Classroom Challenges and Instructional Strategies

Whether a person is suffering from anxiety, depression and/or a substance disorder, he or she tends to bring to the classroom the following kinds of barriers to learning:

Difficulty Sustaining Attention

Reasons for this problem vary, depending on their source:

If anxiety, the person is distracted internally by worries or fears
If depression, the person lacks a sufficient level of arousal to sustain attention
If substance withdrawal, the person is distracted by the unpleasant physiological reaction associated with having less of the substance in their body than they need to feel good

Here are some suggestions. What works depends on the person and his or her particular situation:

Anxiety

Occasionally give the student time to talk about what is worrying him or her. Sometimes stating the problem reduces its influence and sometimes it makes things worse; judgment is required
Help the student identify the worst thing that can happen. Ask him or her to consider the chances this worst thing will occur. Aim to help the student recognize the groundlessness of unrealistic fears. (This works best with milder forms of anxiety.)
Work with students to identify a way to keep their worst fear from happening. The purpose here is to identify something the student can control. Fears are usually associated with things one feels no control over.
In class, give the student permission to fall short. Make it clear that practice tests and exercises don’t have to be perfect the first, second or third time attempted. Discuss each “failure,” as an opportunity to improve, and an advance toward the ultimate goal rather than a measure of success or failure.
Offer lessons that are at or just above the student’s current level of achievement. Avoid challenging the anxious student too much.
Help students measure incremental progress, so they have visible evidence of their accomplishments. This effort may demonstrate their fear of failure is unjustified.
If anxiety is associated less with academic work and more with personal concerns, refer the person for counseling or social work support, preferably by offering a specific name and phone number and helping make the connection if necessary. (See Mental Health Resources Section for possible referral sources.)

Depression

If the student reports feeling depressed or hopeless, ask if he or she is receiving any treatment, medication and/or therapy. If not, or if the treatment appears less than satisfactory, identify a good referral source starting with a counselor (who can then identify an appropriate psychiatrist if medication is indicated). Local county and school counselors and social workers are good information resources for this purpose. (See Mental Health Resources Section.)
In the classroom, help the student identify realistic learning goals.
Offer warmth in word, expression, gesture. Communicate that you are glad to see the person and acknowledge his or her goals. Avoid expressing confidence the person can reach their goals, because you may lose credibility in the mind of one who is sensitive to his or her academic weaknesses.
Take things one step at a time, beginning at a level equal to or just above the student’s current level of competence.
Provide frequent, positive progress feedback (if justified) to encourage sustained effort and counteract discouragement. If progress is not being made, help the student explore alternatives, or refer him or her to someone who can.
If possible, draw out the person’s sense of humor; don’t be afraid to joke and laugh when it’s not at anyone’s expense. Focus on the student as a person.
Avoid comparing the student to anyone else. This person is likely feeling he or she does not measure up to others under any circumstances. Compare the individual’s own accomplishments today to yesterday, last week, or last month.
As appropriate, find out what the person enjoys or has enjoyed in the past or what they’re good at. If they answer “Nothing,” ask what others might say about them. Encourage positive answers—at least one. Try to build on the skill or characteristic they name as you adapt lessons to the person’s skills and interests. Or apply the skills/interest as a reward for progress.
Ask the student, “What would make you happy?” For any feasible answer, identify this as a goal to work toward, one step at a time.

Addressing suicidal thoughts. If the answer implies suicidal thinking, ask the person if they have a plan to end their life and the means to carry it out. If yes, thank the person for being honest and tell him or her you must get help immediately to protect him or her until they feel better. You do not need the student’s permission to get the help he or she needs. Consult a supervisor or resource in the school district, county, or other local emergency resource.

If no, begin the referral process by expressing the belief that help is available and that you want to support the person but you are not trained to provide what they deserve. Personally introduce him or her to the referral resource if possible, or find someone who can. Ask the student to contact you after they have seen the counselor, and make an appointment to get together again.

In any instance when you become aware a student is thinking of suicide, you should ask whether they have the means and a plan, and follow up as described above.

Substance Abuse or Dependence

Common sense will dictate that if a student comes to class high or drunk, you should send him or her home via safe transportation. The problem arises when a student is experiencing withdrawal. If you suspect this is the reason for his or her inattention, consider the following:

If you don’t know the student’s habits, ask him or her if they have recently consumed a drug or alcohol. If yes, ask if they are experiencing a hangover. Suggest they let it work itself out and come back the next day. If they answer no, describe the behavior you are seeing and ask them to explain. If they deny a problem, continue to work with them, if possible, or ask them to come back on another day when they feel more “together” or alert.
If you know the student abuses drugs or alcohol, point out how you see it affecting their academic work and ask whether they want to continue. If they answer yes, ask if they can abstain while attending classes. If again they answer yes or describe good intentions, ask whether they know of a resource that will help them keep that pledge.
Ask for a commitment to contact a support group or counselor if they don’t have one already, and provide a referral if necessary. Wish them well and ask them to return when they have been sober at least one week. Tell them you are looking forward to seeing them then. For more information about substance abuse, see the chapter on Chemical Health.

Fatigue/Lack of Initiative

This problem has several sources for people suffering from anxiety, depression, or substance abuse—including poor sleeping and eating habits, fear and hopelessness, low self esteem, and failure to functional effectively at school, work, and home.

Here are some suggestions. What works depends on the person and his or her particular situation:

Encourage the student to focus on one subject at a time. Start, if you haven’t already, with the strongest area based on student’s interest and/or initial test scores.
Work with the student to plan other responsibilities and social-recreational interests to allow them to get a good night’s sleep before they come to class.
If the student continues to sleep poorly no matter what he or she does, ask him or her to see a physician for help.
Find what inspires the person (don’t give up easily). Ask what would make them happy, how they want to see themselves five years from now, what one accomplishment is most important to achieve, how they want their children to see them, etc. Relate the student’s response to one or more learning goals.
Develop a realistic plan for achieving the student’s goals. Lay it out in smaller increments so the student can see results at each step. Start at his or her current achievement level or just beyond.
Discuss the best time to study for homework. If possible, schedule instructional time accordingly. Try to capitalize on the time of day when energy is highest. Encourage him or her to set the same time each day. Urge the person to ask for help with child supervision if necessary, or arrange a trade.
Find another student to pair up with the low-energy person. Most people will keep commitments to a peer before they keep them to themselves. Thus, if the student feels the other person is counting on them to do their part, she or he may be more willing to step up to a learning challenge.
Look for ways to reward the student and increase hopefulness. Fatigue can represent loss of hope, or it can result from the exhaustion that follows unnecessary worrying and maladaptive coping, or it can arise from insults to the body’s chemistry produced by substance abuse. Interest and energy follow success and make it less likely that a student will look for artificial means of arousal or withdrawal because they are discouraged.

Irritability and Anger

Impaired mental health is highly distressful, whether the condition is characterized by extreme anxiety, depression, substance withdrawal, or a developmental problem (e.g., difficulty learning, difficulty fitting in). Many of the students enrolled in an ABE program have a low opinion of themselves, and may carry unpleasant memories from their youth of failure, embarrassment, or ridicule at school. Many experience feelings of heightened sensitivity and vulnerability in a learning environment.

When one or more significant mental health problems affect a student in this context, it can be difficult to control emotions. Emotions may be disturbed before the person walks in the door. The person who appears irritable is clearly unhappy. The one who bursts out in anger is not only frustrated, but beginning to feel out of control.

Here are some suggestions. What works depends on the person and his or her particular situation:

Offer the person a time out, meaning set the lesson aside for a few minutes to let the person talk about what is bothering him or her. It may be necessary to take the person to another room, office, or hallway.
Ask gently if this is a good time to be studying or taking a test. Talk about maybe finding a better time. If there is no better time, discuss how the person wants to proceed—for example, do part of the assignment, do a different assignment, work on the computer instead of with a group.
If you know the person and have a good relationship, suggest he or she find a comfortable position and take deep breaths. Learn how to breathe deeply from the abdomen, so you can coach the student to do so.

Deep Breathing

Tell the person ........ "put your hands on your stomach just above the waist and below the ribs, and breathe in, so you can feel your abdomen rising. Focus on taking in air and sending it deep inside, so you can raise your hands—slowly and steadily. Breathe in and out through your nose." Continue for at least 5 minutes.

If the student has upset others too, ask all of them to relax and participate in a deep breathing exercise along with you.
It is often necessary to refocus the anxious or angry student on the task at hand, or on a new task if the current one is too frustrating. Give the person a choice about what they are going to do next. It’s one way to reduce the intensity of their emotions. He or she will usually feel grateful for your flexibility (though it may not be evident).
An out-of-control student who cannot calm down or accept redirection will have to leave. It may be important to have someone leave with him or her if they appear ready to hurt someone or something. It is appropriate to tell them they are welcome to come back when they are ready to try again.
Sometimes it is useful to describe for the student what you observe about their behavior, whether they are irritable or angry. In non-judgmental language, point out what you see and ask whether you are interpreting appropriately. If you feel uncomfortable yourself (e.g., angry, hurt, scared), tell the person how this behavior is making you feel. Tell the person you would like to figure out a way to handle things so neither one of you feels so uncomfortable.
Keep in mind that anger often arises from another feeling—hurt, guilt and shame, or fear. If you ask the angry or very irritable student, “What are you afraid of?” he or she will usually turn from attacking or criticizing to talking about themselves.

What the person might be afraid of is hard to predict. It may include one or more of the following or something else:

Fear of failing and feeling ashamed
Fear of letting someone down
Fear of punishment, often based on prior experiences
Fear of economic suffering and loss of opportunity for improvement
Fear of losing someone’s love, respect, or loyalty
Fear of feeling afraid
Fear of losing control
Fear of hopelessness and despair
Fear of harming oneself or someone else

If you see the person is struggling with emotions he or she can’t or won’t describe, ask whether there is someone they can talk to about the things that bother them. If yes, ask whether they will find that person (“soon” or “today”) and talk to them. If not, make a referral for counseling if the person will accept it. Let the person know you take their feelings seriously and hope they will, too.

Managing Lowered Achievement Levels

It can be discouraging to work with students who are trying hard and aspiring to earn a GED or high school diploma, while demonstrating they lack the ability to master high-school level material.

When the problem is borderline, or low intelligence and IQ scores cannot be attributed to lack of educational opportunity, the teacher has several opportunities and options:

Help the student improve literacy to a functional level.
Support him or her in identifying realistic goals that do not depend on earning a GED, by starting with the stated goal and identifying alternatives that may prove satisfying.
Refer the person to the county for DD-waivered services, to obtain financial support and job development.

When the IQ score is low, but the person has a history of socioeconomic and educational disadvantage, along with demonstrated capacity to function independently in society, proceed toward the goal of earning a GED but work to build the vocabulary and other academic skills necessary to handle high school level material.

If the person continues to struggle in one or more academic areas such as math, understanding charts and graphs, word decoding, reading comprehension or writing, then refer for a Learning Disability assessment.

Autistic Tendencies

Obtain a recent neuropsychological assessment for a student diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder or another form of high-functioning autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). Use it to identify the person’s learning strengths and achievements to date. (This report may need to be supplemented by a more thorough academic assessment.)

In most respects, this student will be able to meet academic goals based on normal intelligence and motivation. Instructors may need to respond to features of ASD, nevertheless. Try the following:

Allow the student to work alone.
Use visual learning strategies as much as possible, to avoid reliance on oral communication.
Offer a detailed learning plan for the student and follow the plan; this student may prefer to be self-directed once the plan is clear.
Avoid unnecessary changes. If changes must be made, provide advance warning and give the student a chance to question them, express feelings, and walk through new arrangements if possible.
Recognize this student may need more guidance in addressing abstract concepts. Work with him or her to develop rules, models, learning aids, or protocols for representing and applying new subject matter.
If the student displays frustration by acting out or talking inappropriately, provide a separate spot to study, if possible. Apply behavior management techniques if he or she must remain in a classroom with others.
Allow the person to perform any rituals he or she needs to get comfortable in the learning situation, provided they do not interfere significantly with education tasks or environment.
Avoid touching the person.
Ask the student to evaluate his or her own work. Your affirmations will probably not matter.
Expect fewer interpersonal rewards from a person with autism/Asperger’s than you normally expect from students.
Remind yourself that this person has feelings; he or she just doesn’t express them the same way as others.
Be clear and precise in describing your expectations of the student. He or she will attend to your words for understanding, not to your voice or other nonverbal signs.
Identify a family member, if available, to consult with for help in understanding the particular student’s needs. Early on, ask what kind of learning environment the person can handle and what learning modalities appear to work best. (Classrooms of a certain size may not be desirable because of the amount of stimulation present.)

Some of the teaching-learning strategies described in the chapter on AD/HD will apply to students with Asperger’s Disorder, particularly if attention is an evident problem.

Minnesota Adult Basic Education Disabilities