Summer is fully underway, parents! And with all that planning and prepping we’ve been doing, reality may be setting in — we still have lots of free time before school starts again in the fall. How can we make sure the rest of summer flows with as much ease as possible? Whether you just want the kids to have fun, or you want this time to be fun AND educational, we have some ideas for surviving the summer with your kiddos, including finding child care, reading all about self-advocacy, having adventures in nature, exploring activity boxes, and more!
- Check out our Summer Survival 2023 article for all the ways you can fill the long hours of summer with learning, social interaction, exercise, and more!
- We all need a little support to get through the summer months. Explore resources for child care and babysitters in our article Finding Child Care for Kids with Extra Support Needs.
- Avoid sensory overwhelm when you go to a summer party or barbecue by reading our tips in Holiday Survival Guide for Families Raising Kids with Disabilities.
- Join a local group and help your child foster peer relationships and make friends this summer with ideas in our article Socialization and Inclusion: Nurturing Authentic Peer Relationships.
- Explore cheap and easy activities to keep kids engaged, progressing, and enjoying the outdoors in our article on Moving and Learning at Home. Play memory and control-building games from our article Tips for Building Better Emotional Regulation.
- Summer is a great time to practice functional life skills. To help our kids gain independence with their morning rituals, read our article Getting Ready for the Day. Learn about money, ordering, budgeting, communication, and more by setting up a pretend restaurant with free printables in our Budgeting, Diner Style! article.
- Teach kids about their disability to help them build self-confidence, self-discovery, and advocacy. Check out advice from an expert about how to talk to kids about disability in our article Disability and Medical Advocacy, and for deeper conversation, check out these great Kids’ Resources on Disability Awareness and Acceptance that can help spark a discussion about disability acceptance and self-advocacy! If you’re searching for some advocacy books for yourself to read this summer, check out our article filled with resources for parents!
Provider Shoutout!
Anne Osborn (PT, DPT), is a pediatric physical therapist at Therapy West in Los Angeles. She is the supervisor of physical therapy services and center coordinator of clinical education. Find her featured in our article Soak It Up! Activities to Keep Kids Moving & Learning All Summer.
Employer Survey Follow-Up
We appreciate everyone who filled out our recent Undivided survey aimed at raising employer awareness around the unique challenges and needs of parenting a child with disabilities or learning differences. If you feel comfortable, we’d love for you to share the possibilities of how Undivided could support families like yours with your company’s HR department or director of employee benefits. To make this as easy as possible, we’ve written a user-friendly template that you can fill out to highlight some of the statistics and experiences we’ve gathered from parents.
Undivided Conversations: Dr. Chad Rose
In our next installment of Undivided Conversations, we sit down with Dr. Chad Rose, professor of special education at the University of Missouri and Director of the Mizzou Ed Bully Prevention Lab (featured in our Bullying 101 article) to talk all about bullying and bullying prevention! Our full conversation with Dr. Rose will debut this Friday at 12:30 p.m. PDT on our Facebook Page.
- Before any get-togethers with family or friends this summer, check out these tips from Dr. Lyre Fribourg for planning ahead for social events with your kiddos. Watch on YouTube→
- Do you have suggestions for setting up play dates and social outings? Join the discussion to share your tips and get new ideas! Join the discussion→
- If you’re looking for a new child care provider, be sure to listen to speech therapist Rachel Madel’s advice for qualities to look for in your child’s care team. Find us on Instagram→
- Want to share our weekly newsletters? You can find the links to our resources and more on our company page! Learn more on LinkedIn→
This newsletter was originally sent to our subscribers on 6/29/23. Subscribe to our newsletter to get more resources like this in your inbox, or check out our full library of articles, templates, and videos at undivided.io/resources.
