Student Guide For Teachers

Hi everyone, My husband and I have been navigating each school year since our son’s diagnosis and even in preschool it's always been like starting over each year.  He can do so much it just takes the right way of reaching him.  It didn’t matter how well our first verbal conversations with the teacher were or how well the IEP was written, we would always get questions from his teacher at the first parent teacher conference where they either missed his abilities or with luck “discovered” some hack we had told them about at the beginning of the year.  It is the reason we started creating Ama AI to be his, and other children’s advocate, to ensure their accommodations and needs were met.  But even before Ama we’ve been using low tech things like this guide for years—and they can make a difference. We thought we might share one of our hacks with the community. What we’ve found works best is to create a “child guide” or operating manual of sorts that helps teachers quickly locate specific information for specific situations. While this document won’t capture everything (because, as we all know, all our children are unique), you can always add details tailored to your child’s special needs.

Clear Here for Free Sharable Guide

Remember that a teacher has a lot on their plate, so make it as easy as possible for them to find what they need. If there’s one particular issue you expect to come up repeatedly, put it up front (in bold with rainbows and unicorns 🌈🦄 😊) at the top of its section with a clear “issue – remedy” explanation. This small extra effort can make a huge difference in ensuring teachers use the guide in the classroom when the need arises!  I would love to hear about your versions of the guide or things like it you use so we can add them to this and share with the community!  We know its sometimes hard but remember you are always the best advocate for your child, and it makes a difference for all of us.

-Karri Whitmer (Autism Mom, Advocate, CEO NarrateAR)