Paving the Way to Kindergarten for Young Children with Disabilities

Entering kindergarten can a joyful but also an anxious time, particularly for parents of children with disabilities. These best practices can help make for a smoother transition: using a collaborative team approach to involve families, setting transition goals, and focusing on the needs and strengths of individual children.

The night before my son was to start kindergarten, we snuggled in bed to read Tom Goes to Kindergarten, by Margaret Wild and David Legge, a lighthearted and humorous look at the separation anxiety felt by both children and parents. We giggled when Tom’s mom and dad clung to him, not wanting to leave the classroom after being able to stay with their son on the first day. Next, we read The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, a tender story of a mother raccoon sending her love through a kiss on her son’s palm as he starts school. This time tears welled up in my eyes.

My son and I were fairly well prepared for his transition to school. As an administrator for our school district, I had taken some steps to make sure of this. The previous spring, I spoke with both the kindergarten teacher and the principal about my son’s strengths and needs as a learner. As a family, we were invited to a special kindergarten orientation, and being a district employee, I had been in the school and kindergarten classroom several times before the big day. Still, I was apprehensive, excited, and honestly quite nervous about how well he would do those first few days.