Adaptive Learning: Issue 10

King Edward VI School

Southampton

Adaptive Learning

Embedded Supports to Differentiate Instruction for Struggling Students

By: Alise Brann, Tracy Gray, PowerUp

WHAT WORKS

Learn how technology tools can support struggling students and those with learning disabilities in acquiring background knowledge and vocabulary, improving their reading comprehension, and making connections between reading and writing.

Overview

Many of your students with learning disabilities, or those who are struggling, may be anywhere from two to five years behind their peers in reading and writing. To ensure that your students are prepared to meet the high expectations set by the Common Core State Standards , you may need to incorporate a variety of supports into your English Language Arts (ELA) instruction, including Universal Design for Learning (UDL), explicit instruction of evidence-based strategies, and the use of technology tools. Focusing on literacy is critical at the upper elementary and middle school levels in order to help address these gaps before students move into high school.

Learn how technology tools can support struggling students and those with learning disabilities in acquiring background knowledge and vocabulary, improving their reading comprehension, and making connections between reading and writing.

Using in your classroom

The use of embedded or readily available digital learning supports and tools has been shown to be an effective way of addressing the needs of diverse students, particularly those with disabilities.

For many students who struggle with reading or writing, the act of decoding, or puzzling out correct spelling, requires significant effort. Built-in tools that provide just-in-time supports relieve the cognitive load on students, allowing them to focus more of their attention on comprehension or generating written content.

Using technology to build background knowledge and vocabulary

As students move from learning to read in earlier grades to “reading to learn” in upper elementary and middle school, specific background knowledge and content-area vocabulary become even more important. Preteaching and explicit instruction of key vocabulary are critical elements in helping your students become more successful readers. This is especially true for students who are English Language Learners (ELLs); even if their spoken English is proficient; technical and content-specific vocabulary may be completely unfamiliar.

Explicit instruction building on the principles of UDL can help your struggling students connect new vocabulary with sounds and spelling patterns. These students also should be given multiple opportunities to use and hear new words in context.

Is it “soda” or “Coke”?

Classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, with many students likely to be multicultural or multilingual. It is important that you review your curriculum for assumptions made around background knowledge and vocabulary. Consider regional differences in language—a can of soda may be “pop” for one student, while others may have grown up calling all soda “Coke,” regardless of the brand.

Building background knowledge

You can help your students build background knowledge and vocabulary through demonstrating relationships between words and concepts, engaging student interest, and providing a variety of supports and scaffolds, including technology tools.

• Online reference materials, including dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias, can provide students with instant access to definitions, translations, and explanations of unfamiliar terms and concepts. Look for tools with text-to-speech (TTS) capabilitiesso that students can hear words and definitions read aloud.

• Multimedia supports, including video, how-to diagrams, animated illustrations, and other visuals, are useful tools for building background knowledge, especially for ELLs. Sites such as How Stuff Works include contentspecific illustrations to help learners grasp sequences, interactions, and relationships. Maps and diagrams showing relationships between words and concepts also can help students connect new words to those they already know.

Using technology to teach comprehension strategies

All students can benefit from ongoing instruction in comprehension strategies as expectations continue to differ across content areas and technical writing styles in texts for different subjects vary. Although students may not struggle with comprehension in ELA classes, they may have difficulty with denser science texts or when reading historical documents. Providing all students with strong comprehension strategies for content area reading is critical, especially for your struggling students. Your struggling readers may have difficulty with: decoding text, staying focused, monitoring their understanding, making inferences, or generalizing information. They need many opportunities for guided practice, seeing and hearing strategies modeled, and frequent prompts to employ appropriate strategies.

A variety of technology tools are available that can help support your instruction of research-based comprehension

strategies for all learners, including those with disabilities:

• Digital text, whether scanned by a teacher or in the form of a digital textbook, offers many advantages for teachers looking to differentiate reading instruction. Digital text can be read aloud using TTS software and customized to meet the visual needs of students with print-based disabilities or other challenges accessing text (e.g., enlarged fonts, background colors).

• Text-to-speech (TTS) software with built-in electronic references can support learners’ comprehension and vocabulary development by providing them with the opportunity to hear text read aloud while following along on the page. Many students with dyslexia have better listening than reading comprehension. Struggling readers may spend much of their energy trying to decode a text, leaving little attention for comprehension. TTS software frees up attention so that students can focus on building understanding. Look for programs that highlight text as it is read so that students can follow along and practice using scanning and tracking skills as they read.

• Annotations and study skill features are included in many literacy software programs and digital textbooks. These tools can help your students become more active readers. Teach your students how to annotate texts with virtual sticky notes, bookmarking, highlighting, and color coding. Such tools also can help you differentiate instruction for students who struggle by making more use of built-in supports. Making these tools available to all of your students also helps them take ownership of their learning and access tools as they need them.

Using technology to support connections between reading and writing

Content-area reading and academic literacies become more important as students move into high school, but contentspecific writing tasks may also pose challenges for your students. Although students may feel comfortable writing a personal narrative or creative story, they may struggle to write an acceptable lab report or analytical essay. Struggling readers are often struggling writers who need explicit instruction and guided practice to become proficient and flexible authors.

Your students must be able to write for multiple audiences and purposes, alone or collaboratively, and be able to use a variety of tools and platforms to do so. Students with disabilities may struggle with many of the components of writing, including: spelling, handwriting, planning, revising, and editing. Many technology tools are available that can support your students in these tasks:

• Spelling and grammar checkers, including newer contextual spell checkers, can be useful tools for students with learning disabilities. Although they are common elements of every word processor and many Web browsers and e-mail programs, students may need

strategies for using them effectively. Students should know how to attempt a spelling in order to generate a list of suggestions, how to skim a list of suggested words, and how to identify the correct word from that list. Students with dyslexia may be prone to making errors in their writing that are not picked up by spell checkers (using a correctly spelled word in the wrong context). For these students, contextual spell-check programs not only check for errors in spelling, but also highlight areas of mistaken word choice.

• Word-prediction software programs are built on common patterns of English writing and misspellings and may have the ability to “learn” from users’ mistakes. As a student types, these programs make predictions and offer suggested next words or phrases. Corrections are often more accurate than a traditional spell checker.

• Graphic organizer software with outlining and drafting capabilities can be used to support struggling writers in a number of ways. The programs can be used as presentations to whole groups for a discussion of relationships and concepts or by individual students as organizers before and during reading assignments to aid comprehension. Mapping relationships visually can help students make abstract connections more explicit. Programs that then convert these maps to outlines or drafts can help your learners apply their thinking to their writing.

• Voice-recognition software can be helpful for students with dysgraphia, spelling disabilities, or other motor issues that may inhibit their writing. Voice recognition offers students an alternative way of getting their thoughts down on paper and may be especially useful for those students who would traditionally need to use a transcriber for writing tasks.

What the research says

Millions of youth lack the literacy skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and the workplace, and the trajectory of achievement in secondary schools for struggling, reluctant, or English language learners point to this as a continuing need (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). Those with learning disabilities (LD) are among the least prepared. Students labeled as “struggling” are generally considered to be two or more years behind grade-level expectations. According to Cortiella (2011), among students with learning disabilities:

• One fifth are five or more grade levels behind.

• Nearly 50 percent test more than three grade levels behind (in both reading and mathematics).

• Almost 25 percent are one grade level behind.

Youth who struggle with academics, including those with LD, will likely benefit from focused attention on their background knowledge and vocabulary as part of literacy instruction (Heller & Greenleaf, 2008). As learners move from general survey courses in middle and high school to more in-depth disciplines and career training topics, specific background knowledge and vocabulary assumed in reading materials and preparation tasks become even more important. Preteaching and making explicit the background knowledge and vocabulary assumptions needed for success in a training program are keys to helping young learners engage the material thoughtfully. This is especially true for students who are ELLs; even if their oral English is quite proficient, the content areas and specific job-related vocabularies are often completely unfamiliar (Short & Fitzsimmons, 2006). Learners with LD need explicit, multisensory instruction that helps them connect new vocabulary with the sounds and spelling patterns as well as many opportunities to use and hear new words in context.

Research on increasing student engagement with reading and writing tasks has shown that tapping into their interests can energize youths’ motivation to do the extra work required to be successful. Several studies of youth and adults have found that even severely dyslexic learners reported reading a significant amount of text and actively engaging in inquiry for extended periods when driven by their interests (Ito et al., 2008; Kamil et al., 2008).

All students benefit from ongoing comprehension strategy instruction throughout their academic careers (Kamil et al., 2008) as the texts and expectations continue to change dramatically across content areas (for example, a biology lab report is constructed and written quite differently than a history text) (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004). A variety of comprehension strategies are appropriate for all readers, but struggling readers often have a very limited repertoire. They need explicit modeling and guided practice to learn new strategies or apply different strategies appropriate for specific texts (Kamil et al., 2008; Torgesen et al., 2007). Supporting and reinforcing comprehension instruction requires a deliberate increase in the amount and quality of time devoted to open, sustained discussion of reading content. Far from watering down expectations, this recommendation calls on instructors of all types of courses to increase the intellectual intensity with which they engage their learners in discussions of text and modeling of comprehension (Kamil et al., 2008). This discussion time can be used to model and role play thoughtful, respectful conversations and critical thinking skills—soft skills that struggling students often lack and that workforce development programs and employers identify as key to workplace success.

How to Support a Child with Autism in the Classroom

By: Liz Burton-Hughes September 23, 2019 | 4 min read

Autism can present many challenges to a child’s daily life. In particular, it can impact how they engage with their learning at school. Your position as a teacher gives you the perfect opportunity to help them overcome these barriers and get the most out of their education.

This article will discuss some practical, effective ways you can do so.

The tips we provide are useful starting points if you’re new to supporting autistic children, or helpful additions to your existing knowledge if you’ve worked with them before. They will enable you to become more confident at supporting children with autism in the classroom and helping them reach their full potential.

In-depth Autism Awareness training

Our Autism Awareness Course is designed to help anyone whose job role requires them to work with autistic children. It’s also suitable for parents, guardians, and family members of autistic children.

How Does Autism Affect Learning in School?

Around 70% of children with autism spectrum disorders in the UK attend mainstream primary schools. The problem is that many mainstream schools are unequipped to provide the support that autistic children need. In fact, according to the National Autism Society and Ambitious About Autism, 60% of teachers in England do not feel that they’ve received adequate training to teach children with autism.

A poor classroom environment for autism can hugely disadvantage children with the condition. Most notably, it can cause them difficulty with engaging in learning activities and coping with daily life. What’s more is that these issues can have a lasting impact on them.

This is why, as a teacher, it’s crucial for you to be aware of the educational implications of autism and how to adopt effective autism teaching methods. By integrating suitable autism learning styles and alleviating any discomfort in the classroom, you will enable autistic children to take part in learning more comfortably and become better prepared for their future.

Autism in the Classroom: Tips and Strategies

Having a child with autism in the classroom can be a challenge, but also incredibly fulfilling if you know how to provide the right support. Whether it’s helping them to maintain their routine, handle sensory overload, or engage in learning in a way that resonates with them, all of your interventions will benefit them significantly.

Here are our 7 top tips for supporting autistic children in the classroom:

1. Establish a routine with them.

The world is often a confusing and anxiety-inducing place for autistic children. This is why they find great comfort in a predictable and stable routine. Fortunately, the structured nature of school is perfect for this, but you need to find a way to make their daily routine clear to them.

Creating a visual timetable is an effective and widely-used method for doing so. This involves placing images and simple words on a timetable, in chronological order, to describe the activities and transitions in the child’s day. Having this visual aid gives the child a sense of security, while also acting as a reminder for those who support them.

2. Consider the learning environment.

Many children with autism experience what’s known as sensory sensitivity. This may cause them to have intense positive or negative reactions to sensory stimulation. So, a useful and simple step you can take is making the classroom environment less overwhelming for them.

As every autistic child is different, you will have to learn what their individual sensitivities are. Observe how they react to hearing certain sounds or touching certain fabrics, and see if their parents or carers can offer input. Then, do what you can to remove or reduce any stimuli in the environment that causes them anxiety.

For example, if they become highly distressed by the sound of the school bell, you could allow them to put on noisecancelling headphones five minutes before it goes off. Make sure you schedule this transition into their routine.

3. Manage changes and transitions.

Because an autistic child’s routine is crucial to their comfort, changes and transitions can be incredibly overwhelming for them. Changes are often unavoidable and even necessary in

school, but the good news is that you can alleviate the anxiety they induce by preparing the autistic child beforehand.

For example, if you are planning to change classrooms in a week, take the child to view it a few days in advance. Show and give them pictures of it for them to look at until the day of the change. Attaching some predictability to an unexpected task in this way can help it feel less daunting for the child and gives them time to mentally adjust.

4. Communicate clearly.

Although it varies from person to person, autism can impact a child’s ability to communicate and interpret meaning. This is why you need to carefully consider all the words you use and how you structure your sentences. Avoid complicating them with metaphors and rhetorical questions. Keep them simple and direct.

For instance, if you need to ask an autistic child to tidy up, you may be tempted to say: “Liam, can you start packing up your pencils and tidy them away into drawers please?” A much clearer instruction for them is: “Liam, put pencils away.” You could also point to the place they need to store the pencils if they respond to simple gestures.

5. Integrate their interests.

One of the many things that make autistic children unique is how they can form highly-focused interests. Whether it’s roller coasters, electronics, unicorns, or a certain period in history, these interests can all be used as gateways to learning. All it takes is some creativity and commitment in your lesson and homework planning.

For example, if you know that their interest is unicorns, integrate words and pictures related to them in maths problems and spelling exercises. Doing so can make a huge difference to how engaged the autistic child is in these learning activities.

6. Work with their parents/carers.

Parents and carers are the true experts on their autistic children. To fully support the child in and out of school, you should therefore coordinate and share knowledge with them. Both of you can suggest interventions that have worked at home or in school for the child and can integrate these into their routine.

Not only will building a relationship benefit the autistic child, but it will also help the parents and carers feel at ease about their child’s education. Your commitment to working with them will build their confidence in the school’s ability to support their child.

7. Build your resilience.

Even when you think you’re doing everything right, teaching an autistic child can still be testing. The child and their parents are counting on you to do your best though, so it’s important to learn how to bounce back from those difficult days.

Often this comes with experience and a positive mentality, so it’s up to you to invest the time in strengthening your mind. Here are some simple things to repeat to yourself daily, particularly when things get tough.

Building a relationship with autistic children is not something that happens overnight. It takes time, dedication, and patience. Every mistake you make is valuable feedback for figuring out what works. You won’t always get things right off the bat and, ultimately, autistic children are still children, who can be a handful even at the best of times. Most of all, autistic children are not difficult on purpose. They are doing the best they can with their worldview and the support they have available.

So, on those days where you have an autistic child disrupting class and you feel like pulling your hair out, just remember that they are likely acting out for a reason. It’s usually because of a need that isn’t being met. Once you learn what their needs are, you may find things become so much easier. That sense of accomplishment you gain from supporting them will one day outweigh any hair-pulling stress you felt in the past.

Supporting a child with autism in the classroom is no small undertaking, but it is a valuable and incredibly fulfilling one. Helping autistic children to fully engage with their learning not only makes their educational experience more positive and beneficial, but it also paves the way for a future where they can reach their full potential.

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

By: William Dodson, M.D., LF-APA Verified

Medically reviewed by:

Sharon Saline, Psy.D. Updated

on February 28, 2022

How ADHD Ignites Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

For people with ADHD or ADD, rejection sensitive dysphoria can mean extreme emotional sensitivity and emotional pain — and it may imitate mood disorders with suicidal ideation and manifest as instantaneous rage at the person responsible for causing the pain. Learn more about ways to manage RSD here.

What is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?

Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is extreme emotional sensitivity and pain triggered by the perception that a person has been rejected or criticized by important people in their life. It may also be triggered by a sense of falling short—failing to meet their own high standards or others’ expectations.

Dysphoria is Greek for “difficult to bear.” It’s not that people with attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) are wimps, or weak; it’s that the emotional response hurts them much more than it does people without the condition. No one likes to be rejected, criticized or fail. For people with RSD, these universal life experiences are much more severe than for neurotypical individuals. They are unbearable, restricting, and highly impairing.

When this emotional response is internalized (and it often is for people with RSD), it can imitate a full, major mood disorder complete with suicidal ideation. The sudden change

from feeling perfectly fine to feeling intensely sad that results from RSD is often misdiagnosed as rapid cycling mood disorder.

It can take a long time for physicians to recognize that these symptoms are caused by the sudden emotional changes associated with ADHD and rejection sensitivity, while all other aspects of relating to others seem typical. RSD is, in fact, a common ADHD symptom , particularly in adults.

When this emotional response is externalized, it looks like an impressive, instantaneous rage at the person or situation responsible for causing the pain.

[Self-Test: Could You

Have

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?]

RSD can make adults with ADHD anticipate rejection — even when it is anything but certain. This can make them vigilant about avoiding it, which can be misdiagnosed as social phobia. Social phobia is an intense anticipatory fear that you will embarrass or humiliate yourself in public, or that you will

be scrutinized harshly by the outside world.

Rejection sensitivity is hard to tease apart. Often, people can’t find the words to describe its pain. They say it’s intense, awful, terrible, overwhelming. It is always triggered by the perceived or real loss of approval, love, or respect.

People with ADHD cope with this huge emotional elephant in two main ways, which are not mutually exclusive.

1. They become people pleasers. They scan every person they meet to figure out what that person admires and praises. Then they present that false self to others. Often this becomes such a dominating goal that they forget what they actually wanted from their own lives. They are too busy making sure other people aren’t displeased with them.

[ADHD, Women, and the Danger of Emotional Withdrawal ]

2. They stop trying. If there is the slightest possibility that a person might try something new and fail or fall short in front of anyone else, it becomes too painful or too risky to make the effort. These bright, capable people avoid any activities that are anxiety-provoking and end up giving up things like dating, applying for jobs, or speaking up in public (both socially and professionally).

Some people use the pain of RSD to find adaptations and overachieve. They constantly work to be the best at what they do and strive for idealized perfection. Sometimes they are driven to be above reproach. They lead admirable lives, but at what cost?

How do I get over RSD?

Rejection sensitivity is part of ADHD. It’s neurologic and genetic. Early childhood trauma makes anything worse, but it does not cause RSD. Often, patients are comforted just to know there is a name for this feeling. It makes a difference knowing what it is, that they are not alone, and that almost 100% of people with ADHD experience rejection sensitivity. After hearing this diagnosis, they’re relieved to know it’s not their fault and that they are not damaged.

Psychotherapy does not particularly help patients with RSD because the emotions hit suddenly and completely overwhelm the mind and senses. It takes a while for someone with RSD to get back on his feet after an episode.

There are two possible medication solutions for RSD.

The simplest solution is to prescribe an alpha agonist like guanfacine or clonidine. These were originally designed as blood pressure medications. The optimal dose varies from half a milligram up to seven milligrams for guanfacine, and from a tenth of a milligram to five tenths of a milligram for clonidine. Within that dosage range, about one in three people feel relief from RSD. When that happens, the change is life altering. Sometimes this treatment can make an even greater impact than a stimulant does to treat ADHD, although the stimulant can be just as effective for some people.

These two medications seem to work equally well, but for different groups of people. If the first medication does not work, it should be stopped, and the other one tried. They should not be used at the same time, just one or the other.

The second treatment is prescribing monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) off-label. This has traditionally been the treatment of choice for RSD among experienced clinicians. It can be dramatically effective for both the attention/ impulsivity component of ADHD and the emotional component. Parnate (tranylcypromine) often works best, with the fewest side effects. Common side effects are low blood pressure, agitation, sedation, and confusion.

MAOIs were found to be as effective for ADHD as methylphenidate in one head-to-head trial conducted in the 1960s. They also produce very few side effects with true once-a-day dosing, are not a controlled substance (no abuse potential), come in inexpensive, high-quality generic versions, and are FDA-approved for both mood and anxiety disorders. The disadvantage is that patients must avoid foods that are aged instead of cooked, as well as first-line ADHD stimulant medications, all antidepressant medications, OTC cold, sinus, and hay fever medications, OTC cough remedies. Some forms of anesthesia can’t be administered.

KES Curriculum Support Team

For more information about anything covered in the magazine, or general information about learning support, please contact:

King Edward VI School SENDCO

Mrs Ramshaw

znr@kes.hants.sch.uk