What Is Neurodiversity?

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Many neurodivergent children and teens experience meltdowns and shutdowns after school each day.

Schools are not responsible for what happens outside of the school setting, leaving parents without supports.

Parents and schools can work together to set up accommodations that support success in multiple settings.

This is the time of year when families prep for the new school year. There is both excitement and dread while school supplies are purchased, new outfits are chosen, and back-to-school events are attended. For many families of neurodivergent children, preparations are also being made for how to best handle the inevitable meltdowns or shutdowns that occur each day after school.

These meltdowns stem in part from the transition of going from summer break to a new school year. Students have new teachers, new classmates, new routines, and new expectations that can cause stress and anxiety. For many of these kids, there is also a daily buildup of anxiety as they work to mask, or make efforts to hide their neurodivergent traits, all day in school, only to have the stress of this result in either an explosion or implosion when they get home to their safe spaces.

Afterschool meltdowns/shutdowns are stressful not just for the individual, but for their family. I have sat with many children over the years, working to help them navigate those stressful afterschool transitions. I have also sat through IEP/504 meetings where families shared the distress of these daily afternoon meltdowns or shutdowns. While parents are usually met with sympathy, they are also inevitably told that what happens at home is not the school’s responsibility.

While it is true........

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