Local Clinical Director Offers Six Evidence-Based Tips as Georgia Families Navigate the Return to the Classroom
ATLANTA, Ga. — August 4, 2026 — With Georgia students already back in the classroom this month, ABA Centers of Georgia is sharing practical, clinician-developed strategies to help families of autistic children navigate the first weeks of the school year — a transition that often brings shifts in routine, sensory environment, and social demands all at once.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 7.5 million students ages 3–21 received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the 2022–23 school year, equal to 15 percent of all public-school students nationally. In Georgia, that figure was 13 percent, below the national average.
Separately, CDC ADDM Network data shows autism prevalence among 8-year-olds in Georgia is 32.6 per 1,000 children, or about 1 in 31 — roughly in line with the 16-site national average of 32.2 per 1,000. The same data found that only 44.2 percent of Georgia children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were evaluated by age 3, compared to a 50.3 percent national average, and that the median age of diagnosis in Georgia was 48 months, close to the national median of 47 months. (2022 data, published April 2025.)
“One of the most important things a parent can do is treat their child’s teacher as a true partner,” said Matthew Dryer, Clinical Director of ABA Centers of Georgia. “We work with families in Georgia and provide tools and the right strategies to share with teachers, so they are able to start conversations early that will make all the difference.”
Dryer and the clinical team at ABA Centers of Georgia recommend the following six strategies for families navigating the return to school:
- Rebuild the school routine.
It’s not too late to realign wake-up times, meals, and bedtime to match the school schedule. A sudden Monday-morning switch from summer hours is one of the most common triggers for first-week meltdowns. A gradual routine gives the body and brain time to adjust.
- Preview the change with visual schedules and social stories.
Uncertainty is often harder for autistic children than the change itself. A simple visual schedule of the morning and after-school routine, or a short social story that walks through what a school day looks like, gives a child a mental map before they need to use it in real time.
- Practice the “hidden curriculum” skills — not just academics.
Success in a classroom depends on skills that are rarely taught directly: transitioning between activities without a meltdown, waiting in line, following multi-step instructions, or asking an adult for help. These are exactly the kinds of skills targeted in ABA therapy, and they can be practiced at home through short, low-pressure role-play.
- Identify sensory triggers and build in regulation breaks.
Bells, crowded hallways, cafeteria noise, and fluorescent lighting can be overwhelming in ways that aren’t always visible from the outside. Identify triggers in advance and build in scheduled regulation breaks before dysregulation happens, not after. Share these potential triggers with the teacher so they can provide additional support, and work to identify techniques or items that will help calm your child — sending those into the school when possible.
- Treat the teacher as a partner — especially if this is a first classroom experience.
Share current goals, effective strategies, and any behavior or communication plans with the teacher or aide as soon as possible. This matters for returning students, and it matters even more for a child in a group setting for the first time: a daycare or preschool teacher is often the first person outside the family to observe how a child communicates and plays alongside peers. Help set up open lines of communication with the teacher, and don’t assume the teacher already knows strategies for teaching an autistic child.
- If something feels different, don’t wait for the next scheduled check-up.
Whether a child is starting kindergarten or their very first day of daycare, a new setting sometimes surfaces a difference in communication or social behavior that wasn’t as visible at home. Parents don’t need to wait months for a pediatrician appointment to start that conversation — a call to the pediatrician’s office, or directly to a local autism services provider, can start the evaluation process sooner. For younger children in particular, earlier evaluation means earlier access to intervention during a developmental period when foundational skills are actively taking shape.
Families in Georgia looking for additional support can learn more at www.ABAcentersGA.com.
About ABA Centers
ABA Centers is helping expand and elevate autism care in America. Through workforce innovation, clinical excellence, and access leadership, ABA Centers provides individualized, evidence-based autism services designed to deliver rapid access to care and measurable outcomes for children and families across the country.
Media Contact
Maria Areco, Director of Public Relations [email protected] +1 804 987 3379
