A guide to pre-requisite skills for school:
- Sitting– One of the most important requirements in any school environment is that your child should be able to follow instructions and when asked to sit for at least 10 minutes to complete an activity.
- Self- care-Child should be independent or only partially dependent for self-care activities such as toileting, eating from tiffin etc. , opening and closing their own bag, wearing and taking-off shoes. If not it is important to also train your child in these skills too.
- Pre-writing skills– These refer to fine and gross motor skills that will contribute to your child holding a pencil/crayon to copy or color. These may involve joint attention, visual tracking, vast vocabulary, average IQ or understanding of 2-3 step goal directed activities etc.
- Acceptance of social environments-It is important to expose them to social environments with other children so they don’t react negatively. If your child is on the spectrum, there is a good chance they may not react well to being put into a school environment directly.It is good to provide them exposure to such an environment, by taking them to parks etc. so they learn to accept social environments with other children.
- Communication -Your child should be able to communicate needs and wants in your absence to school staff. Some schools may expect your child to have some pre-established system where they are able to communicate their needs/wants through language, gestures or picture cards so they can adjust in an environment without their parents(primary caregivers).
