Auditory: Under Responsive
Student appears not to hear what you say (e.g. when you call students name)
A student who is under responsive to auditory input does not register regular noises in the environment and therefore may not respond to others speaking.
It can then appear that the student is deliberately ignoring staff and classmates when in fact the student may simply not have registered the sound.
Suggested Strategies:
Stand beside the student when giving instructions
Use a visual cue (e.g. placing a coloured card on student’s desk; holding up a visual cue) to gain student’s attention before giving new work, instructions or directions.
Use a visual support to aid registration of instruction e.g. typed notes on a hand out, pictures, keeping instructions on board.
Allow the student a longer time to respond when asking questions. =Some students may need extra quiet time to process information before responding to a question. Interrupting students during this processing time can confuse their thought process.
Break complicated directions into fewer parts and give the student time to complete the first step before going on to the next part.
Use visual supports to increase attention:
Give demonstrations and written or visual information to support verbal instructions.
Prior to a discussion, write down two or three main points for student to listen for; then check for memory and understanding of those points.
- Student makes noises (e.g. humming) to keep focused on task
- Student seems to have difficulty remembering or understanding what has been said e.g. when given instructions for a task
