1. Eliciting the perspectives of young people with ABI
Cath Bate
Specialist Teacher
SHIPS conference 2018

2. Introduction
Outreach for mainstream schools in Surrey

3. Aims
To share two practical activities for eliciting the perspectives of young people with ABI
Rationale and challenges
Examples – Year 6 girl
Model the activities

4. Why? “Pupil voice” Changed and changing life experience
Systematic Review of studies of student and parent experiences: not feeling listened to strongly affected overall experience of education (Hartman et al 2015)

5. Fundamentally…
Genuine engagement and communication with the child about their life

6. Tricky
Generating ideas
Holding multiple ideas in your mind
Language

7. Approach must be
Visual
Practical
Positive experience

8. 1. Visual conversation about enjoyment
Reduces language
More thinking time
Shared focus – can be shared use of pencil
Supports memory
Could be done using post-its

9. Drawing it (not pre-printed) gives thinking time – less stress
Can probe..
Acknowledge but don’t problem solve
“I notice…….
“I wonder…..
“I notice…….
“I wonder…..

10. 2. Talking Mats – style sorting activity
Adapted to the age and needs of the pupil
Adapted around school-based skills
Used to communicate about choices and plans with people with communication difficulties. Mats because it uses mats.

11. Model
Introduce the mats and cards
Sort cards – 2 step process

12. The cards Age appropriate
Base on what you may already know about strengths and difficulties
something you may want to explore…..?
Load the cards with skills the pupil can do comfortably to start off on a big positive

13. Hanging my coat up neatly
Understanding and
answering questions
about what I have read
Listening when one
person is talking
Keeping calm when things
are going wrong
Taking home the right
things to do my
homework
Colouring in charts

14. Model Introduce mats and cards Sort cards – 2 step process
1. “ok” vs “tricky”

15. “Katie”: Year 6
“OK, comfortable”
“Tricky”

16. “Katie”: OK, comfortable

17. “Katie”: tricky, need some help

18. Insight This is about the student’s perspective
May not be the same as yours or the teachers’
Feed back on what you have understood, just to check for errors “I notice….”
Don’t disagree with the child

19. Model Introduce cards Sort cards – 2 step process “OK” vs “tricky”
Sort “tricky” cards only into “I don’t mind” and “it bothers me”

20. Katie: sorting of “tricky”cards
“I don’t mind much”
“It bothers me”

21. Katie: “I don’t mind much”

22. Katie: “it bothers me”

23. Bringing to a close.. Is it ok to share your thoughts with….?
I’ll have a chat with Mrs Wilson and then let’s see what we sort out to help you
Is it ok to share your thoughts with….?
I’ll have a chat with Mrs Wilson and then let’s all get together to work out how to organise this
Let’s get together again next Tuesday and work out a plan

24. Further reflection
Applicable to any child or young person with language difficulties and high anxiety
Highlights what is important to the student – which can be enlightening
Engages the student actively in their learning and rehabilitation process

25. Any questions?