When working with students with disabilities, it is so important to provide students with a voice and the belief that they are able. Having a student simply be there is not enough, we need to encourage the student to be actively involved in the lesson/activity. If students don’t participate actively or do not know how to properly utilize their AT, they may fall into a pattern of learned helplessness. To overcome learned helplessness, here are some tips:
- Build a daily expectation of communication through specific activities such as choosing the activity during recess, picking a book to read, or identifying where to eat lunch.
- Construct a brief daily report to parents that is communicated by the student.
- Allow natural consequences to occur and provide avenues for repair. This includes setups that alter the environment to provide less support or sabotage.
- Provide for choice making whenever possible that requires the student to use his or her augmentative communication system.
- Provide powerful phrases on the device for students to reject or protest something.
As educators, we need to empower our students and show them how to work independently (to the best of their ability).
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