VIDBE-Q Volume 66 Issue 4
expression throughout his day based on wants and needs...not based on gratitude.
The night he thanked me for a drive to P. Terry's we have done every Saturday for
over a year was overwhelming. With tears in my eyes, I turned off his light and
shut his door like almost every other bedtime for the past 16 years. I did not know
how bad I needed a "thank you" and how much I wished for some
acknowledgment of the role I play in his life. This time it was him working hard to
communicate on my level instead of the other way around.
Whether you are an administrator, a teacher, a related service provider, or a
parent, you have the power to build trust in relationships with your students or
children. For those who communicate verbally, spend time chatting about their
interests before you engage in instruction. For those who communicate differently,
take the time to learn their mode. Whether a child uses ASL, tactile symbols,
gestures, or simple utterances, your engagement matters. Do what they do, or ask
for guidance from a professional, but find a way to connect. You cannot teach
without showing them first that you care, that they matter, that you know they have
something to say, and most importantly...that you are listening. Trust comes before
teaching.
