Tips for an easier start to school

You know a new school year is about to begin when Texas declares a tax-free weekend on supplies, clothing, and more. Here are a few tips and ideas for making the transition from summer to school a little easier for you and your kiddo with autism.

Take advantage of the upcoming tax-free weekend

This year (2025) the tax-free weekend in Texas is August 8-10 – this weekend! You can save on most school supplies, clothing, footwear, backpacks, and more. Keep in mind:

  • Only qualifying items under $100 are tax-free.
  • Qualifying items bought in-store, online (ex. Amazon), and through a catalog are tax-free as long as the retailer is doing business in Texas.
  • Footwear and clothing used exclusively for specific athletic activities do not qualify.
  • There is no limit on how much you can buy and save on tax.
  • For a list of qualifying clothing, footwear, and other items, click here.
  • For a list of qualifying school supplies, click here.
  • For more information about the sales tax holiday, click here.

And, just in case, here are the supply shopping lists for schools in the area:

 

Prepare your child for the changes to their daily routine

Many children on the autism spectrum prefer the predictability of routines because they always know what to expect and how to act and react. Changes to their routines can stress them out, make them anxious, and lead to tantrums. Here are a few ways to help your child make the transition to a new school routine easier.

  • Be straightforward and simply tell your child that school is about to start, why it’s a good thing for them, and answer any questions they have.
  • Use a fun calendar for your kiddo to count down the days to the first day of school.
  • Tell them about any changes to their bedtime and morning routines, and let them practice in the days leading up to their first day at school. Visual aids, like a checklist or pictures, that help illustrate what they should do to complete their new routine, down to step-by-step instructions, can be very helpful for everyone. Be sure to provide positive reinforcement not only for what they do correctly, but also for every attempt in the right direction.
  • Create a social story (or find one online) that tells your kiddo about what to expect at school. Obviously, this is helpful for kiddos who are starting school for the first time, but it can also be reassuring for children returning to school.
  • Take your child to their school beforehand to let them get a feel for the environment and where everything is. Meeting their teacher beforehand is even better. Take pictures of the school, your child’s classroom, halls, etc. that you can show to your child at home in the days leading up to starting school.
  • If your child will be riding the school bus, ask for a practice run with your child so they know what will happen and what they need to do.

Help school staff get to know your child

Even if your child is returning to school, it’s a great idea to provide teachers and other relevant school staff with a current profile of your child that helps explain their autism symptoms, progress they’re making, your child’s likes and dislikes, any sensory sensitivities they might have, and the best ways to provide them with positive reinforcement and make them feel heard and safe.

  • Keep the profile to one page that can be quickly read by anyone.
  • Include a photograph and other elements to make it fun.
  • Be sure to include the signs to look for that indicate when your child is becoming stressed or anxious, so school staff can intervene to help your child.
  • Update the profile as your child develops and learns new skills and behaviors.

 

Make an alternate plan if your child struggles in school

Social skills are key for a child’s success in school. If your child is struggling to make friends in school or successfully participate and learn in the classroom, ABA group therapy programs, like our Social Skills Groups, can help. We bring together very small groups of children to help them learn essential social skills through participation in age-appropriate activities. Social Skills Groups provide the ideal low pressure, guided environment that makes learning fun.

  • ABA therapy is an excused school absence in the state of Texas and is covered by most insurance.
  • Children often start their day in ABA therapy, then go to school in the afternoon or vice versa.
  • Your ABA therapy provider should collaborate with your child’s school to ensure your child receives the best of both worlds and everyone is working toward the same goals for your child.

Last by not least, be kind to yourself

Know that things won’t always go as planned, and that’s ok. Make corrections, try again, and be sure to provide yourself with lots of positive reinforcement, too. Most importantly, know that you’re not alone. Lean on your child’s medical team, including ABA therapists, for expert advice and support to ensure your child can reach their full potential in school and beyond.

The team here at The Behavior Exchange is ready to lend a helping hand. Just call 972.312.8733 or email and tell us about the challenges you’re currently facing, so we can work together to bring about a brighter future for your whole family.

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Ashvina attended University of Bombay and graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce. She got her Montessori Diploma in 1985 and taught ever since. Ashvina came to TBE in January of 2016 as Admin Assistant. During the years she got the opportunity to learn and work in different departments such as HR, Finance, Office Manager and Executive Assistant. Last summer TBE bought billing in house and her current focus area is Revenue Cycle Management. She is detail oriented and enjoys working with people. Ashvina volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and local shelters on the weekend. She loves to spend time with her family and grandkids. Ashvina loves her job because she enjoys hearing different points of view, and she feels her contributions help fuel the direction of our company.

Working with children comes naturally to Angela. Her mom was a special education teacher for 30 years and often had Angela join her for Take Your Child to Work Day. And in high school, Angela spent every summer as the nanny for a little boy with an autism spectrum disorder. It was this experience where her passion for working with children with autism started to blossom.

From there, she went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences. She learned about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in a non-normative development class and from that moment knew that ABA would be her life’s work.

Angela moved to the DFW area shortly after and began working at The Behavior Exchange as a therapist. She worked on her Master’s in Behavior Analysis at the same time. A year after graduating, she earned certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Now, as a Clinical Director at The Behavior Exchange, she brings a life-long passion to her work, holding a special place in her heart for children with limited language skills and working closely with families to develop healthy sleep habits.

Danielle’s passion for working with families is deeply personal and from the heart. Her younger brother has an autism spectrum disorder, and through their journey as a family, she found her purpose in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Danielle began volunteering at The Behavior Exchange. She saw passionate therapists, meaningful change for clients, and families with hope for the future. After a summer of volunteering, she officially joined the team as Director of Admissions and found her home with The Behavior Exchange family.

With her extensive experience working as a client advocate with insurance providers, Danielle perseveres to help individuals of all ages and abilities receive the services they need to reach their full potential. She feels truly honored by each and every family who entrusts The Behavior Exchange to be part of their journey and is committed to the organization’s core values, mission, and goal of being a beacon of hope for the community.

Adam has always had a passion for helping individuals of all ages thrive and reach their full potential. He’s also an enthusiastic musician, songwriter, leader, and devoted family man, who has been helping children and team members grow with The Behavior Exchange since 2010.

Prior to joining the team at The Behavior Exchange, Adam was a mortgage loan consultant and grad student, pursuing his master’s degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2013 and also earned a graduate academic certificate in Autism Intervention. The following year, after years as a Behavior Therapist and seeing first-hand the power of ABA and the meaningful impact it can have on children and their families, Adam became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He then commenced from the Stagen Leadership Academy after completing the Integral Leadership Program (ILP), a 52-week practice-based program designed to develop executives serious about transforming themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Adam is truly grateful to be a part of a dynamic, inspiring and compassionate team, and he’s dedicated to bettering the lives of all children and their families through the delivery of the highest quality of ABA services, while supporting the amazing team at The Behavior Exchange.

Soraya is from South Africa and moved to Texas in 1996. She graduated from The University of Texas and pursued a career, at that time, in Education. Soraya taught at a Montessori school for a few years and then took on a leadership role.

During her time in the education system, Soraya realized her passion was to assist children with special needs. So she joined The Behavior Exchange as a therapist, transitioned into a supervisory role in 2017, and a year and a half later, was promoted to Clinical Operations Manager.

She quickly learned the ins and outs of ABA operations and scheduling and successfully collaborates across departments to ensure The Behavior Exchange continues to provide quality services to clients and their families. She’s thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and excited to see what the future holds.

You could say Walter’s career started when he spent hours as a young child drawing superheroes and coloring maps. This passion, along with extraordinary swimming skills, landed him a full swimming scholarship at Texas Christian University, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Graphics.

During the next 13 years, his design and art direction skills, conceptual-thinking abilities, and marketing-savvy know-how were honed at a few prestigious advertising and marketing agencies around the Dallas area. In the mid 2000s, he helped his wife Tammy Cline-Soza (founder and CEO of The Behavior Exchange) create a unique and concise brand for her new business. From logos and websites to uniforms, brand voice and visuals, Walter has been the main creative force for all things The Behavior Exchange.

Aside from giving birth to The Behavior Exchange brand, Walter is helping Tammy raise two amazing, beautiful children, River and Sierra. In his spare time (the two minutes he’s got per week), you can find Walter illustrating iconic landmarks of Dallas and Texas or looking around for this next open-water swim. Once he gets back in shape.

After 20 years of building The Behavior Exchange, literally from the ground up,
Tammy couldn’t be more proud of the team, culture, and organization that it has become.

As a family helping families, The Behavior Exchanges looks for opportunities that will make the biggest impact and produce life-changing outcomes – for clients, families, and even for team members. Tammy believes that if a team, a family, a community takes care of each other, the possibilities are endless and the relationships built along the way can make life more enriching and challenges easier to navigate. You could say her goal has been to build a kind of utopia full of support, love, and expertise that brings the best services possible to the community and ensures more families have access to those services.

Tammy and her family have dedicated their lives to the mission of The Behavior Exchange and continue to grow, learn, cultivate, challenge, support, and create better models for success. To that end, she is committed to her own leadership development and actively participates in advanced training, mentoring, and deep self-exploration on how to live out her purpose to love and support her family and help others reach their full potential. She takes her position very seriously and tries to serve as a channel for what the universe wants to come to fruition.

She also loves travel, gardening, being creative, MUSIC!, tennis, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, being in nature, adventures, and more than anything, spending time with her husband Walter and their two beautiful children, River and Sierra.