Kids on the autism spectrum may experience challenges with coping in school.

They may experience difficulties in school with; change, processing information, communicating with their peers and teachers, organizational skills, and sensory sensitivities.

This might lead to frustration, anxiety, low academic performance, disruptive behaviors, and exclusion from school activities.

Different autistic kids have different abilities and needs, this would influence whether your expectations for your kid would be positive or negative.

Having reasonable expectations for your autistic kid resuming or returning to school would involve their academic performance and relationship with their teachers and peers.

You would also expect your autistic kid to behave well within the class and out of class.

School attendance and full participation in school activities alongside their peers are other reasonable expectations for your autistic kid.

A school that provides special education services for autistic kids would increase your positive expectations of your kid.

Adequate preparation before the school year starts would greatly increase how well they can adjust to the school setting.

This article provides five reasonable expectations for your autistic kid resuming school.

Reasonable Academic Goals 

Academic performance is one of the reasonable expectations for your autistic kid as they transition to schooling or resume back to school.

Academic performance includes their literacy skills, language skills, comprehension skills, and how well they adapt to the class structure.

Parent-teacher relationship influences the level of academic expectations for autistic kids. It increases the confidence level of parents that their kids are in good and capable hands.

You might worry that your autistic kid may not do well in school compared to non-autistic kids.

Where you have good communication with your kid's teacher, through periodic updates and meetings you would be able to constantly monitor your kid's academic progress in school.

Your expectations whether positive or negative have a great impact on your autistic kid's academic achievements and intellectual ability.

Ensure that their academic goals are reasonable expectations for your autistic kid depending on their age, grade, and ability level.

Reasonable Social Expectations 

Schools offer a structured environment for autistic kids to interact regularly with their peers and improve their social skills.

Parents have reasonable expectations that their child would be allowed to participate in activities with his peers.

The student-teacher ratio of your kid's school largely determines how well your kid can form a relationship with their teacher.

You should favor schools with a lower student-teacher ratio as it would ensure close monitoring of your kid.

You should also consider the qualifications of the teachers.

A teacher who has adequate knowledge about autism spectrum disorder will be able to attend to their needs more appropriately and form a bond.

They would also be able to direct their peers on how to relate well with autistic kids.

You can also prepare your kid ahead with social cues on how to handle and respond appropriately to social situations.

This would help with his interaction with other people.

Reasonable Behavioral Expectations 

Good behavior is a reasonable expectation for your autistic kid.

Autistic children exhibit behaviors such as worry, anxiety, depression, fear, or aggression.

Due to high sensory sensitivity, and the change in routine, your autistic kid may exhibit disruptive behavior.

These behaviors may, on the other hand, be due to a manifestation of a child's autism.

When an autistic kid exhibits disruptive behavior, it is a way of communicating to parents and teachers that their needs are not being met.

For example, a sudden change in the order through which students go to lunch might not be a problem to other kids but might lead to an autistic kid displaying aggressive or rude behavior.

Behaviors such as the flapping of arms is a self-stimulatory behavior that may be disruptive to other students.

However, it might be a way through which your autistic kid calms himself or self-regulates in cases of anxiety or stress.

You must identify the trigger for the behavior so that you can address it as soon as it occurs.

Parents and teachers must address behaviors as early as possible so that they do not interfere with their relationship with others and their academic success in school.

You could help the school by providing them with your kid's autism diagnostic report, and professional reports, which list the type of behavior your child might display.

This would assist the school to cater for your kid's special needs.

Attendance in School

Many parents fear that their autistic kids may not attend school regularly and may not be able to stay in school for long periods.

Another reasonable expectation for your autistic kid is that he may not be able to participate fully in certain school activities.

They may be excluded from school activities such as extra-curricular activities, after-school activities, sports, school trips, or using some school facilities because the school believes lacks other alternatives for their use.

Their behaviors may also lead to exclusion from school activities in terms of detention, or suspension.

Whenever there is a report on your autistic kid's behavior in school that has led to their exclusion from activities or suspension, be patient and provide support to them so that they are not affected negatively.

Adjusting to School 

How well your child can adjust to school is a reasonable expectation for your autistic kid.

They might experience difficulties in relating with others, exclusion from their peers, low participation in activities, fear, and anxiety which will impede how well they can adjust to the school setting.

Schools have a duty to support autistic kids under their care and meet their special educational needs.

They can provide support by providing resources for teachers or reaching out to specialists to provide advice.

They can also make reasonable adjustments to encourage autistic kids to participate in school activities.

Collaboration with parents is also important since they know their kids best. You can provide an individualized education plan for your kid which the teachers can adopt in the classroom.

Failure to take positive steps to enable autistic children to participate fully in school activities would affect them adversely. 

Conclusion

Autistic kids may find the resumption of a new school term challenging.

Whether they are moving up the grade levels or starting at a new school, the sudden change in routine from what is obtained at home can increase anxiety levels.

Your expectations for your autistic kid resuming in terms of academic performance, social interaction, behavior, attendance in school, participation in school activities, and adjusting to school must be reasonable.

Resources 

https://autismeducationtrust/schoolexclusion-steps-to-avoid-the-exclusion-of-autistic-people

https://grantagift.com/news/back-to-scholl-anxiety-four-tips-to-help-kids-on-the-autism-spectrum

https://raisingchildre.net.au/autism/school-play-work/autism-spectrum-disorder-primary-school/starting-primary-school-asd

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301481580_Experiences_of_parents_whose_children_with_autism_spectrum_disorder_ASD_are_starting_primary_school.