Parents!… How to stop the “Summer Slide’ and prepare for Autumn

Professor Amanda Kirby, CEO of Do-IT Solutions., Campaigner for Neurodiversity, Medic, Knowledge Translator, researcher.

Originally published as part of The Neurodiversity 101 LinkedIn Newsletter.

I can hear the audible sound of ‘phew’… it is the end of term. Everyone I speak to is tired and it has been a very busy time. For many parents packing kids off to school, homework, and endless piles of washing, fetching and carrying can be exhausting on top of work days too. The thought that stops for a weeks feels a wonderful pause…

Summer holidays can be a real break in routine which can reduce tension and be good for everyone. But at the same time it can mean the routines that have been built during term time fall away and then also need to be put back in place at the start of term. This can seem an even bigger hill to climb if your child is going to a new school.

Starting a new school, meeting a new teacher, or walking into a new classroom – change can feel disorienting, exhausting, and sometimes overwhelming. In the relief of the start of Summer holidays we can choose to delay the potential challenges of the new school year… it is week’s away…

ND parent with ND kids – a double whammy

Holiday time comes with gains but can also result in some considerable challenges. Childcare is the first thing to sort if you are a working parent.While options include holiday clubs, day camps, and childminders/grandparent sittings, as well as more flexible arrangements like taking annual leave, sharing childcare with other parents. It can be helpful if there is flexibility from employers (not always possible).

It is often stressful trying to juggle a range of solutions especially if your child doesn’t like change or inconsistency. The cost of childcare is huge. A survey in 2024 by the children’s charity Coram found that British families were paying, on average, £1,049 for summer childcare for children aged from four to 14 – £635 more than they would pay for six weeks of after-school childcare during term time. Many can’t afford this.When 25.7% of pupils in England are eligible for free school meals we need to ask what happens during the holidays to having a balanced meal each day.

What can you do over the Summer holidays to prepare for the new school year?

As parents of neurodivergent children, we often find ourselves navigating the storm while building the boat. Many neurodivergent children also have ND parents to… and if you’re neurodivergent yourself, those waves of change can feel even more intense and cause you even greater anxiety. We can sometimes worry about ‘the new’ especially if we are not sure what ‘the new’ will look like. What are the rules your child needs to know and follow, but also what are the social rules for you? Who do you speak to at the school gate? How do you let them know about your child’s strengths and interests?

For our children change and increased demands may lead to greater challenges with executive functioning – secondary school can mean more planning of work load, getting to and from school, managing new teachers, and navigating a larger setting..

This isn’t just your child’s transition. It’s yours, too!

Stopping the Summer sliding

While easing up over Summer holidays can be a rest for all from the rush of school mornings, creating some routines across the week can be helpful for all. There is something called ‘Summer slide’. (https://www.academia.edu/12805694/Summer_learning_and_its_implications_insights_from_the_Beginning_School_Study)

Summer slide, or summer learning loss, is a phenomenon where students experience a decline in academic skills during the summer break. Statistics show that a significant percentage of students lose ground in math and reading skills, and this loss can accumulate over the years. Researchers from Johns Hopkins observed a group of Baltimore students from 1st grade, in 1982, to age 22 years found that differing summer experiences in the early elementary years explained most of the test-score gap between rich and poor kids in the 9th grade (Alexander, Entwisle, & Olson, 2007). There is evidence of this social disparity.(2020).

What should be done?

The questions we need to ask is whether we should have a system that extends the school year and restructures it to reduce summer atrophy and minimise opportunities for this divergence to occur. However existing research on year-round school calendars does not indicate that SLL is mitigated by this approach. Another policy lever might be to focus on programmes that bridge the gap between May and August, and creating Summer Schools that can do this. Our children sometimes need some focused intervention which may be spiky e.g., focusing on spelling, communication or ball skills for example…

What are your common parental concerns at times of change?

Are they…

• Will my child cope with the new expectations or environment?
• How do I explain their needs to yet another set of adults?
• What if the new teacher doesn’t understand neurodivergence?
• What if I’m judged for advocating ‘too much’… or not enough?
• What if I struggle with the change too – and can’t keep up?
• What if I can’t remember everything, or miss a form or date?

These questions are valid, and often unspoken. Many neurodivergent parents are also carrying the invisible weight of their own school experiences – including challenges they had when in school, sense of shame, or feeling unheard or feeling different from their peers. So transitions don’t start at the school gate – they start in our bodies and memories.

What strategies can help you to prepare?

Yes, structure and planning help. But more importantly, so does compassion – for your child, and for yourself.

1. Name your feelings. Change is emotional. It’s okay to feel worried, irritable, or tired. Label it without judgement.
2. Create your own visual planner. Include your tasks and your child’s, and keep it somewhere visible. Colour code if that helps.
3. Book-end your days. Begin and end with small rituals for yourself that bring calm – tea, journaling, music, a walk.
4. Plan for meetings. Draft a short bullet point summary of your child’s strengths, needs, and what helps – before meeting new staff.
5. Connect with other parents. Online groups, informal chats, or even a voice note with a friend can stop you feeling alone.
6. Speak kindly to yourself. “I am doing the best I can with the resources I have.” Say it again.

Bite size learning for your child

5 minutes every day builds up across the Summer

1. To stop loss of skills decide to focus on where there are gaps. 5-10 minutes a day reading every day of the holidays will make a difference. Let your child choose what interests them. (https://www.badgerlearning.co.uk/the-best-reading-scheme-for-my-school; https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/struggling-readers/; https://collins.co.uk/pages/barrington-stoke)
2. Practice times tables or maths practically – making things, building things, cooking together…https://www.learningresources.co.uk/blog/maths-fun-activities-to-teach-maths-through-cooking/?srsltid=AfmBOopaml7J2HrYnLN-5ucjULUnWb1Wa6jFCvwCEOuUVeol5SvbiRdW
3. Play ball games in the park/garden – and go back to basics to improve core skills (https://childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk/resources/ball-skills-in-pe-tips-and-advice/);https://www.acamh.org/blog/developmental-coordination-disorder-professor-amanda-kirby/
4. Practice putting on school uniforms and new shoes, packing bags, making a packed lunch; walking to school… in the 2 weeks before school starts.
5. Have kids over to play if you can – to practice social interactions and turn taking.

Blog Author

I am Amanda Kirby, CEO of Do-IT Solutions a tech-for-good company that delivers thought provoking consultancy and neuroinclusive guidance and training. We have developed cutting edge web-based screening tools that have helped 10s of 1000s of people. We strive to deliver person-centered solutions relating to neurodiversity and wellbeing.

I am a mixed bag of experiences and skills, an odd ball… and have 25+ years of working in the field of neurodiversity.

I am a medical doctor, Professor, and have a Ph.D. in the field of neurodiversity; parent and grandparent to neurodivergent wonderful kids and am neurodivergent myself.

Theo Smith and I wrote the UK award-winning book Neurodiversity at Work Drive Innovation, Performance, and Productivity with a Neurodiverse Workforce. My 10th book came out called Neurodiversity and Education in March this year. I am writing with Theo Smith a new book on Neurodiversity and Parenting- coming soon!