For millions of families, summer break is all about staying up late, sleeping in, and hanging out by the pool, when they want, for as long as they want to. But for those of us parenting children with special needs, summer break can spell disaster due to lack of structure. How do you successfully navigate this season with children who thrive in structure and routine?
We would have drained our bank account to register our kids for every summer camp on the planet last year. We nearly did. Parents of normal functioning children may raise an eyebrow, or two, at that statement; even call us bad parents. But, unless you are in the trenches of parenting children from trauma, with attachment issues, or disorders like FASD, you don’t understand the enormous need for structure and routine.
On today’s episode of Honestly Speaking, we talk openly about the fears we have for summer vacation, as parents of children who thrive in structure, but also some practical steps you can take to make the summer less stressful for you, and your children.
Listen To The Episode.
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Resources and Links.
One of the things we mentioned during the show was taking some time to Google summer camps in your area. Believe it or not, you will find more resources than you think by doing this. But along with that, we also recommend contacting your local DCS agency or post-adoption support agencies to inquire about activities they provide during the summer. No guarantee they will provide exactly what you are looking for, but you’ll never know unless you try.
On a related note, we have also found success through local church VBS programs. Make sure you do your research on the church first, but we strongly recommend looking into these type of outlets to make your summer vacation as smooth as possible.
[reminder]Have you found summer vacation success through other, related strategies? We’d love to hear them. Leave us a comment in the comment section below this post. [/reminder]