Home-school communication: Broaching difficult subjects

Hearing for the first time that their child may not be developing at the same rate as their peers is a pivotal moment in a parent's life. Many parents already have a sense that something is "different" about their child, and some children may have been diagnosed at birth. However, there are times when a teacher is the one who introduces the topic.

Because this topic is one that is invested with so much emotion, here are some things for teachers to think about.


1. Build a positive relationship first

As highlighted in a previous post, the first contact you have with a parent will set the tone for your relationship. And essential to a positive relationship is the opportunity to build trust and respect. So it is important that in the weeks before you broach the subject of a possible delay in development, you have made time to chat informally about less emotionally charged subjects. This will help you get to know the parent, and the parent get to know you. Talking about positives will also help the parent recognise that you are seeing the strengths of the child, and valuing their difference, rather than just seeing the child's difficulties.


2. Don't wait too long

While it is important to get to know the child and parent first, it is also important not to let the issue go unaddressed too long. Early intervention is an important part of maximising a child's potential. So don't rush... but don't dawdle. You will know the right time when:

• You feel comfortable conversing with the family on a variety of topics.
• You have gathered enough observational records to reinforce your concerns about the child's development.
• If possible, you have had your concerns confirmed or reinforced by a colleague who also works closely with the child.

3. Understand the adjustment phases, or grieving process

Parents will react in different ways to the suggestion that their child may not be developing at the expected rate. It is important to understand the reactions you might see, and not to take these personally.

Click here for a great article from LD online about the grieving process. And this article by Ruth Mortimer may be helpful for parents.


4. Be informed about policies, procedures and available services

It is important that, before you start talking to parents, you are aware of any policies your school or service may have with regards to referrals and discussions about special needs. There may be a specific procedure for what you are able to share with the parent, how you are to do this, and who you might need to send the parent to in order to start the referral, diagnostic and support process.

It is also important for you to have an idea about community services available such as social workers, paediatricians, child psychologists, clinics, therapists. Alternately, you need to know who to send the parent to in order to find this information. Having some pamphlets, websites or contact details for the parent will be very helpful - even if you don't pass on all the information you have (see point 10).


5. Give some prior warning

It is important to go about the process of talking to a parent about their child's development in a measured way. While we cannot eliminate the shock, we may be able to mitigate its affects by giving parents a sense of what is coming if they have not already become aware that there may be an issue.

For example, ask some questions about the child's development. You might talk about milestones such as when the child first talked or walked. You may ask the parents about behaviour strengths and difficulties.

Having a number of informal conversations rather than just one formal meeting can help the family feel more supported and less overwhelmed. However, setting a time to meet and discuss the issue in more depth will be the next step in the process.


6. Find a quiet, private space

It is important, wherever possible, that the discussion not take place in front of the child. There are several reasons for this. One is that the parent may feel distressed, and even a very young child may respond to this and make it difficult for the parent to work through or express their emotion freely. Another is that what is said may affect a child's perception of themselves.

For similar reasons, it is important that the discussion is private to you, the family and any other colleague that you and the family trust. Being able to speak openly will be important.


7. Find out what the parent thinks

Always start by getting the parent to talk about their child and whether they have any concerns. This will help to ensure a non-judgemental atmosphere, where they feel authentically respected in their knowledge of their child.


8. Speak calmly, with empathy

Measure everything you say by how you might feel if it was you in the parent's shoes.


9. Avoid an imbalance of power

A parent may feel disrespected or intimidated if:

• You talk to them across a desk. Sit together in comfortable chairs so that physically you are on the same level.
• You talk "at" them. Talk "with" them - spend as much time listening as talking. Pause and allow "thinking time", so that the parent has time to absorb and respond.
  
• You use jargon. Avoid any educational jargon. Talk in plain language to ensure there are no misunderstandings.
  

10. Don't overwhelm them with information

Listen and watch the parent's reactions. This will tell you when the parent has come to the limit of what they can handle at that point in time. With information about diagnostic and special education or early intervention services, answer questions and make written information available but don't be pushy. Families will need time to take on board all the information, and some families will move through the stages of adjustment more quickly than others.


11. Stick to your area of expertise

As teachers, we are not qualified to label or diagnose children. What we might think is a symptom of Autism may actually be a result of a hearing impairment. What we might think is ADHD may actually be a result of a language delay. Further, parents may have strong views about labelling a child.

When talking to parents, we need to focus on what we have observed and what we know about child development. Having written observations, records and reports as well as a developmental checklist or milestones chart will help parents work with you to their child's strengths and difficulties.


12. Make no judgements

If a family does not follow up with a diagnosis, special education support or early intervention, avoid judging them. Continue to be supportive and provide them with feedback about their child. Make information about services readily available. But give families the time and space to make their decisions. Again, knowing the stages of adjustment will help you understand why parents may be making their decisions.


A good article to read on this topic:

Croft, C. (2010). Talking to Families of Infants and Toddlers about Developmental Delays. Young Children, 65(1), p44.

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Home-school communication that works

By Amanda Gray ..... Copyright Amanda Gray 2010

In talking to parents about their relationships with schools one of the key ingredients that make it a success... or not... is communication.

For parents who enjoy a good relationship with their school, positive, two-way communication is something they often talk about. For example, parents who feel their school is supportive often mention things like:

• Their child's teacher is always available for a chat.
• If they tell the teacher about an issue, the teacher will react in a supportive and prompt way.
• The teacher acts on what has been discussed with the parent.
• Even if they have different opinions, they can work out a solution based on mutual respect and an understanding that both the school and family have the child's best interest at heart.
  

Parents whose relationship with their child's school is not what they would like it to be often mention at least one of the following things:

• It is hard to find anyone to talk to...
• The principal/teacher is not really listening because they don't do anything about issues discussed, don't tell the family what is being done, or don't take the family's wishes into consideration.
• They feel overwhelmed by "professional-speak", and come out of meetings confused or stupid.

This gives us some good hints about home-school communication that actually works.


Informal contact

Roffey (2002) reports on research exploring the relationship between schools and families who have children with behavioural difficulties. One of the things they found was the value that families placed on informal interactions. For example, they report one parent saying,

"If he wanted to talk to you, he'd say: 'Can I have a word?'. you know, privately. He was really good at that, I liked him." (p33)

So being able to catch a teacher, or visa versa, at times during the day is important. But the ability to do this changes as children get older.

In the pre-school years, this informal contact is regular and relatively easy as families pick up and drop off their children. In the early primary school years, this may also be true. But, as children learn to catch the bus and attend school independently, this informal, face to face contact is more difficult.

Using phone contact is perhaps the next best thing. Or using the phone to set up an informal face-to-face chat, especially in the middle and high school years. However, for working parents there is the added difficulty of making appointments during the school day. Taking time off work, or dashing down during the lunch hour, is not always an option.

One of the factors that make informal, face-to-face communication valuable is time. If it is planned appropriately, then it can be done in a calm way.

Further, it is important that difficult issues be addressed privately (Roffey, 2002). For example, it is important not to talk about a child in front of them or their peers. This can have an impact on a child's self-esteem, and can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies or teasing. The only exception would be if you wanted to involve the child in the discussion, but care would need to be taken that they didn't feel disempowered by having two adults "against" them.


Regular communication

Communicating regularly, and not just when there is a problem to solve, is important (Coleman, 1998). If communication between home and school starts on a positive note, and continues to be dotted with positives, then this can help build trust and a feeling of partnership rather than an "us versus them" feeling. It helps parents see that teachers know their child's strengths, not just their difficulties. And positive feedback from parents helps teachers further understand the child's strengths and build a positive, mutual understanding with families.

Regular communication becomes even more important for children who have a disability that affects their ability to telling their parents about their school day. This can mean that parents feel quite isolated from the education environment if there is no regular, day-to-day feedback from teachers or if the parents are unable to visit or volunteer at the school.

In these cases, one of the most effective tools to use is a communication book. Follow this link to read about some great ideas for home-school communication books. If you don't want to read the whole article, skip down to page 5 for some great examples.

Regular feedback is also important to ensure that families and teachers become aware of issues before they escalate (Coleman, 1998). For example, parents may see a change in their child's behaviour at home that could indicate that difficulties such as bullying is happening at school. Passing this on to teachers could help the teacher be more vigilant, observing the child closely for what might be happening.

Or a teacher may be finding a child is beginning to show some behavioural difficulties. By letting a parent know before it becomes a big issue, they may find out that there are some changes happening at home (such as a new baby, moving house, a change in routine) that could be contributing to the difficulties at school.

But ultimately, communicating regularly is an essential tool in preventing social and behavioural issues from escalating. Further, it is important for positive and collaborative problem-solving.

The other side of this is that regular feedback will ensure the family knows what is being done to address an issue at school. Being informed means that they don't feel the problem is being ignored, and that they can help with reinforcing the solution through discussion and strategies at home. This continuity is very important for lasting behaviour change or academic progress.


Openness, honesty and respect

In the previous post, I discussed the importance of open and honest communication to the development of trust.

It is also important that if there is a problem, the discussion be focused on the issue not on the child or the teacher/school (Boult, 2006).

For example, if a teacher is concerned about a child who is hitting, kicking or pushing on the playground, the conversation may go like this (after the usual greetings and a comment about what Sam has achieved lately)....

"Well, I did want to talk to you about some concerns I have about what is happening on the playground for Sam. I was just wondering if he had mentioned anything to you, or if you have noticed anything different at home?..."

This opens up the conversation to be about what is happening, and what may be contributing to the issue. This is more likely to bring about a positive partnership in problem-solving than a phone call home to request a suspension meeting, or to tell the parent about the negative behaviours and the disciplinary measures to be implemented. This is because the parent is seeing the teacher/school's concern for the child and a desire to change what is happening.

On the other side of the story, if a parent has a concern about something that is happening in the classroom, a good way to open the conversation may be...

"Sam is really loving the games she gets to play at music time. I was just wondering if you were aware of any problems she might be having with the other children saying things about her in that class?...."

This can then open up the conversation about what the teacher may/may not have noticed, what the parent's concerns are, the basis for these concerns, and what might be done about it.

Speaking with respect, empathy and a willingness to take on board both sides of the story is important to the problem-solving process.



The balance of power

"I sometimes feel a bit sidelined in meetings, I just feel they use all their terms that I don's understand and they know the system more than I do anyway - that's probably why I feel an outsider." (Roffey, 2002, p37)

It is important to consider the context of communication in meetings. A parent can be intimidated and disempowered in their role of advocate for their child if they attend a meeting with a number of school representatives using educational jargon. They can feel disempowered if they don't have all the information they need about policies and procedures before they come to a meeting.

It is important that any meeting occur on the basis of:

• common goals
  
• a willingness to negotiate and value each other's input equally
• shared information
• shared responsibility, this way avoiding blaming each other
  
• apartnership, rather than a school being the decision-maker and parents the "supporters". (Rose and Howley, 2007)

If parents are feeling an imbalance of power, it is within their rights to bring someone with them to meetings. This can be an extended family member, a friend or a professional. One parent I talked to brought along her private speech therapist to learning support team meetings to help with the funding application process. Other families have used professional advocacy services such as the Disability Advocacy Service, who can attend meetings with parents and provide support through their knowledge of the school and legal systems. Early intervention services such as the Strengthening Families service will also support parents in meetings as they begin to negotiate the transition to school.

....

"Parents want to know what is going on for their child in school. They prefer informal contact that is positive, regular, private, planned, non-intrusive, two-way and early enough to make a difference." (Roffey, 2002 p 33)

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References

Boult, B. (2006). 176 Ways to Involve Parents: Practical Strategies for Partnering with Families. Corwin Press: California.

Coleman, P. (1998). Parent, Student and Teacher Collaboration: The Power of Three. Corwin Press: California.

Roffey, S. (2002). School Behaviour and Families: Frameworks for Working Together. David Fulton Publishers: London.

Rose, R., and Howley, M. (2007). The Practical Guide to Special Educational Needs in Inclusive Primary Classrooms. Paul Chapman Publishing: London.

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Home school collaboration: the importance of trust and how to build it

Research has shown a clear link between family involvement at school and a child's educational achievement. This is especially significant for children who have disabilities (Sheehey, Ornelles & Noonan, 2009). This highlights the importance of schools and families working together.

However, making home-school partnerships work is something that doesn't always come easy. It is important that we look at the things that can make it work.

Trust

One of the things that you often come across when reading or talking about working with schools is the concept of trust. As Boult (2006) states:

"The key to success [in creating an accepting climate] is trust and respect of one another's roles in the education of children." (p37)

Looking at information about trust in home-school relationships, Adams and Christenson (2000) defined trust as

"confidence that another person will act in a way to benefit or sustain the relationship, or the implicit of explict goals of the relationship, to achieve postive outcomes for students." (p480)

In short, to trust another person we need to have an understanding of a common goal (positive educational achievement for the child), a genuine commitment to that goal, and an ability to openly and honestly communicate without fear of negative consequences.


Building Trust

Lewis (2004) lists the ingredients of trust as being "respect, competence, personal regard and integrity" (p483)


Respect

As the quote from Boult suggests, respecting each other's roles is important. Conflict can often arise when families feel they are not being heard, or when teachers feel that parents do not understand the nature of their job.

One of the reasons why families may feel disrespected is because teachers or schools may not be recognising the value of their "expertise".

A family's expertise lies in their anecdotal and experiential knowledge of their child (Hughes & MacNaughton, 2002). While this knowledge is different to that of a teacher, it is not less valuable. We can only find out what makes a child who they are by listening to parents, especially if the child is not able to communicate these things themselves. And this is what makes parents such powerful advocates.

But while there is great value in seeing the individual through parents eyes, it is also important that there is clear communication and respect for the nature of the classroom and the education system.

Schools and other professionals must work within a system. This system provides philosophical guidelines, resourcing policies, physical facilities and so on. To create positive working relationships, be open and honest communication about these guidelines and policies from schools is important (Olsen, 2003; West-Burnham, Farrar & Otero, 2007). And schools need respect and support from families to help them make the most of their resources and facilities within those guidelines.

Without this mutual respect and recognition of each other's strengths and limitations, it can be easy to fall into the trap of the blame game (Roffey, 2002). So instead of working together on a solution, a school may "blame" parents for a child's inappropriate behaviour and suggest the family finds solutions. Alternately, the family may feel the child's behaviour is only inappropriate at school and expect the school to deal with it.

With mutual respect, both sides are more likely to be open about the nature of the behaviour, how often it occurs and possible triggers. And this is likely to be a catalyst for positive planning and change (Minke & Anderson, 2005).

In this way we move from seeing the interaction as "parent involvement" and start seeing it as a working partnership.


Competence

Having a knowledge of all parties roles and limitations means that we are less likely to have unrealistic expectations. As discussed in the context of bullying, schools have to work within the guidelines of the system. If schools help parents understand these more fully, then families are more likely to see schools and teachers a competent.

However, it is important that both families and schools/teachers are genuinely committed to the process of collaboration. This process involves not only meeting, discussing and planning - it is also about implementing what has been discussed in a timely manner.

Families will find it difficult to trust schools or teachers who they perceive to be slow in acting on what has been discussed (Roffey, 2002). There may be a number of reasons why action may seem slow in coming - including the possibility that approval or resourcing processes take time in the school system, or that the school/teacher has failed to provide the parent with updates about progress. Therefore, it is important that a) the family understand the processes involved in achieving change and b) that the school/teacher communicate regularly with the family about the process.


Personal Regard

Informal, frequent contact between teachers and families is just as, if not more, important than formal meetings and notes home. This is because informal contact provides an environment where relationships can develop.

The importance of developing relationships is to ensure there is an understanding of each others' beliefs and culture (West-Burnham, et al 2007). It helps to build common ground on which future problem-solving can be based.

It is also important to recognise that much of the formal communication involves dealing with social, behavioural or academic difficulties. However, to establish trust and a good working relationship, a focus on the positives is important. Talking about the small achievements of students during the day can play a significant part in building a positive partnership between families and teachers/schools (Boult, 2006; Ouellette, Briscoe and Tyson, 2004).

The other element of this is the importance of talking about things face to face (Boult, 2006). Sending a note home, emailing, or telephoning all take away the element of personal contact. It limits the ability of both parties to "read" each others' emotions. It also means that there can be some delay or misunderstandings in an exchange of views. Person to person contact can mitigate the effects of communicating unwanted news, such as concern over a student's development or behaviour, through body-language that communicates respect, support and empathy.

So having conversations rather than formal discussions is a key to developing trust (Croft, 2010).


Integrity

As mentioned previously, honesty and transparency about policies, procedures, beliefs and limitations are an important ingredient for trust.

Other measures of integrity may include:

• Respecting the level confidentiality expected by the family/school
  
• Being genuine
  
• Avoiding assumptions
• Following through with commitments
  

(Boult, 2006; Roffey, 2002; West-Burnham et al., 2007)

...

"A straightforward model of parental involvement requires that parents and teachers come together in a spirit of mutual trust and openness." (Roffey, 2002 p 131)

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References:

Adams, K.S. and Christenson, S.L. (2000). Trust and the Family-School relationship: Examination of Parent-Teacher Differences in Elementary and Secondary Grades. Journal of School Psychology, 58(5), pp477-497.

Boult, B. (2006). 176 Ways to Involve Parents: Practical Strategies for Partnering with Families. Corwin Press: California.

Croft, C. (2010). Talking to Families of Infants and Toddlers about Developmental Delays. Young Children, 4(7), p44.

Hughes, P. and MacNaughton, G. (2002). Preparing Early Childhood Professionals to Work with Parents: The Challenes of diversity and Dissensus. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 27(2). pp14-21.

Lewis, A.C. (2004). Schools that Engage Children. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(7), p483.

Minke, K.M., and Anderson, K.J. (2005). Family-School Collaboration and Positive Behavior Support. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 7(3), pg. 181

Olson, L.M. (2oo3). Pathways to Collaboration. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 11(4), pg. 236

Ouellette, P.M., Briscoe, R., and Tyson, C. (2004). Parent-School and Community Partnerships in Children’s Mental Health: Networking Challenges, Dilemmas, and Solutions. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13(3), pp. 295–308.

Roffey, S. (2002). School Behaviour and Families: Frameworks for Working Together. David Fulton Publishers: London.

Sheehey, P., Ornelles, C. and Noonan, M.J. (2009). Biculturalization: Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches to Family Participation. Intervention in School and Clinic, 45(2), p132-139.

West-Burnham, J., Farrar, M. and Otero, G. (2007). School and Communities: Working together to transform children's lives. Network Continuum: London.

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Ask Amanda: Why aren't they DOING something?

by Amanda Gray

It is a question that has been asked me by parents a number of times. It comes in different forms. But basically each question is getting at the same idea: "Why isn't the school/teacher stepping in and stopping the bullying?"

This is a tricky question, and for each family/school there is probably a different answer. But here are some things to think about if you are a parent (or teacher) who feels a school (or teacher) should be doing more about a bullying situation.

1. The problem of definition

If you ask five different people what they think bullying is, you will probably get five different answers. Their answer will probably depend on:

• their own experience with bullying (which may lead them to be over- or under- sensitive to conflict and bullying)
  
• their beliefs about resilience ("she should get over it")
• their beliefs about independence ("he needs to learn to deal with it himself")

Even if we have policies that list bullying behaviour and identify procedures for dealing with these, it cannot answer questions like:

• How often do you have to be teased before it becomes "bullying"?
• When does meddling with someone's property move from being a practical joke to bullying?
• When is refusing to play with someone bullying, rather than childhood conflict?

Policies can do their best to address these issues, but the difficulty lies in the dynamic nature of behaviour. It is not until you really know the individuals being bullied that you can accurately identify bullying.

In the words of Findley (2006):

"Being human, our thoughts, instincts and opinions often influence our decision making. This can be a problem, particularly when it comes to responding to bullying. What you think is trivial, may in fact be causing severe distress to the victim, and what you think is serious, may in fact be having little impact, or causing not distress at all. Bullying is determined by the impact it is having on the victim." (p16)

If you want more on this discussion, visit The Learn to be Buddies Series Blog.

2. The difference in perspective

It is a natural thing that parents and teachers have different perspectives. You might call it the difference between an individual vs global perspective, or an intimate vs professional perspective (Coleman, 1998).

So parents will see the impact certain actions have on their child in a different way than the school does. Here are some ways the perspective can differ:

• At home the child may cry themselves to sleep, at school (when asked) they might shrug the situation off (perhaps not wanting to be seen as weak in front of peers)
• Difficult behaviour may be seen at school as... well, difficult behaviour. Whereas at home, the parent, intimately knowing their child, may recognise it as a sign of distress.

So even if parents and teachers see the same signs, the interpretation can be different.

It is perhaps true that no parent wants to see their child unhappy, or having social difficulties. However, a professional view may be that social conflict is a necessary and healthy part of developing social and emotional intelligence (Rigby, 2002). Parents and teachers/schools may have a different perspective on where the line is between unhappiness caused by social conflict, and distress warranting adult intervention.

There is also the added factor of the school/teacher caring for many, whilst the parent is caring for few.

Conclusion?

Schools will act when they judge that the behaviour that is occuring fits the criteria of "bullying". Further, their actions will be determined by interpretation of educational policies, and procedures in place to protect both the "bully" and the "victim". Further, teachers will act according to their individual philosophies and interpretation of policies as guided by the school leadership.

The ethos or social context of the school will be important. As West-Burnham, Farrar and Otero (2007) state, "some schools are better at being schools than others." (p19) Policies play a part in this, but so do the attitudes and philosophies of the school leadership.

It is also important to note that schools will act most strongly on tangible evidence. What they can observe, what they know. So for parents and children, it is most important to continually gather and record evidence of harm, whether emotional or physical. The stronger the evidence, the more likely the school will act - though these actions will always need to adhere to the policies of the school and Education Department. And the school will always need to listen to both sides of the story.

On the other hand, a parent's expectations will be shaped by their interpretation and perspective on their child's social interaction and development. If this differs from the school or teacher's perspective, then it is likely that the school will not be acting as strongly or promptly as a parent might like.

For this reason, parents have an important role as advocates for their child. Parents will know their child as an individual better than the teacher or school.

Schools that work best are those that listen to, and work with, parents - always with the proviso that they must work within the "rules" and guidelines of the education system.



This month I want to explore the working relationship between teachers/schools and parents. I want to find out what works, and what doesn't, and practical ideas to improve relationships between school and home.


References

Coleman, P. (1998). Parent, Student and Teacher Collaboration: The Power of Three. Paul Chapman Publishing: London.

Findley, I. (2006). Responsibility: Beating bullying in Australian schools. ACER press: Camberwell.

Rigby, K. (2002). New Perspectives on Bullying. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London.

West-Burnham, J., Farrar, M., and Otero, G. (2007). Schools and Communities: Working together to transform children's lives. Network Continuum Education: London.


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Helping teachers know your child and visa versa…

One of the things Gina said in her guest blog about Mac’s transition to school was:
“First term was very much about … settling in and literally giving the teachers and aides time to ‘learn how to drive Mac’.”

This is a very significant point when we are thinking about our child’s transition either to school or to high school. As Seefeldt and Wasik (2002) explain, teachers need to get to know the unique strengths and difficulties of their students to make adaptations so they can be included effectively in the classroom. And your child needs to adjust to the new adult or adults that will be a big part of their weekdays for the next phase of their life.

This will take time.

We also need to recognise that the process may take longer and be a little more difficult if your child is transitioning to an inclusive or mainstream classroom rather than a specialist one.


A note for teachers of inclusive classrooms

Including a child with different needs into your classroom can be a challenging task. But here are some things to think about that may help with the process.

1- Collaboration and teamwork
As teachers we are often used to working alone, having full control over what happens in our classrooms. However, when we include a child with a disability we need to be ready to listen, learn and adapt. We can learn a lot from parents about a child’s likes, dislikes, abilities and communication strategies. This is essential information to help us engage the child in the classroom.

We need to be open and willing to learn from specialist staff such as support teachers and speech therapists. For example, you may have a support teacher for integration who will be helping the child make the transition to school or high school. They may have some strategies and ideas for you to incorporate into your lessons. Working with them will play a significant part in helping the inclusion process successful.

Some children will have a teacher’s aide for a certain number of hours per week. Just remember that a teacher’s aide is not a trained teacher. You still have the primary responsibility for curriculum planning and assessment for the child, in collaboration with a learning support team. A teacher’s aide is there to assist you in the day to day implementation of the program and supervision of the child.

For both teachers and parents, Who's Going to Teach My Child is a useful document to help you become familiar with different types of services. It is a document written by the NSW Department of Education.

2- Attitudes
Attitudes play a very big part in the success of inclusion because there will be challenges and the road may be a bit bumpy at first. As teachers we need to retain the following:

- a recognition that it is the right of every parent and child to choose to be educated in an inclusive environment. This is called equal opportunity. You can read more about this in part 4 (p17) of the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

- a realistic, but optimistic view of our abilities. Know what support you can get, but also know that your skills as a teacher can be used for children of all abilities so long as we have a basic understanding of the child’s unique characteristics. This might involve reading about or going to an in-service course to learn about the disability the child has been diagnosed with.

- openness to and respect for ideas and information from parents and other support staff.

- a willingness to creatively and collaboratively problem-solve. This often means prioritising – dealing with one set of difficulties at a time, taking small steps to ensure you and the child are not overwhelmed.

- a sense of humour LoL


Helping teachers get to know a new student

Butt and Cosser (2004) discuss a program established by the Derby City Special Educational Needs Support Service for children transitioning to school. One of the strategies they used to help teachers get to know students with special needs who were transitioning into their classroom was a personal passport.

They stated that these passports could be in the form of a simple notebook, or a small pocket photo album. The smaller, the better as this could mean that a teacher can carry it around and show it to all other teachers and staff who will need to interact with the child on the playground, in the library, on assembly, at the canteen and so on.

The elements of this passport included:

Child’s name and title page – a photo can ensure easy recognition by school staff as they work on the playground etc.

Important things about me – This information is important to ensure health and safety issues are addressed, or staff are aware of things that could help calm a child if they are upset.

Family and friends – again, photos might be helpful. Identifying siblings or peers attending the school who know the child is important in helping the child settle in and feel safe in their new environment.

Things that make me happy and how I show you
Things that may upset or frighten me and how I show you
What I need to help me understand what you are saying
Systems of communication – These four elements are about understanding the triggers and functions of the child’s behaviour. For many children this is essential information to assist in preventing explosive behaviour or melt-downs. It can be a key tool in ensuring a peaceful, smooth-running day. Being able to effectively communicate with a child is essential, so we need to understand if they have different ways of communicating.

Things I am learning to do by myself
Things that are rewards for me - knowing the student’s abilities and strengths give the teacher a starting point for working with the child. It ensures that they have realistic but high expectations for the child. It also means that they will use rewards that the child will respond to, the only really effective reward.

A profile of the child is often developed by a learning support team and presented in different formats. However, we need to ensure that the information in the profile is presented to all the people who need to know, is positive and not labelling or demeaning the child, and is easy to read.

That is perhaps why a personal passport has become so widely used in some countries/counties. It has all these characteristics. It can also be adapted for any age group (below is an example from http://www.allenshea.com/AllStatesPassport.pdf). And it is something that a teacher could do with a whole class if they wanted to do a get-to-know-you exercise to promote empathy and inclusive behaviour.

Helping a student get to know their teacher

As with the familiarisation with the physical setting, photos are one of the most effective tools to help children identify and get to know their new teachers (Butt and Cosser, 2004).

As soon as you chose a school, start developing a photo book of the important adults your child will need to get used to and trust. You might not know who your child’s teacher may be – sometimes the school doesn’t know until the final sorting of enrolments just before school starts. So start with people like the principal. Then, as soon as you find out who they are, add the child’s teacher and teacher’s aide.

If your child is going to a mainstream high school, they will need to get to know a range of teachers. One way of helping your child recognise their teachers, when they will be interacting with them etc is by using photos, folders and colour-coding.

For example, Mr Sims is your child’s Maths teacher. You have a red folder for Maths. On the child’s timetable, Maths is coloured in red. Just inside the front cover of the Maths folder, stick a small photo of Mr Sims. If your child has good literacy skills and has met the teacher before, then a photo may not be important. It may just be a matter of writing the teacher’s name inside the folder with the times and rooms where Maths occurs.

Meeting the teacher

Try to set up meetings between your child and their teacher before the school year starts. Most schools have orientation visits – but one visit may not be enough. And in many cases the Kindergarten teacher will change from year to year. So orientation visits to the classroom will help the child experience the environment, but won’t necessarily help them get to know their teacher.

So, if your child is transitioning to school, along with the photo book you should try to set up meetings between your child and their teacher before they attend school. You might ask to visit the playground when they are on playground duty. You might ask to visit their classroom, even if they are not teaching Kindergarten that year. And, hopefully, the teacher should be invited to any meetings you have with the school to discuss your child’s transition so that you can get to know them as well.

The transition to high school is a bit different due to the range of staff that might be working with your child. So it is best to find a staff member who can be a mentor for your child. For example, the year advisor. This staff member is responsible for the pastoral care of a particular grade. If, on meeting this staff member, you can see that your child is going to respond well to them, then they may be a great mentor for your child.

A teacher-mentor can be someone to whom your child can go whenever they are feeling uncomfortable. So it would be important to:

- Set up a few informal meetings between your child and the staff member before the school year starts. That staff member may be the one who helps to show the child around the school.
- If possible, supply your child with that staff member’s timetable or a way your child can find them whenever needed once school starts. For example, it may be agreed that your child goes to the front office when they need help, and the administration staff contact or help the child find the teacher-mentor. This procedure would need to be discussed and perhaps clarified in a note supplied to the staff working in the administration office.

For your information, here are the NSW DET guidelines on mentoring.


So, in conclusion, helping children get to know their teachers and visa versa is again about starting as soon as you can, using photos, sharing information and recognising that there will be a period of time that will be a bit “bumpy” as everyone gets used to each other.


References:

Butt, A., and Cosser, C. (2004). Supporting transition: Preschool setting into first placement. In M. Blamires and J. Moore (Eds), Support Services and Mainstream Schools, p 68-77. David Fulton Publishers: London.

Seefeldt, C. and Wasik, B.A. (2002). Kindergarten: Fours and Fives go to School. Merrill Prentice Hall: Ohio


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Reporting bullying: How to do it in a way that minimises the chance of backlash on your child and maximises the chance of action

Know the signs

You know your child the best. You will probably be the first one to notice any changes in your child’s behaviour. As soon as you notice any changes, start keeping a diary.

The changes to look out for:
- Refusal or reluctance to go to school
- Requests for you to drive them instead of catching the bus
- Complaints of stomach aches or headaches (could be a sign of anxiety)
- Sleeping in or wetting the bed
- A fall in the child’s grades or reports from the teacher that you child is withdrawing from some activities.

While these could be an indication of other issues that could be causing the child anxiety, make sure that you explore the issue of bullying with your child.

As a teacher, you might notice that the child starts hanging around the staff room, or the library during break times. You might see signs of distress such as crying, irritability, lethargy, withdrawal from class activities or complaints of headaches in class. You should also take these signs seriously and immediately discuss them with the child’s parents.

Know your rights and responsibilities

There are laws about bullying (see my previous post on the Disability Standards for Education 2005 – part 8). There are anti-discrimination laws and standards for practice in Australia, the US and the UK.

All schools should have a discipline and/or an anti-bullying policy. As a parent, don’t be afraid to ask to see a copy of this. If the school doesn’t have one, ask why.

If you are a teacher, you should study the school policy. You could also ask the principal to speak at a staff meeting about the policy so that all staff are aware of what they can do if they come across a case of bullying.

But the bottom line is … if you don’t know, don’t be afraid to ask. Ask nicely (Lol), but be persistent.

Keep written records

Keep a diary of what is going on with your child. If possible, ask them to keep a diary. Having written records will help get action faster, and will also act as proof if the case becomes so serious that it needs to be dealt with by the authorities.

If your child has been physically attacked, take photos and put them in the diary as well.

Don’t wait

Any incident needs to be taken seriously and acted on promptly.

Use you written records to regularly and persistently inform the teacher and/or principal about what is happening. For example, with your child’s permission, you might send an email or a letter detailing any incident to the principal on the day it occurs. Follow this up with a phone call.

Alternately, either you as the parent or the teacher can start a “communication book”. This is a book that the child carries between the parent and the teacher. Each time an entry is made and read, both parties must sign and date it. Keep a scanned or photocopied copy just in case your child loses it.

Persistence and tangible evidence usually means that the incidents are taken much more seriously.

Start this process as soon as anything happens. If you can prevent a small thing becoming big it is much better than letting it go because “it wasn’t such a big deal.”

Know what reporting systems are in place at school

Some schools have anonymous ways the child can report bullying. For example, a “Bully Box”. This is usually in a private, safe place. It entails the child writing what happened and who the bully is and placing this in a secure box anonymously.

Other systems encourage the child to report incidents to peers, and the peers report it to higher authority if they cannot resolve the issue themselves. This may be called peer mediation.

Other incidents of bullying need to be reported more openly so protection mechanisms can be put in place for the child. Find out who the child feels safe with at school, and encourage them to report what happened in detail. If they report an incident to you, don’t be tempted to brush it off.

“Sticks and stones can hurt my bones
But words can never harm me.”
Not true.

“Boys will be boys.”
Maybe. But they need to be told when they have crossed the line.

“Yes, the girls are a bit catty. It’s just a phase they are going through. She should find new friends.”
Maybe. But they need to know when their behaviour is inappropriate and hurtful.

“Don’t be a cry-baby!”
Everyone has different levels of resilience and different tipping points depending on their life experiences and individual characteristics. We need to be tuned in to this, not base our judgements on our own resilience.

Behaviour should be measured by its affect on a child, not by one person’s opinion of what is acceptable and “normal”.

Whilst the bullying is dealt with, create a safe space

Your child might need a place to escape to if they feel threatened, especially during break times. Some suggestions include:
- a quiet, highly supervised area in the library
- supervised activities in the computer room
- the school counsellor’s office

They will need a circle of supporters. This could include:
- a buddy from a higher year (eg a year 6 buddy for a year 2 student)
- a group of supportive, same age peers
- a sibling or other relative at the school
- a teacher, school counsellor (social worker) or other adult mentor at school
- increased parental involvement at school (canteen, reading groups and any other volunteer opportunities)


Some good resources:
http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/default.shtml
http://www.kenrigby.net/
http://www.mindmatters.edu.au/default.asp

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Laws about bullying

“Bullies and bullying should never be treated lightly.”
Dr Kevin Leman in his book Have a New Kid by Friday.

The Disability Standards for Education 2005: What it says about bullying.

In Australia, the inclusion of children with disabilities in educational institutions is shaped by the Disability Standards for Education, 2005 . Part 8 of these Standards deals specifically with the issue of bullying. So I thought I would start this month by explaining the key points from those Standards.

For readers who come from countries other than Australia, the key elements of the Disability Standards should be reflected in legislation in your country. In a later post I will explore the UN rights of the Child and would love to hear from anyone who has some information about relevant laws in their own country.

What is harassment or bullying? (picture copyright Amanda Gray, taken from "Dave is Brave" www.learn2bebuddies.com.au)
The Disability Standards define harrassment/bullying as any action that may “humiliate, offend, intimidate or distress the person” (p22). It clearly states that any act that comes under this category that is aimed at students with disabilities or any associate (eg parent, friend, teacher) of that student is unlawful under the Disability Discrimmination Act 1992.

It also more specifically states that no one should be bullied or harassed due their need for supports or adjustments such as teachers' aides, technology, guide dogs and so on.

While I am just focusing on the Disability Discrimmination Act and Disability Standards, there are laws that address this issue for all community members, not just students with disabilities. They all have the following elements.

What is required of an education provider?
First, let’s just clarify that an education provider is any educational institution, authority or anyone who is developing curricula. So, for example, in NSW that includes the NSW Board of Studies, the Department of Education and your child’s school.

And education provider needs to have in place three things:
1. Processes to prevent bullying or harassment
2. Mechanisms for reporting any occurrences of harassment or bullying.
3. Mechanisms to respond to harassment of bullying.

Prevention
The Standards make it clear that part of the process of preventing harassment is to have a code of conduct. This means that there should be rules that help set a positive, supportive, respectful culture in the school.

Every school should have a discipline policy or anti-bullying policy that includes a set of rules or expectations. These expectations should be about promoting respect. These policies should also be frequently discussed and freely available to everyone in the school community, including parents.

There are many other ways of preventing bullying, but I will discuss these in future posts.

Reporting
The Standards require that a school have a system for ensuring that students can report if they have been bullied or harassed. This process should again be clearly stated in the anti-bullying or discipline policy. And, again, this should be available to all students, staff and parents.

Students and staff should be reminded regularly of how they can report bullying.

Students can be afraid of reporting a bullying event if they feel like they are at risk of further bullying due to being seen as a “tattler”. It is important that the school design processes that a confidential and protect the “reporter” of a bullying event. I will discuss this more in a future post.

Responding
The Disability Standards state that any response to bullying should be “fair, transparent and accountable.”

This means firstly that the school needs to understand what caused the bullying in the first place. Misunderstanding? Self-esteem issues on the part of the bully? Prejudice or stereotyping? Lack of empathy? There are many more reasons why one person bullies another.

This does not mean that the bully should not experience consequences. However, it does mean that the only way to really stop the bullying is to address the underlying reason for the bullying and respond to the needs of all parties in the event.

Zero tolerance to bullying is essential. But that does not mean that we ignore the needs of the bully. This will benefit neither the bully nor the child being bullied. But I will talk about that in another post this month.

Being transparent about your response to bullying is about making clear what the consequences for bullying will be in the school or Departmental policy. So the anti-bullying policy should say “If you bully someone, then …”

Being accountable is about recording the bullying event and the steps taken to respond to it. For example, the school principal, parent and/or school counsellor should keep records about what has happened.

If you want to know more….
If you want to know more about the Disability Standards, you can download them here. You could also look at the documents that help explain the Disability Standards (though they are a bit heavy).

If you want to know more about the NSW Department of Education’s approach to bullying in schools, visit Bullying! No Way!

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A teacher's perspective

Tuesday 26th May 2009 (Image and text copyright Amanda Gray 2009. www.learn2bebuddies.com.au )

Dear Amanda.

As I read the letter on your blog Dear Teacher (May,21) my heart went out to the parent who wrote this letter. In my 13 years of teaching I have heard many similar stories from parents with children with special needs. We as teachers do need to be reminded of the importance of stepping into a parent’s shoes and seeing their child as they see them. Much research and professional writing has been undertaken in the area of understanding children with special needs and challenging behaviours and many strategies for working with these children have been put forward. However, little is heard about supporting teachers who are teaching mainstream classes with several children with ADHD and other challenging behaviours. How does a teacher with no special education training survive and continue to enjoy teaching in this situation?

After 11 years of teaching I was given a class with four children with VERY challenging behaviours. During the course of the year two were diagnosed with having ADHD and it was evident that the other two had significant sensory processing difficulties. All of these children had difficulty interpreting social cues and constantly had social difficulties in the playground. I started the year enthusiastic, having always loved teaching, I saw this class as a challenge. However, as the year progressed the unrelentless situation in my classroom wore me down. I found that I spent my days managing behaviour and despite trying many strategies suggested to me nothing seemed to work with these children. I would end each day exhausted. To survive in this situation I felt I had to water everything I taught down to maintain classroom control. I felt that instead of functioning as a teacher I regularly had to function as a therapist as the individual needs of these children were so demanding that they required more attention than actual syllabus work. In the end I finished the year wanting to leave teaching.

Fortunately I have come out of this and have a great class this year. My love for teaching has returned and I look forward to going to work each day. My question is, how does a mainstream teacher with no special education training, survive this kind of situation and continue to provide a positive learning environment for the other children in the class? How do you address the needs of these children while still maintaining a high quality of pedagogy for all children in the class?


Thank you so much for sharing this. Just as it is important to hear the perspective of parents, it is also important to hear from teachers working with children who have special needs.

This is such a complex issue and one that has no easy answer. No matter how much we talk about innovative practice and extra support, there is always the issue of limited resources, time and the need to balance the needs of all children - and our own sanity.

I have no definitive answers as every situation is different, but in my time as a teacher I found the things that helped me and my collegues included:
- Much preparation and use of student-centred, hands-on learning such as learning centres (today technology is a great resource to use)
- A strict, structured routine (visually displayed and frequently referred to in the classroom)
- A set of rules and rewards negotiated with the students (again, displayed and frequently used)
- A close partnership with executive staff in implementing consistent, supportive and immediate consequences (eg. the child does their work in the principal's office or under supervision in the library when they are having a bad day - not as a punishment, but to help them "cool down").
- A collaborative focus on preventing behaviour issues before they escalated (which can be about asking someone else to come in and observe them in your classroom so you can together identify the purpose or triggers of the behaviour).
- Wherever possible, a close partnership with parents or other family members, respite staff and/or a buddy teacher who had built a rapport with the child/children (a volunteer in the classroom at the most difficult parts of the day, with whom the child has a good relationship, can make a big difference)
- A supportive partnership with another teacher with whom you can debrief

In one particular case a teacher with whom I worked had a great partnership with her student's parent. The student had a contract negotiated between the parent, student and the teacher. This contract set out the expectations of what the child was to achieve each day, a consequence and a reward system in response to their performance. The reward system included immediate points awarded according to tasks completed, and those points went towards a trip to MacDonalds with the child's parents (the child and the family chose the award).

They also had a "crisis management plan" in place. When the child was becoming disruptive, or was distressed, a process was put in place whereby a buddy teacher and/or the assistant principal would become involved.

While these don't "solve" the issues, they provide a network of informal support if the child is not eligible for extra funding support for resources such as a teacher's aide. It may also help to regain the balance between education and behaviour management.

And, believe it or not, special education teachers don't always have the answer either. Our profession is always about collaboration, asking for help and creatively using any resources we can get our hands on.

The bottom line is don't be afraid to ask for help. If you are a teacher in this situation, you might want to ask the principal if you are eligible for a support teacher (behaviour) to come into your classroom and observe what might be triggering difficult behaviour in the child. They may be able to suggest some things (such as those discussed in my previous posts) that can be integrated into the routine of your classroom to reduce the child's difficult behaviour without disrupting your teaching. A school counsellor may also be able to do this. Or you may have a special education teacher, or a support teacher (learning assistance) in your school who may also be able to help.

And to all you teachers out there who are supporting and including children with diverse needs in your classroom, you are doing a great job (and I don't mean that in a patronising way Lol).

You are making a difference.

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Helping children follow your directions

Golden rule:
Give your instructions in different formats in an environment that is as quiet as possible, and reward them for their efforts.

A quiet environment
Some things to think about at home if your child is having problems hearing or focusing their attention on your instructions:

- Turn off the TV before you start talking
- Don’t try and yell over the washing machine, dishwasher or mower – or yelling kids. Turn the appliances off, and wait until your child is quiet before giving instructions.
- A room that is carpeted and has curtains will help cut down background noise
(My Dr, 2005; Neven, Anderson and Godber, 2002)

Some things to think about in the classroom if your student is having problems hearing or focusing their attention on your instructions:
- Negotiate and enforce rules about sitting quietly while the teacher is talking. Enforce the rules through praise and having a visual list of the rules on the wall (AFCEC, nd).
- Have a signal (eg. flicking the light switch for high school, clapping a rhythm which the students then have to copy in primary school) that indicates you are about to speak. Don’t try and yell them to attention (CDI, 2008).
- Wait until you have their attention before giving instructions.
- Use a noise-o-meter to keep children aware of what noise level is appropriate.
- Be aware of how any appliances, floor coverings and other features of the room may increase or decrease background noise.

Different ways of giving instructions:

Verbal
“Okay, kids, collect your Maths books, sit down at your desk and start work on page 6.”

Modelling
As you talk, demonstrate each step.

Visual
This can be hung on the board, or put on the child’s desk.
Written
Give this to the child so they can tick off each step as they complete it.
(Adapted from http://www.do2learn.com/organizationtools/classroom/educationalresources.htm)
Motivation and rewards

"If you do your work, then you can have a sticker." This is a “bribe”.

"Remember that when you finish this you will be able to put a star on your I've Finished chart." This is a negotiated reward that is a natural consequence of task completion.

But maybe we’ll talk more about this another time.

References:

Alabama Federation Council for Exceptional Children. (nd). Rules for Structuring the Classroom. Retrieved 25th May, 2009 from: http://www.afcec.org/tipsforteachers/tips_b2.html

Child Development Institute. (2008). Suggested Classroom Interventions ForChildren With ADD & Learning Disabilities. Retrived 25th May, 2009 from: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/teacher.shtml#Suggested

MyDr. (2005). Hearing Impairment and School Children. Retrieved 25th May from: http://www.mydr.com.au/kids-teens-health/hearing-impairment-and-schoolchildren

Neven, R.S., Anderson, V. and Godber, T. (2002). Rethinking ADHD. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest.

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Doing what you are told

One day, in a state of complete exhaustion, I got up to complete my final routine before crawling into bed. In my head I planned to do as follows:
Put cheese in fridge
Put rice crackers in cupboard
Clean teeth
Crawl into bed

As I discovered when I next was looking for my favourite snack, what I actually did was:
Put cheese and rice crackers in fridge
Clean teeth
Crawl into bed

This is an example of cognitive planning going wrong… and an illustration of how executive function can be affected by fatigue. Children whose executive functioning has been affected by factors such as fatigue, anxiety, ADHD or other factors/disorders may find it hard to carry out a sequence of steps even if they do remember the main points of what they have been told.

Doing what you are told

To follow instructions we need to be able to identify the important items, plan and organise the information so we can follow-through with the instructions. Then, finally, we need to be able to concentrate and monitor our actions (ie. I should have realised that the rice crackers really didn’t belong in the fridge). All this is managed by something we call executive functioning (Hagemann, Hay and Levy, 2002).

Executive Function (Hagemann, Hay and Levy, 2002):

Executive function is part of the working memory system. It is a cognitive function that helps us helps us decide what to remember, and what to discard. It helps us put the information in the right order. And it helps us stay on track.

So if a teacher says, “Well, kids, now it’s time to pack up. I want you to put your pencils in your pencil-tin, your books in your tote tray and then come and sit on the floor ready to have a story.”

A student whose “executive function” is working well might have a thought process that goes something like this… “pencils away, book in tote, sit on the mat”. They will then do this in the required order, and be sitting quietly at the front of the room ready for the teacher.

A student whose executive functioning is not operating in the same way, you may find they carry their books and pencils with them to the mat, or they get out their tote tray and put it on their desk. Alternately, they could get distracted half way through and need multiple reminders to get back on track because they aren’t monitoring their own behaviour.

For other children it may just be that they take much longer to work through the process, having to work hard at remembering each step.

Executive functioning is identified as one of the key functions that is affected in children with attention deficit disorders like ADD and ADHD. This means that the children often act impulsively, without thinking about the instructions or consequences of their actions. It also contributes to the fact that they prioritise what’s going on outside the window rather than listening to the instructions you are giving (which, of course, links back to the difficulties with paying attention).

So this is just one more thing to consider when we give instructions….

Next time I am going to post a letter from a parent who has a child with ADD. It provides some great insight. If you want to contribute a similar letter, please email it to me at amandag7@optusnet.com.au

I hope this blog is helpful to you. If it is, make sure you vote on the poll on the left. I also look forward to your questions and suggestions for future topics.

If you want to find out more about me and what I am up to, you might want to visit www.learn2bebuddies.com.au


References

Hagemann, E., Hay, D.A., and Levy, F. (2002). Cognitive Aspects and Learning. In S. Sandberg (Ed), Hyperactivity and Attention Disorders of Childhood, p214-241. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

You might also want to visit:
http://www.ldinfo.com/executive_functioning.htm
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/1200/480
http://www.ldonline.org/article/Executive_Function_Fact_Sheet

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What did I just say?

Tom is standing in the supermarket. He has been asked by Sal to pick up a few things on his way home from work.

He knows he needs to get bread and milk because he remembers having nothing to eat for breakfast this morning. But he knows he was asked to buy something else.

Something for the bathroom.

Toilet paper? Toothpaste? Shampoo? Soap? Razor?

He knows he needs to buy one of these things because it has nearly run out.

He closed his eyes, tried to visualise or “hear” what Sal had said… but all he could hear was Sal saying, “Make sure you write it down so you don’t forget!”

And he had said, “I’ll remember… it’s only three things!”

But that was before he had fought peak hour traffic, met an old friend, taken two phone calls and fought with a fellow-shopper for a parking spot.

He got home with bread, milk and toilet paper (because he felt that was more important than the other toiletry items).

Sal called out, “Did you get my shampoo?”

Doh!


What makes us remember instructions?

When recalling things we have been told, we usually paraphrase or summarise the idea rather than repeating in our heads exactly what we have been told. That is because we usually only hold small snippets of information in our “working memory” for a short period of time.

Information in our working memory is easily accessed. Our working memory is where we put the information we are using. With our working memory we usually have to drag the information out of our long term memories so we can use it.

The capacity of our working memory

There are different theories about working memory, but Baddeley (2006) discusses this in depth. He states that working memory is for temporary storage of information. He also discusses that theorists suggest that it possibly involves four systems:
1- for processing sound and speech
2 -for processing visual information
3 – for helping us select what information we need to pay attention to
4 – to help us link what is in our working memory with our long-term memory.

While it seems that nobody is exactly sure of the capacity of each system, it is estimated that if we don’t link it to our long term memory in a few seconds, it can be lost. The only way we can save that information for later is if we file it carefully in a way that makes it easy to access later.

A good filing system

Repetition:
One way for us to have more success in storing instructions is through rehearsal. For example, if Tom had spent time chanting “Milk, bread, shampoo. Milk, bread, shampoo” to himself he could possibly have had more success in remembering what he needed. This is because the information would have been in his working memory for longer, with more time to process and link it to ideas and patterns in his long term memory.

Chunking:
Another way is to chunk information together. One good example is when we remember sets of three numbers in a nine digit phone number, instead of trying to remember the whole number at once. Again, this is because we are putting short chunks of information into our working memory, instead of overloading it with a large, unwieldy amount of information.

Linking with what we know:
But one of the most important ways of remembering what we have been told is by quickly making links between the instructions and what we already know, or what is important to us. That is why Tom remembered the milk and bread but not the shampoo.

Poor filing systems:

If you have trouble paying attention, controlling your thoughts, or have a small working memory capacity, then you will struggle to focus on information long enough to be able to retrieve all the information later. Their working memory may be overloaded (Hagermann, Hay and Levy, 2002; Gathercole, Lamont, & Alloway, 2006).

So that may be why you find a child with ADHD or ADD, when given instructions to get their books, sit at their desk and get out their pencil, wandering around the room with their book.

Anxiety can also cause difficulties with the working memory processes (Terry, 2006).

Children with developmental delays (intellectual disabilities), including children with Down Syndrome, will also have trouble with the processing systems of working memory. However, it is possible that most of their difficulties come with not being able to generalise or link new information with what they already know. They may also struggle to develop good memory strategies (Terry, 2006).

Again, this may mean that they cannot retrieve what they have been told… and this is in addition to possibly struggling with language patterns and vocabulary.

It is also important to remember that we all have different working memory capacities. Part of that is about the strategies we use, but there are many other reasons that we don’t fully understand (Terry, 2006).

So when you give some instructions, make sure you think about how you are catering to your child/children’s working memory.

Next time we will think about what it takes to act on instructions you have been given.

References:

Baddeley, A. (2006). Working Memory: An Overview. In S.Pickering (Ed) Working Memory and Education, p3-33. Academic Press: London.

Gathercole, S.E., Lamont, E., and Alloway, T.P. (2006). Working Memory in the Classroom. In S.Pickering (Ed) Working Memory and Education, 219-240. Academic Press: London.

Hagemann, E., Hay, D.A., and Levy, F. (2002). Cognitive Aspects and Learning. In S. Sandberg (Ed), Hyperactivity and Attention Disorders of Childhood, p214-241. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Terry, W.S. (2006). Learing and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes and Procedures. Pearson Education: USA.

If you have any good websites that address this issue, please share them. I ran out of time to do some searching... maybe I will add some later.

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Do you understand what I'm saying?

Image from "Dave is Brave" www.learn2bebuddies.com.au . Copyright Amanda Gray and Daniel East.

Jenny has just arrived home from the gym feeling stiff and sore. Tom has just come inside as the coldness of the evening has made it too uncomfortable to work any longer in his garden.

Jenny rubs her lower back. “Uhhh! I feel old!”

“Brrr. I’m freezing, too! I’m going to have a shower.”

Jenny watches him go with a perplexed look on her face. “What?”
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Interpreting

Even if we hear what a person is saying, and are paying attention, sometimes we don’t correctly interpret what they are saying.

To interpret or work out what a person is saying you have to be able to make sense of the sounds you hear. You need to change the isolated sounds into words, then put those words together based on their sequence and how they are said to get the full meaning of what you have been told (Anderson, 2000).

Minor misunderstandings like that between Jenny and Tom can occur because of trouble hearing. But they also often occur because we all bring our own ideas or context to communication.

Jenny’s context was that she was sore and tired. Tom’s was that he was cold. So he interpreted the word “old” to mean “cold”.


What makes it hard to interpret sounds?

The size of your vocabulary
You need to share the same vocabulary with the person to whom you are talking (Anderson, 2001). Children can have a smaller vocabulary for a wide range of reasons. Children with developmental delays such as that associated with Down Syndrome may take longer to learn words in a way that means they can “retrieve” them easily. This means that they may have a smaller vocabulary (Buckley, 1993; Chapman, 2006).

We pick up most of our vocabulary through experiences with language and conversations (Cross, 2001). Children who have difficulties hearing will have smaller vocabularies due to limitations placed on their language experiences. Children for whom English is their second language will also have a smaller vocabulary.

Some conditions like dyslexia can influence how we process sounds (Stein, 2001). So while children with these conditions may be able to hear the sounds, it might take them longer to work out what these mean. These children may also have a smaller vocabulary, or mix up sounds more often. They may also struggle to hear changes in tone of voice, which will be discussed below.

Children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders may also have a smaller vocabulary. This is mainly due their limitations in social and emotional reciprocity, or empathy (Scott, Clark, Brady, 2000). This means that the motivation for their communication will come from their own interests, not based on an understanding of how communication influences their relationships with others (Autism Association of South Australia, 2009).

For example, a child with Aspergers may have a special interest in Maths and logical problems. This child may then have a big vocabulary relating to this subject. But in the context of other subjects, including language related to everyday tasks and social interactions, their vocabulary might be quite small.

These difficulties can also lead to problems with the other things you need to know in order to correctly interpret what people are saying (discussed below).

Your knowledge of the patterns of language
To understand what people are saying you need to have a good knowledge of how words fit together in a sentence. You also need to know how tone of voice can change what they mean. As discussed in a previous post , this can be difficult if you have trouble paying attention to and interpreting others’ facial expressions and body language.

Your knowledge of the subject being discussed
As mentioned previously, knowing the context of a discussion is important in helping us interpret what is being said (Anderson, 2001). It helps us put the sounds together and chose the right words to fit the context. It also speeds up the process of changing the sounds into meaningful sentences.

So if you have a child who is tired, or bored, or struggling to pay attention they are more likely to misinterpret what you are telling them to do.


The process of interpreting sounds and words relies on our skills in remembering and retrieving information we have learnt (Hick, Botting & Conti-Ramsden, 2005). I will talk more about memory in the next post.


References:

Anderson, C. (2001). Pragmatic Communication Difficulties. In R. MacKay and C. Anderson (Eds), Teaching Children with Pragmatic Difficulties of Communication, p24-38. David Fulton Publishers: Hampshire.

Autism Association of South Australia. (2009). What is Autism? Retrieved 16th May, 2009 from:http://www.autismsa.org.au/html/disorders/autism.html


Buckley SJ. (1993) Language development in children with Down syndrome - Reasons for optimism. Down Syndrome Research and Practice,1(1), p3-9. Retrieved from http://www.down-syndrome.org/reviews/5/

Chapman RS. (2006). Language learning in Down syndrome: The speech and language profile compared to adolescents with cognitive impairment of unknown origin. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 10(2), p61-66. Retrieved from http://www.down-syndrome.org/reports/306/

Cross, L. (2001). Early Communication Development. In M.S. Lue (Ed.) A Survey of Communication Disorders for the Classroom Teacher, p35-54. Allyn and Bacon: Boston.

Hick, R.F, Botting, N., and Conti-Ramsden, G. (2005) Short-term memory and vocabulary development in children with Down syndrome and children with specific language impairment. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 47, p532–538. Retrieved http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FDMC%2FDMC47_08%2FS0012162205001040a.pdf&code=7abb5653813d8fc667d2aaa56a4c8e16

Scott, J., Clark, C., and Brady, M. (2000). Students with Autism: Characteristics and Instruction Programming. Singular Publishing Group: San Diego.




Stein, J. (2001). The Neurobiology of Reading Difficulties. In M. Wolf (Ed) Dyslexia, Fluency and the Brain, p 3-22. York Press: USA.

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