Classroom supports for neurodiverse kids
make phone calls, they’re taught the proper way to answer the phone and make a call. When needed, they’re provided a script and someone to sit with them while they make the first few calls. Epperson says it’s these types of life and executive functioning skills that are important for all students to be taught — but for those who are neurodiverse, it may take more repetition or support. Students also receive social coaching if they have difficulty with a peer or need help relating to another student. Teachers work with students to understand why name calling or making a negative comment about how someone reads or presents to the class is hurtful. Teachers also regularly pause lessons to address inclusivity and converse with students about the range of accommodations or supports others might need. “We don’t have tremendous behavior problems,” said Epperson. “I credit that with kids feeling safe and understood.” Finding the right accommodations for neurodiverse students Whether in an environment like Trinity, designed for neurodiverse students, or a general education environment, Wright advises parents to find or create community with other parents and families of neurodiverse kids, both to dispel the sense of loneliness and to share ideas on coping strategies or accommodations. A support team working together for the child’s best interest, with consistent communication between parents, teachers and therapists, is key. Therapists or professionals like Lacey can often provide helpful recommendations to both parents and teachers in terms of needed accommodations, and all parties can share successful strategies to be replicated throughout the child’s environments. When a child who is neurodiverse has had an official evaluation or diagnosis by their school district or private practice, those processes are often accompanied by suggested accommodations for the classroom, advises Epperson. She also recommends the sites understood.org , where parents can find a list of suggested accommodations based on specific diagnoses, and wrightslaw.com, which offers trainings and online information about the process of an IEP, special education law and how to advocate for a child with special needs. The book Child Decoded: Unlocking Complex Issues in Your Child’s Learning, Behavior or Attention by Marijke Jones, Dr. Robin E. McEvoy and Kim Gangwish is another resource that shares the full picture of what a neurodiverse child experiences, including overlapping neurodiversities, and breaks down areas of struggle, rather than categorizing by diagnoses, to help parents understand how to address challenges. Both the book Smart but Scattered by Dr. Peg Dawson and Dr. Richard Guare and website smartbutscatteredkids. com provide information and strategies that can help improve executive functioning. “Continue to ask where to find support for your child,” said Epperson.
While visible physical disabilities are often more understood — like the fact that a child without use of their legs needs a wheelchair — neurodiverse thinkers aren’t always accommodated on the same level. If a child needs an accommodation to be successful, even if that looks like jumping or running during a lesson or carrying a specific toy or fidget throughout the day, Wright says teachers and students can adapt more easily than they might think. “We are a fully-inclusive classroom with lots of different supports, and those accommodations don’t shut down the classroom,” said Wright. “Yes, we need expectations, but if a child needs to carry a [toy] car down the hallway [as a comfort item], I don’t need to shut down class for that. And the kids learn [that child] carries a car when we walk, and they let it go.” With all teachers have on their plates, Trussell says they need to be provided additional training and clear expectations to help neurodiverse students, especially considering the majority of general education teachers have only had one course in special education. But, like so many of us, teachers often need to understand the “why” behind a child’s behavior and how the accommodations benefit the student. “They may be afraid they will do something wrong — they know there are laws involved — [so they may think], ‘if I can’t do it right, I can’t do it at all,’” said Trussell. “They have a thousand things going on, [so they need to hear], ‘this is what this kid needs and this is why he needs it.’” Thanks in part to manageable class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios, teachers at Trinity can meet students where they are and offer a variety of accommodations. “We offer a lot of flexibility in how students present materials back to us,” said Epperson. “One accommodation is to allow verbal response instead of written. We diversify and differentiate in the classroom.” When it comes to writing a paper, some students can research and write without much support while others have a hard time focusing their search for information and need help refining and narrowing their research. Other students need additional support in the form of printed articles provided for them to use in writing their paper while some need a scribe to help them research, identify main points and put those thoughts together into a meaningful paper. All these options, and anything in between, are available for students. Trinity helps students improve executive function by explicitly teaching the steps to planning for, researching and organizing materials to write those research papers. “Every time we do a research paper, we teach the steps to take,” said Epperson. “It takes at least three times for most people to retain that … for some kids it will take 10 times and a little hand-holding.” In math classes, tangibles and visual aids accompany curriculum presentation, as do formula lists and final product examples. “Chunking” assignments means teachers break down a larger assignment into steps and check in with students at multiple points across the process. Trinity also focuses on “hidden” or “invisible” curriculum. For example, when students are helping with a school event and need to
48 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / SEPT-OCT 2022
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