Mrs. Potter seems to already know a lot about Jonathan and his strengths and weakness but she may be able to learn more about his reading habits at home by meeting with his parents or having them write a letter to her. Joellen Maples writes, “the power of parental involvement has been shown to contribute to improving a building’s psychological climate for learning as well as children’s academic performance.” (21) Mrs. Potter could ask his parents about how they are getting Jonathan to read at home, if there are any times he is more interested in reading, or any topics that Jonathan is more likely to read about. Mrs. Potter could then keep in mind his parents’ suggestions when she’s picking class books or suggesting books to Jonathan.
In the Marcus: Gifted and Challenging article his mother offers some advice that may be helpful for Mrs. Potter. “Don’t be afraid of differences in kids. It isn’t necessary for everything to be completely the same for everybody all the time, because kids know that life is not like that.” (72) If Jonathan is at a different reading level than his classmates Mrs. Potter may need to provide different books for Jonathan to read or different literacy tasks for him to complete. In addition, she might need to read directions to Jonathan on tests or assignments. Another Marcus quote that relates to providing accommodations for Jonathan is “Try to be aware of times when you can be flexible in how things can be accomplished or when they are accomplished.” (72) Mrs. Potter should try and think of different ways Jonathan can complete the same assignments as his peers while working at his reading level. If Jonathan has to work at a reading level he cannot perform at he may get frustrated and not try or not be able to perform at his highest level because of being held back by his reading abilities.
One support that may help Jonathan in Mrs. Potter’s class is visual support. “Visual support is a visually perceived stimulus that can assist an individual in comprehending information or demands.” (Breitfleder, 3) These could be placed around the classroom to help Jonathan comprehend different classroom details such as class rules, contracts, schedules, or assignments. If Jonathan’s reading level is hindering his ability to complete other assignments successfully providing visuals along with assignment instructions may help him to remember and understanding everything he must do to complete an assignment. Visual supports may also help some of his peers who may be more visual than auditory learners. Providing multiple means of representation may help multiple students in Mrs. Potter’s class, not just Jonathan.
Chandler-Olcott & Kluth offer many ways the inclusion of students with autism can improve literacy instruction for all students in the classroom. I think the changes suggested are beneficial to all classrooms whether or not any of the classmates has autism. “The inclusion of students like these would likely prompt a professional committed to addressing individual needs to rethink and revise her practice-adjusting expectations, providing different kinds of support, offering more challenge where needed.” (553) Mrs. Potter could spend some time rethinking and revising her current classroom practices to be more flexible and meet the individual needs of her many students with their own strengths and weaknesses. Jonathan, and I’m sure some of his peers, would benefit from adjusted expectations in which Mrs. Potter would provide different levels of support to different students and allow students many options for presenting information and completing assignments. In addition, such a classroom would have opportunities of further challenge for students who are performing at a higher level than their peers or completing assignments faster than the rest of the class. Readjusting her classroom and teaching expectations may help to meet not only Jonathan’s learning needs but his peers.
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