Antony

Working with young people who are neurodiverse and/or have a learning difference has brought me a tremendous amount of job satisfaction, joy and a tangible sense of achievement over the years. For most of my teaching career - since qualifying in 2001 - I have been lucky enough to work with a distinct set of young people and adults with a learning need. I have taught people who have been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, who have a dyslexia diagnosis, who are people recognised as having ADHD and those with SEMH difficulties. Though my experience has mostly been within the subject area of English and English Literature, I regularly teach Mathematics from the developmental stage to GCSE level. Over the years, I have taught Art, History, Geography, Life Skills and Food Technology and Science theory at Key Stage 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Perhaps more than anything else, one important lesson I have learned from both experience and training is that, in the first instance, all the individuals I have ever taught are people. To expand on what seems an obvious statement, it is vital for the SEN educator to always remember that the student they have been assigned to teach has hopes, dreams and life ambitions. Defining a person only by a diagnosis or what is written on an EHCP in reality lacks a real understanding of that person and their diagnosis.

Strategies that work for me are those where, as much as humanly possible, I am prepared to be adaptable; prepared enough so that what work I have planned may not land as it should because of outside pressures that were not present when I last met the young person I am to teach. I have a set of resources and delivery methods that are tried and tested where I can usually find a way to support a person so that they are able to engage.

Having a stoical outlook and a sense of humour has worked for me in more pressurised situations. A recognition that a person who says they hate you and Maths, tutors in general and people who tell dad jokes, is not personal. I recognise that lack of emotional regulation can often be a trauma response, particularly in young people who have been affected by attachment issues and perhaps the fact that adults may have been a disappointment to the young person in the past. Though behaviour sometimes needs to be proportionately challenged, in my experience, young people do not act appropriately usually do so because of a factor outside of the learning environment. Trauma and trauma responses in young people are by definition personal to the individual; reacting in a way that makes these responses personal to the educator misses the point and does not support the young person in an appropriate way.

I am very interested in dyslexia: I am a specialist teacher for dyslexia and level 7 educated so can diagnosis and assess the condition. As someone with a degree in English, I am fascinated by the fact that a person can be extremely bright but not be able to interpret the words on the page in front of them. Or if they can do this, there is a mismatch in their ability to summarise the main points in writing. Some of my favourite facts that I will share with a person with a diagnosis of dyslexia is that it is a myth to say that there is a connection to intelligence one way or the other and the thing that made an individual seem different is not an indicator of stupidity, despite the inner self saying it is. I like to think I apply the same principles in all my teaching, and this positive attitude helps to give young people the best support I can give. Giving a person ways to overcome their learning difference cannot really be matched in terms of job satisfaction.

I am also diagnosed with ADHD myself and this has had an effect on my life since I was very young. When a person with an ADHD diagnosis tells me they are demotivated and want to jump around so as to get that missing dopamine fix, I really do understand and can truly empathise as it is lived experience for me.

More generally, my overriding teaching philosophy is that the majority of young people – in fact, humans in general - have an innate desire to learn, achieve and behave well. Excluding serious mental illness or, for example, a global delay, I believe that it is that the only barriers to learning are personal circumstances, the general learning environment and previous life experiences of an individual; it is the responsibility of the SEN educator to help their students to, for the most part, overcome any barriers.

Lastly, I believe that happy, (or at least happier), young people are better equipped to learn and that one of the central factors of a teaching or tutoring role is an ability to create a space where mutual respect and understanding are paramount.