Claire, Year 6 student, Bentleigh West Primary School:
Hi, I’m Claire, I’m in Year 6 and I have autism and dyslexia. I’ve been here [at Bentleigh West Primary School] since Prep.
I really like doing maths, and I like doing art as well.
I really struggle with English, because when you see others succeeding and you failing, it’s really hard to accept that. But teachers really help when I’m finding things hard, because we can have meetings. So, like phonics reading cards and just re-setting on those basic skills can really help.
Also having extra support like when writing narratives, or being able to type on a laptop can really help, because sometimes spelling can not be the most fun stuff to do.
Sarah Asome, Acting Principal, Bentleigh West Primary School:
At Bentleigh West we would screen any new student whether that’s Foundation and coming into Prep or whether that’s a student coming into Grade 2 or Grade 6. We would always start with that so we know straight away and we’re not waiting for them to fail before we intervene.
So, the prevalence in classrooms is that every class would have students with learning difficulties, whether they are identified or not. We would have between 10 and 20 per cent in most classrooms and most schools … almost all schools. So, if we identify really early their self-esteem will remain intact and there’s also a much bigger chance of them succeeding and being at standard. So, we know we have to intervene before Grade 3, because beyond that it’s really hard to catch them up and close the gap.
Christie Ford, Learning Specialist, Bentleigh West Primary School:
We aim to deliver best-practice instruction for all students, but especially for the students with learning difficulties. So, we use EDI – Explicit Direct Instruction – and that just means we’re breaking up our lessons with really clear learning intentions, manageable parts. The teacher teaches first, asks the question, gets the students to pair share, and after they’ve pair shared and we’re happy with it, we can give the students a chance to practice. And when we’re happy with what we see from the students, then we gradually release them to do it independently. So best practice for all students, and then those students that need the additional support there’s also a chance for them to work one-on-one with the teacher after that. Some of the interventions we use, especially in the older grades, we’ve got assistive technologies so they’ve got computers and iPads. They’ve got speech-to-text and text-to-speech, so for those students who can’t necessarily write a large volume of text or can’t get their big ideas down, they’ve got the great ideas and they can’t get it down on paper, we’ve got that speech-to-text option for them. And also, audio books. Again, we provide audio books for the entire grade or entire year level, but it is especially important for those students needing that extra support, so they can access the same content that everyone else can access and they’re exposed to the same vocabulary too.
Also those physical things such as TheraBands on their seat, they’ve got some movement breaks. We’ve got breakout rooms as well for students to have a space to work in as well if they need to get away for a little bit and then re-join the classroom.
Claire [talking about supports that help her learn or reset]
Fidgets that I can use with my hands to help me concentrate; a red card, which is allowing you to go out and get a breath of fresh air, just to let you get your mind back on track. We can walk around the oval. We usually do that in the mornings, walking around the oval, just being allowed to reset, then to feel better in the day when everything’s feeling overwhelming.
Sarah
A big learning curve here has been the input for staff. A lot of our staff at the beginning of the journey weren’t aware of the accommodations and we needed to do a lot of professional development around accommodations, modifications, IEPs (Individual Education Plans), setting goals. We’ve done a lot of work about students with disabilities in our schools and about specific learning difficulties to help understand what can be put in place for these students to help them succeed.
Christie:
So proud. It amazes me, the stuff all our students are capable of is incredible. I can’t believe the stuff our students produce, let alone those students who do have learning difficulties. The work we see them producing and the work they are able to do makes me so proud. It makes me so proud of the school and what we do as well.
Claire:
It can be really challenging sometimes, but having good teachers really helps. So, I want kids to know that it’s alright if you have a difficulty, and it really helps when teachers support you.
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