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This morning I woke up to an email from a teacher saying the following:
“Hi Eliana, looking online I found your website and your story. I hope you can answer this email because I am very concerned. Someone with Down syndrome was accepted in my classroom and I don’t know what to do. What should I know to be sure I can give him everything he needs?”
I wanted to share my response publicly because I’m sure that this educator is not alone in questioning their skills, preparedness, and capacity to meet the needs of a child with special needs in their classroom. So, here we go:
Dear Teacher,
First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to write these lines. It speaks highly of you and your desire to help this child achieve the very best. Thank you also for trusting my voice as a parent, even though, the most important voice is going to be the voice of your particular student and the parent of that child.
From my experience, this is what I can share with you.
To begin, set aside the diagnosis. The diagnosis has little to nothing to offer you about that child as an individual. The diagnosis is just the medical identification of his genetic makeup and doesn’t define any of his abilities, nor can it determine his challenges.
Second, arrange for a meeting with this child’s family and invite them to share with you background information about the child. What are they proud of? Who is this little one at home? What are their concerns? How can they help you? Because, yes, they are this child’s best advocates. No one knows him like they do and, because of that, they are the experts along withyou when it comes to determining the right strategies to support him in the classroom.
Third, don’t make any assumptions about him and his abilities. Keep your expectations as high as you would with any other student. As it happens with everyone else, this child is going to let you know what he needs in a unique and individual way. As you have been doing since you started this job, you will need to make academic adaptations and sometimes modifications, if needed. But when it comes to expectations, keep them high at all times, which means, celebrate this person as an individual just like you would any other student.
Fourth, I know language is always the biggest concern for kids with Down syndrome. How do you measure the ability to learn when a child cannot verbalize like the rest? Well, sometimes this is the biggest challenge and the reason why so many kids with Down syndrome get segregated and deprived of their right to inclusion. We focus on what is missing, instead of working with their individual strengths. Communication is much more than words, so at all times, remember that this person has a lot to say, is learning, and is growing up, even though he may not be able to demonstrate it right now.
Fifth, never forget that your job is not to change or repair this child. This child is already perfect just the way he is. Your job is instead to maximize his abilities, to make him feel welcome, and to strengthen his abilities with faith and dedication. Your job is to make this child believe in himself and be proud of who he is, just like you do with everyone else.
Sixth, know that you can change the future of this child forever. The easier thing to do is to give up and plan for you both to just slide through this year “making it by” – but I trust this email is proof that you won’t. In every smile, you will find the motivation to keep going as you would for any other child. This student has nothing “special” really, he is just another kiddo who depends on the expectations and the willingness of the world to build him up to succeed as a unique and irreplaceable individual.
It’s not going to be easy. Right. The best things in life are never easy and still, their outcome is the most natural and fascinating reminder of our individual power to make a difference for one child at a time. When that student with Down syndrome enters your class, know that you are absolutely up to the challenge of working alongside him and his advocates to create a better future for all of us.
