Overheard
| I'd like to tell you a story that I've been wanting to tell for many years, but haven't gotten myself to write about until now. |
Can one presume too much competence?
I was just an inexperienced admin assistant and still in college, but this felt wrong to me. Instead of saying something, I finished my cleanup and left the room - an action that I regret to this day. Now, I’m not telling you this story to portray the SLP as some kind of evil villain. In fact, she was a highly competent, experienced, licensed professional with a good heart. She got into the field to help people. She increased access to communication for dozens of children and their families. She may have been having a rough day or had too full a caseload. Knowing what I knew about her from previous interactions, I think this was actually a time when she took presuming competence too far. I think she believed in this student’s intellect so much that she thought he could will himself into coordinating his facial muscles into coherent speech if he really wanted to. And you know what? I, too, have caught myself thinking like this before. There have been times when, on the hundredth time explaining something to a student, I’ve wondered if they even care. If they’re just "doing this on purpose" or messing around. There have also been times when I’ve chosen to view stimming, movement-seeking, self-regulating, and even challenging behavior as intentional "misbehavior" or a lack of interest instead of adaptive responses to unseen internal processes. Not only does this do a huge disservice to the student, but it is purely and unnecessarily exhausting for me as a teacher. |
The One Thing
If someone asked me to choose ONE factor that is most important for teaching students with disabilities, I wouldn’t say "patience" or "specialized skills" or even "experience."
I would say it is perspective.
It’s knowing that there are infinite ways of being in the world, and they are all okay.
It’s knowing all the different ways that "paying attention" can look.
It’s knowing how to spot the difference between bottom-up and top-down behaviors.
It’s knowing how dyspraxia, sensory profile, and environment can affect every aspect of a student’s appearance and response.
And, it’s knowing where intelligence intersects with support needs.
I would say it is perspective.
It’s knowing that there are infinite ways of being in the world, and they are all okay.
It’s knowing all the different ways that "paying attention" can look.
It’s knowing how to spot the difference between bottom-up and top-down behaviors.
It’s knowing how dyspraxia, sensory profile, and environment can affect every aspect of a student’s appearance and response.
And, it’s knowing where intelligence intersects with support needs.
Looking for Perspective?
Nothing is more important to me than giving you the perspective you need to make teaching students with disabilities a breeze.
I’m not a special or innately talented kind of person. I didn’t wake up one day being very good at my job.
I’m a regular person who has spent a lot of time learning from neurodiverse and disabled students and who has condensed everything I’ve learned into a course for you.
If you want to feel confident teaching students with disabilities, check out the course below.
I’m not a special or innately talented kind of person. I didn’t wake up one day being very good at my job.
I’m a regular person who has spent a lot of time learning from neurodiverse and disabled students and who has condensed everything I’ve learned into a course for you.
If you want to feel confident teaching students with disabilities, check out the course below.
If you haven’t already, check out my 45-minute free training to get a glimpse of the kinds of things I cover in the course. It's packed with value, even if you don't end up taking the course.