to figure out, and new situations mean that they are continually trying to do that. Get a family calendar. Talk to your child and communicate the schedule.
