Effective Approaches to Support

There are many obstacles that make it challenging to provide adequate support and inclusion for neurodiverse individuals, affecting their access to tailored assistance and opportunities for success in different environments.

Listen: Call for a Fresh Approach to Learning Support (26:20 minutes)

Listen to the broadcast, which discusses the level of support for neurodiverse individuals in 2015. Challenges include lack of money, not enough training, and contradictory government policies, especially in schools situated in lower socio-economic areas.

Listen to the podcast on Radio New Zealand here: Call for a Fresh Approach to Learning Support.

Post-Task

Summarise the key points mentioned in the broadcast regarding challenges in learning support.

The Learning Support Action Plan (2019-2025) is designed to assist children and young people with diverse learning needs in New Zealand. It focuses on early identification of these needs, improving teacher training, and providing flexible support for various conditions. It aligns with broader educational changes, emphasising equity, inclusivity, and the overall well-being of learners and their families across different educational settings.

The plan sets out six priority actions to ensure that children and young people get the right support at the right time:

1. Priority 1: Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs): LSCs work across school clusters to ensure children with learning support needs receive adequate assistance and make successful transitions.
2. Priority 2: Screening and early identification: Implementing systematic screening tools to identify learning support needs early, collaborating with the Ministry of Health for integrated measurement.
3. Priority 3: Strengthening early intervention: Identifying services needed, including support for families, and integrating flexible supports through collaborative work with other agencies.
4. Priority 4: Flexible support for neurodiverse children: Building capability within educational settings to respond to neurodiverse children's learning needs, addressing gaps in specialist services.
5. Priority 5: Meeting the needs of gifted children: Designing flexible supports for gifted children and addressing current support gaps in educational strategies.
6. Priority 6: Improving education for at-risk students: Preventing disengagement, improving educational provision for at-risk students, and facilitating re-engagement in learning through early identification and additional support.

Familiarise yourself with the following report, which aims to make it easier to identify diverse learning needs, improve teacher training, and establish flexible supports for disabled children and young people as part of making bigger changes in education to ensure inclusivity and overall well-being across different educational settings.

Priority 4

In response to Priority 4 of the New Zealand Learning Support Action Plan 2019-2025, an integrative literature review by The Donald Beasley Institute aimed to discover practical and innovative methods for aiding neurodiverse students within Aotearoa New Zealand. (Mirfin-Veitch et al., 2020).

The research focused on five critical themes:

1. Valuing Relationships: Building positive teacher-student connections enhanced educational outcomes. Encouraging students to form friendships and fostering an inclusive environment was found to impact neurodiverse students positively.
2. Empowering Agency: Encouraging student independence by allowing them choices and involving them in setting goals enhanced their sense of ownership over learning.
3. Managing Student Behaviour: Recognising and reinforcing appropriate behaviour positively impacted student engagement. Teaching self-management skills shifted behaviour control to the student, fostering better interaction.
4. Crafting Inclusive Environments: Creating structured, predictable, and sensory-friendly spaces supports neurodiverse students' active participation. The table below (Grow Waitaha, 2023) illustrates the commonalities in inclusive practice across the neurodiversity spectrum. 
5. Integrating Inclusive Teaching Strategies: Flexibility in teaching methods, adapting the curriculum, and utilising technology effectively facilitated the learning process for neurodiverse students.

Table 1: Commonalities in Inclusive Practice across the Neurodiversity Spectrum

• Breaking tasks into smaller components (short chunks and sequences) and reducing complex steps
• Keeping instructions short and concise
• Repeated instructions and checking with akonga that they understand
• Conveying the curriculum through a variety of ways, including visual, role play, rehearsal, tactile objects etc
• Using a range of ways to communicate and be present in the class
• Providing frequent breaks for akonga and slowing the pace
• Praising and reinforcing positive behaviour
• Identifying and utilising akonga strengths and interests to increase their engagement
• Using technology to support learning (tablets, smart boards, laptops, headphones etc)
• Teaching hand gestures to communicate understanding
• Providing guided notes
• Designing games and activities for break times that encourage social interaction
• Orienting akonga to new learning environments before they arrive, providing schedules and assisting in the transition between activities
• Creating organised environments where there are minimal changes
• Performing rituals that can change the pace from one activity to another
• Teaching relaxation methods to manage distress
• Helping students retain information through transcription, recording lessons, highlighting important learning aspects, having akonga self-test etc.
• Using a loud, clear voice, repeating when necessary, making eye contact when speaking directly to neurodiverse akonga.

Look at another section from the Grow Waitaha Plan, which discusses the concept of inclusive education for neurodiverse students. It examines the key themes of valuing relationships, developing student agency, supporting students to manage their behaviour, creating inclusive environments, and embedding inclusive teaching strategies as essential elements for facilitating an inclusive educational environment.

Before discussing condition-specific strategies, it is important to acknowledge the range of strategies that apply universally. Supporting individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities and other neurodiverse conditions involves employing diverse and adaptable strategies. Effective approaches include:

• Personalised Support: Tailor support to meet the unique needs of each individual. Understand their strengths, weaknesses, and preferred learning styles to design a personalised support plan.
• Technology Integration: Utilise assistive technology to assist with tasks such as reading, writing, and organisation. Screen readers, dictation software, and other tools can be beneficial. (more on this later.)
• Structured Learning Environment: Create a structured and predictable environment, providing clear instructions and visual aids, while minimising distractions.
• Multi-Sensory Learning: Engage different senses in the learning process, combining visual, auditory, and tactile approaches to enhance understanding and retention.
• Collaboration with Professionals: Work closely with educators, therapists, and specialists to develop a comprehensive support plan that addresses various aspects of the individual's condition.
• Positive Reinforcement and Encouragement: Provide positive feedback, encouragement, and an environment that promotes self-confidence and autonomy.
• Emphasise Strengths: Focus on strengths while acknowledging challenges. Emphasise and celebrate the unique abilities of neurodiverse individuals.

In the next task you have been presented with various scenarios describing challenges faced by individuals with neurodiverse conditions in educational settings. For each scenario, think about how you could best support the individual.

Learning Activity - Scenarios for Developing Strategies

Download and complete this worksheet: Scenarios for Developing Strategies.

For each scenario described in the worksheet, develop the following to support the individuals effectively. 

1. strategy
2. provide reasoning