The academic year is in full swing now. There’s no denying that routines have been established. And yet, due to a variety of reasons, mostly stemming from a student’s collection of disabilities, the routines still seem to be a puzzle.
It’s enough to have a person supporting a student, encouraging their independence, and watching them make progress put their head through the wall.
So, firstly, don’t put your head through the wall. Patch work isn’t that much fun really and you never know when the wall at school houses an electrical line or concrete masonry units on the other side.
Some coping strategies:
- You know those deep breathing techniques you teach your students, use them for yourself. They work.
- Redirect to the general education teacher, get the teacher to re-enforce routines with the students
- Use a visual schedule. Remind the student of the things they need, activities they take part in. It’s okay to direct the student to the correct page in the notebook as long as they’ve taken the notebook out.
- Remember you’re planning for the long game here and shaping behaviors over the short term to help a student develop skills to be successful over the entire year.
- It’s just school. Certainly there’s developing all sorts of skills, but in the end, this is just part of a student’s day and just a part of their lives. Sometimes there are other things that are just more important.
Do you have any questions about this week’s blog? Do you want to offer a guest blog? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. Paraeducate is a company interested in providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published weekly during the academic school year on Thursdays, unless a holiday. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
