Tips for Special Education Teachers: Dealing with the "Holiday Blues" for Students with Disabilities-Part II

In a week, Sandy and the other students at Airedale Elementary School will be out of school for two weeks during winter break. As Sandy silently watches his nondisabled peers screaming excitedly in the classroom on day one of the weekly countdown, he feels himself shrinking inwardly and disconnecting from his peers and the learning in the classroom. As the week proceeds quickly to the last two days before school closure, ten year old Sandy, is not his precocious outgoing self and his fifth grade classmates are not sure how to act in the classroom around him.

Ms. Crowder, Sandy's teacher is not sure how to act either, so she meets with Sandy's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) resource teacher, Mr. Paul to figure out how to intervene and get the exuberant and precocious Sandy back before school closes in two days. Mr. Paul points out that Sandy is a student with disabilities confined to a wheelchair who will not have his three times a week physical therapy sessions nor will he have the pull-out opportunities to work on his reading deficiency and writing skills that happen twice a week. The consistent structure that now defines Sandy's learning environment will change dramatically for a 10 year old who arrives daily on the special bus with its wheelchair lift and grabs the day with an exuberance and joy that creates a classroom atmosphere that is engaging for other students.

After talking with Mr. Paul, it is apparent to Ms. Crowder that Sandy needs an intervention of strategies that will help him deal with school closures and the "Holiday Blues." In designing the intervention strategies for Sandy, Ms. Crowder is hopeful that other students with special needs will find them helpful and constructive as well.

Teacher Tips for Dealing with the "Holiday Blues"

• Create a learning environment where students feel comfortable talking about their feelings and fears,
• Spend special talk time with students experiencing change of moods or behavior before a designated school closure,
• Talk to parents, IEP resource staff and other teachers to chart a student's behavioral change or change in learning engagement,
• Provide students with a detailed and consistent school plan of school work and projects that can be completed during the time off and make the learning plan fun,
• Acknowledge the student's feelings and use them as a constructive learning tool to address student's who may not be as vocal about having problems with school closure,
• Let students have something special in the classroom (i.e special book or class picture) that they can take home to care for during the holiday break or school closure,
• Give students a personalized calendar and mark the days on the calendar when school is closed and put stars on the first day back to give students anticipation for when school will reopen,
• Have students journal and reflect during their time away from the classroom,
• Figure out a way to have the student's physical therapy or other resource services maintained during the time off.

There are many strategies that can be used to help students with disabilities like Sandy deal with the "Holiday Blues." Teachers should remember that the holidays and school closures may have different meaning for students with special needs in the classroom.