The start of a new term and in walks little Johnny! It’s his first day in a SEN school. He doesn’t bite his nails though but he fidgets, fiddles and drifts off into early morning daydreams. Our quest as teacher and TA then begins. How do we reel him in? How do we get him to be here… with us?
We have one aim: reduce his anxiety and give him a safe place to fly. So when he dances at all angles on his table, potentially irritating the quiet soul beside him, we start with verbal instructions: short, clear and devoid of ambiguity. After saying the same thing one too many times, there’s another thing we can do: a visual aid with communication in print, telling our new kid to do good sitting. Several tries and a cushion later, and we hit the jackpot! He’s sitting up, he’s calmer and we lavish him with praise in our small classroom.
And so we take baby steps, building a mountain of expectation and challenges that will get him closer to a good future. And we are always there with him, one strategy after another, with one intention: to make him win!
@Tackela SEN Teacher – Bexley
This article originally appeared in the October 2016 edition of UKEdMagazine
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