Here we are at the final part of Malik’s story. To catch up, here’s part 1, 2 and 3
Today I want to share some of the accommodations that were suggested for Malik’s academic learning and performance in the classroom.
But before we do that, I want to reiterate that this kind of environment (an open-plan classroom with 120 students and 2–4 concurrent classes separated only by furniture and dividers) is not ideal for students like Malik who have executive functioning challenges, auditory processing differences, or other hearing disabilities. I don’t like to sugarcoat things, so I’ll just say it:
No amount of environmental accommodations or sensory strategies could completely eliminate the nervous system stress this kind of environment would put on a child like Malik.
It doesn't mean that the classroom itself is inherently stressful or bad, it just means that the acoustics of the environment coupled with the executive demands adds unavaoidable stress to his nervous system.
It also means that we have to have realistic expectations for him so we don’t set him up for failure by expecting the impossible.
I always tell parents: If you can’t change the environment (or modify a task), you need to change your expectations.
We can’t really change his classroom environment entirely (if we could, I would add walls and doors). But we can try to modify and adjust some things in the classroom (including expectations and demands) that might give Malik a little boost.
Malik’s Accommodations
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Visual supports to compensate for auditory processing challenges. Malik was still in the early stages of learning to read, but for an older student I would recommend providing written notes, transcripts, and written instructions for multi-step tasks. For Malik, we talked about the teacher highlighting key parts of his worksheet or setting out supplies as a visual reminder.
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For example, on Malik’s desk, the teacher could help him lay out a lined paper (for writing) with the “name” line highlighted, and a blank paper with a pack of markers on top (for drawing).
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Another example could be a small whiteboard at his desk that the teacher (or an aide) could use to draw two simple pictures to help him remember a task—like drawing a pencil and a marker to remind him to write and draw.
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Preferred seating. In the open-plan classroom, it would be best for Malik to always be seated nearest the teacher so he can hear her instructions and visually see the board and any gestures that might help him understand the instructions.
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Auditory-processing supportive technology. We already know the acoustics of the classroom isn’t ideal, so I did introduce Malik’s mom to the idea of a personal sound system like this. It’s not clear how accessible these devices are, but they have been proven to improve a child’s functioning in the classroom because they can hear the teacher’s voice directly in their ear through a microphone.
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Scaffolding in class assignments. Since Malik also had some fine motor writing challenges, which made completion of any in-class assignment even more taxing for him, I recommended that they ask the teacher for “prompt previews.”
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Essentially, the teacher would send Malik’s parents an email in advance to tell them about the writing prompt for the next day (or any other writing assignment that would be completed in class). His parents could then discuss the prompt with him at home, let him prepare an answer, and they could write his answer down so he could bring it to class. Then, when the prompt is assigned in class, all Malik has to do is copy what he already told his mom the night before. This way, it’s still Malik’s words, thoughts, and writing.
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I also suggested things like number stamps so he could keep up with fast-paced math worksheets, or letting him type his answers.
Malik’s Emotional Regulation & Self Esteem
One other piece of the picture we haven’t talked about yet is Malik’s emotional dysregulation. While he seems “fine” at school, his mom shared the following:
“He tips very easily into a rage and will scream in a really guttural way (I can almost see all the emotions flooding out through his face when he does it). He is hitting, kicking, throwing things, slamming doors, etc. It can be hard to get him out of this state.”
She shared that one of the major triggers for him is when he senses a certain “tone” in his parents’ voice, especially when they’re giving a directive like “time to clean up” or “brush your teeth.”
When we think back on Malik’s day at school and the pure stress his nervous system endures from his auditory processing challenges and that loud classroom, it makes sense that he has limited reserves to control his reactions when he feels triggered.
In fact, even Malik shared:
“Everyone is always bossing me around and trying to control me.”
Wow. That says a lot, doesn’t it? He feels as if he has no control over his day. That must be so hard. I would hate that, too.
It’s easy to hear something like “he gets mad so easily when I give him an instruction” and jump to solutions that focus on him managing his emotions. But what if his emotions are valid?
Of course we want Malik to be able to remain more in control of his volume and his words, but are there other things we can do?
Can we change the way we prompt him for activities? Like aiming to use declarative language? Use a reminder app or a smart device like Siri or Alexa?
Can we think about the timing of when we prompt him? Maybe waiting a few extra seconds or minutes for him to finish a page in his book or a level on a video game?
It’s always important to consider these supportive shifts in addition to Malik-centered shifts.
Helping Malik Harness His Interoception Awareness
I talked with Malik’s mom about interoception and the fact that he might be sensitive to those sensations, which contributes to some of his emotional reactions. What she shared next solidified that hypothesis:
