If You're Dreading Back to School for Your PDA Child, This One's For You

If everyone around you is excited about back to school, and you are quietly wanting to cry and crawl under a rock, this episode is for you. I am going to be really clear on what the dread is that you are experiencing, why it shows up for our neurodivergent kids (particularly PDA), and why you are allowed to feel exactly how you feel right now.

This episode is your permission slip. Permission to go slow. Permission to not sign up for the third activity this term. Permission to let the first few weeks back look different, because your child is different, and it makes sense that their transition back will look different too.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Back to school is a huge transition, and for PDA and autistic children, transitions are already one of the hardest things their nervous system has to navigate.
• The behaviour you see after school is often the whole day's demand load coming out with the person they feel safest with. It is not a reflection of your parenting or their resilience.
• You do not have to match the enthusiasm of the parents around you. If you are dreading it, that is valid. If you are relieved, that is valid too.
• Pulling back on activities, routines, and expectations in those first few weeks back is not giving up. It is one of the most protective things you can do.
• If we do not advocate for our neurodivergent children in a school system that was not built for them, no one else is going to advocate as hard. You are their best person for the job.

If you are the parent who wants to crawl into a hole and lie there for a bit, I promise you are not alone, and you will not stay there forever. Put the accommodations in place that you can. Talk to the teacher. Email the IEP coordinator. See what you can ease into. And then let the rest be slow. Your child is only a child for so many years, and this season does not need to be perfect to still be meaningful.

Next week I have a very special guest joining me on the podcast. We are going to dive into how to identify PDA burnout before we support our children through it. Do not miss it.