Shifting Focus
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Autism, ADD, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Global Developmental Delay, Learning Disabled: Is it only me or are we overloaded with new information about the various disabilities that our kids face today? After looking into every label and all the new research out there it could become a bit overwhelming, and well, a bit confusing for parents and teachers. The DSM manual is looking more like the old phone books we used to keep in our closets collecting dust. But wait, more knowledge on a subject is always a good thing right? I would agree with you, but only to a point. The more, and more I read, the more curious I became. The curiosity then turned into an obsession. And the obsession, well, let's just say, I have diagnosed all my perfectly healthy family members with a disability. Can you blame me? Have you seen the new DSM-5 today? Geez, pull it out and look up the “phone numbers” of the people you know. I guarantee you won’t come out diagnosis free. And if you do, I will call you Jesus, myself. I came to the realization that I was too caught up in the labels, diagnosis codes and delayed skills and had lost complete focus on the child’s abilities. As, a new special education teacher, I did not want to walk into my classroom with that mindset. I had to change my focus. I wanted to use background knowledge of each student and store it in some file cabinet far into my brain. What I will not do is use it to label any of my students. I will not use it to impose limitations on what students may hold. I didn’t want a list of what these students couldn’t do. What I will do, is exactly the opposite. I will empower my students based on their abilities. I have grown tired of all the negative news that a child with a disability cannot not do this, and cannot do that. Stop it. Stop it right now! We need to create a new movement that focuses on the child’s abilities, instead of their disabilities. You are reading this book, right now, in hopes of finding some positive answers someone can give you, instead of a bunch of explanations of their limitations. Answers. Positivity. Success. How refreshing does that sound?
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About the Book
Starting off as a parent to a career as a paraprofessional and becoming a special-education teacher, she could be called a triple threat. She knows what parents want, what students need by working with them one on one, and finally, what struggles teachers face every day to meet those needs—not because of the child’s disability, but because of the system they are placed in. She ties it all together on a new approach that will fill in the gaps on a child’s success.