STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS
- Hand out the cut-up numbered statements from Things I Would Like Teachers to Know in numbered order. Keep the unnumbered ending for yourself. We have typed up the statements in the fashion that the author used (e.g., upper case letters) and have added the numbers for the purposes of this activity.
- Ask tutors to read the statements expressively. Help tutors to follow the
numerical order if your group seating makes this difficult. If you are doing
individualized tutor training, just alternate reading the statements. Read the unnumbered end of the handout yourself.
- When the group has finished, tell them that a 20-year-old adult learner wrote
these statements.
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Variation
Give half of the statements to each of two groups and ask them to cluster them into statements that belong together, naming each theme. Alternatively, each group could receive the full set of 30 statements to organize. The clustering exercise stimulates
discussion and reflection.
Each group could then share their clusters with the other for the purpose of an open dialogue on the messages and themes.
Activity C
Tutor tips
The learner’s statements are expanded into tutor tips.
In 1997, Deb Evensen and Jan Lutke published Eight Magic Keys: Developing Successful Interventions for Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. It suggests pragmatic ways of helping individuals with FASD, and from it we offer the following information, adapted with permission.
EIGHT MAGIC KEYS
While there is no recommended “cookbook approach” to working with individuals with FASD, there are strategies that work, based on the following guidelines:
- Concrete – Individuals with FASD do well when people talk in concrete terms. Do not use words with double meanings and do not use idioms. Because their social-emotional understanding is far below their chronological age, it helps to “think younger” when providing assistance and giving instructions to people with FASD. Don’t give too many instructions at a time.
- Consistency – Because of the difficulty individuals with FASD experience trying to generalize learning from one situation to another, they do best in an environment with few changes. This includes language: teachers and parents can coordinate with each other to use the same words for key phrases and oral directions.
- Repetition – People with FASD have chronic short-term memory problems; they forget things they want to remember as well as information that they have already learned and retained for a period of time. In order for something to make it into their long-term memory, it may simply need to be re-taught and retaught.
This requires your kindness and patience.
- Routine – Stable routines that don’t change from day to day will make it easier for individuals with FASD to know what to expect next. This will decrease their anxiety and enable them to learn.