Tics and Anxiety may be less intense or frequent over the summer, but you want to be prepared for the next school year if your child struggles with either condition. Tics and Anxiety are often “unseen” in the academic setting, meaning, these kids may perform very well or average compared to their peers but they’re struggling internally to stay on task, listen to the teacher, complete work on time, and potentially suppressing their symptoms so they don’t draw attention to themselves.

Why a student may need accommodations in school

1. Students may experience symptoms (tics and increased anxious thoughts) during school and cause distractions for themself and others, interrupting lessons, assignments, and testing.
2. Students may suppress symptoms all day in school to prevent disruption and embarrassment, but explode with tics and other behaviors when they get home causing difficulty within the family dynamic, completing after school homework and chores.
3. Teachers may misinterpret the tics and anxiety as an intentional disruptive behavior and discipline the student inappropriately.
4. Other students may bully the child for the tics and cause self-esteem challenges for the student with tics
5. Children with social anxiety may demonstrate avoidance patterns going to school and within a peer setting at school. This limits their experiences and opportunities for social learning.

Overview of accommodations

Whether the student needs a 504 plan or an IEP depends on the severity of the condition and how it’s impacting the student’s learning. Essentially, a 504 plan provides the child with some modifications to their day, but does not provide any extra assistance or services. An IEP allows a student to receive services such as counseling, reading or math intervention if they’re falling behind, occupational therapy (handwriting, sensory). An IEP typically takes longer to set in place.

Why you need to prepare before the school year

When students re-enter school in the fall, anxiety and/or excitement is elevated, routine changes, and there’s a lot of unknowns. These changes can trigger an increase in tics and anxiety. If the 504 or IEP is not in place when the student goes back to school or soon after returning, the student may develop negative tics patterns, social distress, fall behind, or other negative associations with school.

Next Steps

It’s important to get the ball rolling as soon as you can. Contact the school’s guidance counselor or ESE director (they handle all accommodations) to set-up a meeting. If a parent requests a meeting, they are obligated to schedule one.

Get Prepared

Getting accommodations can really be tough in some schools and counties (for what reason, I have no idea), so it’s best to be as prepared as possible. You need to know what you’re asking for and why. How is this condition impacting your child? – advocate for them! If your child is currently seeing a therapist, they may be able to write a letter on your child’s behalf explaining the benefit of accommodations and provide examples of accommodations. This is something I offer to all of my clients! Sometimes there’s a parent advocate in your area you can bring to the meeting who knows the ins and outs of accommodations (look on your local mom Facebook pages or ask around). The Tourette Association of America has this great resource: https://tourette.org/resources/overview/tools-for-educators/accommodations-education-rights/