Coping with a learning disability is a constant struggle – a struggle for the student, a struggle for parents, and a struggle for the teachers. From the time school starts to the time it ends, teachers deal with constant troubles of teaching children in general. In addition, children with learning disabilities procure more attention and patience. These students too find it immensely hard to pertain to the general conflicts of being a student in addition to the predicament of their disability. Once at home, parents too have an equally unyielding encounter. These parents, even though they have not really blurted it out, hold a certain expectation from their kids teacher. These expectations include;
1) The first request – just talk to us! Parents of students with disabilities say the most important thing you can do is open up the lines of communication. And that makes sense, when you think about it. How can we expect parents to help us with issues during the school day when we have not strategized with them? So teachers, talk to your parents about what methods of communication are easiest for them – some prefer email, others like phone calls, and some appreciate notes sent home in a notebook. Make sure this communication method works for you, too. But whatever you do, start communicating.
2) Set aside the time that is truly needed for IEP (Individualized Education Programs) Meetings. That’s right teachers, the parents notice when you show up for 15 minutes and then expect to rush off to another meeting. Maybe you have a lot to do; a busy person. But most everyone at the meeting had to alter his/her schedule to be here too. And the parents of students with special needs are saying that they want to finish this meeting today. So please give these important meetings the time they need to do it right the first time. And please include all the people who can make the decisions in that first meeting – otherwise the meeting may not be worth the time for anyone involved.
3) Try to stay current on issues affecting these children. Parents are realistic – they understand that teachers don’t have the resources to know everything about every disability. But they do hope that teachers would take the time to read about current issues, technologies, etc. that might affect particular students in their classroom – especially issues that affect their children.
4) Be open to suggestions and new ideas. Parents of students with special needs have an obvious investment in their children. Because of that, they often do a lot of research to learn more about the challenges their children face. So they might email you an article they read that provided some insight, or they might tell you about a program that could help their child, or they might recommend a new technology they have found. Please understand that they care about these children and are trying to help you, as their teacher, learn more about how to help them too. Don’t think that they are trying to tell you how to do your job; they are simply trying to help.
5) And finally, try to look beyond the surface issues with your student. There is often a root cause for a behavior issue that can be linked to a diagnosed (or even undiagnosed) learning disability. Parents of students with disabilities ask that teachers don’t switch into “punishment mode” right away. They want you to look for ways to help the student. And that often means talking directly with the student, as well as his/her parents. Keep a journal of the behaviors if it becomes a habit – you might find a pattern in the behaviors. And use other resources in the school system (like a speech therapist, occupational therapist, or school counselor) to help you evaluate the student.
Did you notice the trend in these five suggestions? They all center on a form of communication – whether it be dialog, meetings, research, or planning. Hopefully many of you teachers (current and pre-service) are already doing these five things when working with the parents of your special needs students. If not, there has never been a better time than the present to get started!
(Written by Jessica Lord)
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