Extracurriculars are really essential for keeping our 2E DD's anxiety in check so we are very generous with them. Her school day focuses so much on her difficulties we consider it really important to give her the opportunity to participate in activities that she truly enjoys and that support her strengths. Things like swim lessons and horseback riding took the place of physical therapy. Dance classes, acting classes and the local musical theater group allow her to tap her creativity. Nature and marine biology programs allow her to engage in experiential learning. All of them feed her need for a lot of social activity. We obviously don't do all at the same time but she rotates through them during the course of a year.
Besides classes and lessons we also take her to A LOT of performances and every type of museum imaginable. Yesterday she went to a performance of Hamlet, last week it was a high school production of "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown." A few weeks ago it was an opera of Romeo and Juliet. I haven't added up how much we spend each month (and frankly I don't want to) but for us it's worth whatever it is costing. Weekends, vacations and extracurriculars give her the strength she needs to navigate the school week. If we didn't have the 2E scenario? Who knows...
