The Speech-Language Pathologist’s Handbook

for Inclusive School Practices

by Julie Causton, Ph.D. Syracuse University and Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson, M.A. Syracuse University

About the Authors

Julie Causton, Ph.D.

Julie Causton, Ph.D., is an expert in creating and maintaining inclusive schools. She is Associate Professor in the Inclusive and Special Education Program, Department of Teaching and Leadership, Syracuse University. She teaches courses on inclusion, differentiation, special education law, and collaboration. Her published works have appeared in such journals as Behavioral Disorders, Equity & Excellence in Education, Exceptional Children, International Journal of Inclusive Education, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Studies in Art Education, and TEACHING Exceptional Children. Julie also works with families, schools, and districts directly to help to create truly inclusive schools. She co-directs a summer leadership institute for school administrators focusing on issues of equity and inclusion as well as a school reform project called Schools of Promise. Her doctorate in special education is from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson, M.A.

Chelsea P. Tracy-Bronson, M.A., is a former elementary educator who has focused her career on bringing inclusive educational opportunities to all. She is a graduate of Teachers College at Columbia University and is in the special education doctorate program at Syracuse University. She works with districts and schools to redesign services to create inclusive special education and related service provision. Her research and professional interests include inclusive school reform, special education leadership, curriculum design that allows access for all, differentiating instruction, educational technology, supporting students with significant disabilities in inclusive classrooms, and inclusive related service provision.

Rethinking Students

Presuming Competence

This chapter introduces the concept of rethinking students. Rethinking a student entails getting to know about the student and then reflecting on how you see, treat, provide services to, and work with him or her. First, we discuss how to describe students to others through student strengths and multiple intelligences. Then, we describe the concept of presumption of competence and using age-appropriate and person-first language. Please see Table 5.1 for examples of person-first language (Snow, 2008).

Student Descriptions

Shawntell Strully is a 22-year-old who lives in her own home with roommates, attends classes at Colorado State University, volunteers on campus, travels during spring break, gets around in her own car, has her own interests, likes and desires, has a boyfriend, and speaks out on issues of concern to her.

These two radically different descriptions of Shawntell come from two different groups of people. The first description comes from her parents. The second comes from her teachers and other school support personnel. Although not all educational professionals would describe Shawntell in these ways, this is how her team described her. It is surprising to compare these statements side by side. The stark contrast raises the question of how the same person can be described in such disparate ways. The principal reason for these radically different descriptions is that each group of people looks for different things and approaches Shawntell from a different perspective. Shawntell’s parents know her deeply. They have spent a great deal of time understanding her; it is a cold, clinical account that focuses exclusively on her impairments.

As an SLP working with students with disabilities, you will hear impairment-driven descriptions of students, and, thus, you will need to work to understand these students through their strengths, gifts, and talents. You may read a student’s IEP, and it might abound with terms such as mental age of 2, phobic, or aggressive. Reading those descriptors, you will need to realize that you are getting only one perspective on the student. Get to know the student yourself, develop an authentic relationship, and work to learn about what he or she can do. Ideally, your descriptions of a student would look much different than those traditional descriptors.

Table 5.1. Examples of person-first language

Begin with Strengths

We were talking to Joe and asked him to describe Mary, a student who receives related services. He described Mary as autistic, loud, sensitive, a runner, sometimes sweet, a mover, and nonverbal. These descriptions speak to Joe’s own beliefs about the student. On a piece of paper, write down the first 10 descriptors that come to mind when you think of an individual student. Now, look over the list. Were your descriptors positive, negative, or a combination? Your beliefs about a student will affect how you support and work with that student. For example, if you believe a student is lazy or defiant, you will approach him or her in a different way than you will if you believe that child is motivated or cooperative. You can alter your beliefs about students by spending some time rethinking them. Reframing your conceptions of students in more positive ways creates opportunities for growth.

Table 5.2. Turning lead into gold

Because educational professionals have no real way of determining what a student understands, they should presume that every student is competent or capable. Anne Donnellan used the term least dangerous assumption to describe this idea: "Least dangerous assumption states that in the absence of absolute evidence, it is essential to make the assumption that, if proven to be false, would be least dangerous to the individual" (Donnellan, 1984, p. 24). In other words, it is better to presume that students are competent and that they can learn than to expect that they cannot learn.