Ready Kids Occupational Therapy
Over the years, there have been more children with additional needs attending mainstream schools. Whether they have physical needs or have a diagnosis such as Autism or ADHD, the expectation as a teacher is to support the learning for all these children.
However, this can be challenging for many teachers as 1) there are more students who require additional support and 2) there are the other 25 children in the classroom to support too!
Here’s a list of practical strategies that can be helpful for teachers to support children with additional needs in the classroom. And don’t worry, these strategies shouldn’t add more to your work. It aims to reduce it and might even help some of the other children in your classroom.
There are a few key things that teachers can do to support children with additional needs:
Use Visual Schedules
A visual schedule outlines the activities for the day. It can be really helpful for some children to know what is coming up next and can them transitions between activities.
In the morning, you can go through the visual schedule for the day. After each activity, you can refer to it so children know what is coming up next. If you teach the class to use the visual schedule, they might even start using it without your reminders!
Additional point: Did you know that you can actually also use visual schedules within an activity. For example, if you have a craft activity, you can use a visual schedule to highlight the steps to complete the activity. For example:
- Cut
- Glue
- Colour
- Write your name
Provide frequent movement breaks
Have you ever had a very fidgety child who can’t sit still or always find the need to walk up to your desk. Although there might be a range of reasons for these behaviours, these children might need additional movement breaks throughout the day.
Of course, the whole class can do movement breaks together like a short dance, some yoga, or watch Comic Kids Yoga together!
However, with those kids who need EXTRA movement, you can give them extra movement tasks throughout the day. For example, you can get them to turn off the light in the classroom, shut the door, or even send a message to the office.
You might see that they focus better after their movement break!
Provide instructions using multiple modalities
Some children are visual learnings while others are auditory or kinesthetic learners. When we provide instructions using multiple modalities, we are catering to all learners.
For example, if you want the class to do an activity, you can say the steps and write it on the board.
This also works great if you have a child who is struggling to follow verbal instructions. You can provide the instruction verbally, but also write it down so they can refer to the written instructions.
Use transition activities
Transitions can be really hard for some children, especially if they have difficulty with change. Having a transition activity can help ease the child into the new activity.
For example, if it is time to clean up and you know that one child struggles with this task, you can start by singing a clean up song together as a class.
You can also use Animal Walks to go between mat time and table top activities. You can have different animal cards that you hold up at the end of an activity. Depending on the animal, all the students need to ‘walk’ like that animal to the next activity.
Acknowledge strengths and weaknesses of each child
We all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses. It is important to acknowledge these with each child. This helps build their confidence and self-esteem.
When you are working with a child, try to focus on their strengths. A great way to do this is during sharing time. Each child can share something they are good at with the class. You can also provide opportunities for children to help each other with their strengths.
For example, if you have a child who is really good at art, they can help another child with their art project. Not only will this make the child feel good about themselves, but it will also help the other child with their project!
Break down the tasks
Sometimes, tasks can seem really overwhelming. Breaking down the tasks into smaller, more manageable steps can help a child feel less overwhelmed and more capable.
For example, if you are asking the children to clean up the classroom, you can break it down into small tasks like: putting away all the blocks, collecting all the books, and putting all the chairs up on the tables.
Constant communication with the family
It is so important to have constant communication with the families of children with additional needs. They are the experts on their child and can provide you with valuable insights.
Checking in with the family in the morning can give us ideas of how the child’s day might look like. For example, if the child did not sleep well last night or had an eventful weekend, then you may expect the child to be more tired throughout the day.
Additionally, families may know certain strategies that work well for their child at home. Therefore, you may be able to use similar strategies in the classroom to see if they work in the school environment too!
Praise the process, not the product
When children are working on a task, it is important to praise their effort and not the final product. This helps children feel good about themselves and their efforts, regardless of the outcome.
For example, if a child is working on a puzzle, you can say “Great job! I can see that you are working so hard on that puzzle!” instead of “Good job! You finished the puzzle!”
Praising the process also helps children to persevere when they are struggling with a task. They know that you are noticing their efforts and not just the final product.
Consider the impact of the environment on the child
The environment in the classroom can have a big impact on a child with additional needs, especially those with sensory concerns. If you have a child with sensory concerns, consider how lighting and noise might impact them.
Some children are extremely sensitive to lights and/or noise. They might display behaviours such as making more noise, avoid looking a certain direction, or seem distracted. Although they might look like they are avoiding work, it is due to their sensory system overload.
If you see a child who is constantly distracted, consider the environment and if there are any common factors impacting their behaviour.
Conclusion
By using these broad strategies, you can create a supportive and inclusive learning environment for all children in the classroom.
Every child is different, so it is important to try out different strategies to see what works best for each individual child. When working with children with specific needs, you may need to provide more specific support for that child in particular.
Do you have any other strategies that have worked well for you in the classroom? Share them with us in the comments below!
