Why Back-to-School Can Strain Mental Health

For some children, back-to-school time can be exciting and fun - but for others, it can be a source of incredible mental health strain. There can be many factors which contribute to whether your child views a new school with optimism or distress - including their intrinsic personality type, anxiety related to learning disabilities, and how social adeptness. However, the #1 cause of mental health challenges during back-to-school can be summed up as change.

Environmental changes can be very taxing for children with learning disabilities - even changing classrooms means that they will have to re-learn where their desk is, where to hang up their coat and store their lunch box, and how to get to the restroom. And if they are starting a new school, these changes are only magnified! Try easing your child into these changes by touring the school beforehand and taking pictures of important places to help them gain familiarity with the environment.

A new school year can also cause an overwhelm of information and expectations. They may need to learn a new teacher’s name, mascot, principal, bell schedule, lunch menu, or any number of things on top of the new academic subjects that they will be expected to learn. Help minimize the anxiety caused by this new information by going over important names and faces with your child before school starts, and remind them that you don’t expect them to remember everything all at once - it will take time to get used to the new information. This will help them feel prepared for the rush of newness that they will face on the first day of school.

Last but not least, children may struggle emotionally at the prospect of losing or making friends. If they have ever been teased or bullied due to their learning disability, then meeting new children can seem even scarier. Before the school year starts, make a point to attend orientations with other kids - or set up playdates with old and new classmates. Then try reminding your child of the familiar faces they can expect to see in class. Having a friendly face or two in the classroom can make all the difference.

A new school year can bring on anxiety, stress, or even depression due to an overwhelming amount of change. The good news is that all of these changes can be softened with some forethought and proactive strategy. Help ease your child into back-to-school changes by talking to them about what to expect; previewing important faces, names, and directions; and establishing before- and after-school routines before school starts. This will give your child time to adjust and get used to changes over a longer period of time, with lower stakes and less stress.