Teaching Pupils with Learning Differences

I wrote the following article for the British Dyslexia Association magazine Dyslexia Voice, in a joint collaboration with Linda Kerr of Dynamic Dyslexia. It was published in December 2012.

How much of a barrier to learning is the Instructor?

Dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, aspergers, auditory processing problems, ADHD and other learning differences all present additional challenges to people when it comes to learning to drive and dealing with the complexities that driving a car involves. Thankfully, assessment and recognition of such differences appears to have improved greatly in recent years, as has awareness in schools and the workplace, so there is now less chance of a person with a learning difference being considered in any way "defective" or other negative terms which serve only to undermine self-esteem and lead to discrimination and disadvantage.

Outside of formal education, there are other educative bodies which will regularly come into contact with people with learning differences, where those differences may present significant challenges to getting to grips with the nature of the subject matter being taught. If you started a list of such bodies, I'm guessing Driving Instructors would be pretty likely to be on it.

So, in a profession with a high likelihood that you will encounter pupils with learning differences, the majority of whom are in an age group who happen to be finding their way into “adulthood” (which is difficult enough) and learning a skill which virtually everyone finds anxiety-inducing anyway, you would think that the professional ADI (Approved Driving Instructor) would be in a great position to be understanding and provide a fantastic opportunity to help someone achieve something really special to them (perhaps even life changing) regardless of any difficulties with learning that the person seeks to overcome. Sadly, based on conversations I've had with pupils with previous driver training experiences, all too often I have found this not to be the case.

I have heard so many horror stories about instructors during driving lessons asking their clients “are you stupid?”, of shouting, of not giving pupils time to think or act, of not asking the person learning what they see as their challenges and generally leaving people feeling misunderstood, incapable, uninvolved and ready to throw in the towel at the thought of ever learning to drive a car, whilst actually handing over their hard earned cash while achieving such an outcome. Of course, nobody should be made to feel this way regardless of any learning differences that they may have, but that it should happen to people with additional challenges is all the more disheartening in something which is apparently a “Profession”.

But why should this be? I really don’t believe that any driving instructor starts their day wishing to have the above effects on anyone, least of all their customers, and I suspect many would be mortified if they were to be made aware of it. And perhaps that is at the heart of the matter: awareness. Without a heightened awareness and understanding of the different needs of clients how likely is it that an instructor will be able to change their methods of teaching to suit? One of the greatest challenges I find as an instructor is to find what strategy works for an individual, and in my experience identifying this is one of the key ways of achieving a successful learning environment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I have found coaching methods to provide a major part of the "instructor’s toolbox" to develop the awareness, understanding and relationship between myself and my pupil and avoid completely the malaise outlined in the preceding paragraph.

I fully appreciate that what I have written to this point may raise the eyebrows of my peers in the industry, and of course this article is purely my opinion and therefore subjective. There are many instructors out there who are already hugely experienced in this field, or really do want to learn more about how to help those with challenges in learning to become responsible, self aware and skilled drivers. It was great to see the attendance levels of ADIs at dyslexia and dyspraxia awareness courses held locally to me in Stirling and West Lothian in recent months. But I can't help thinking there are many more that with even a little CPD, could benefit professionally, commercially and personally.

For my part, I do not claim to be an expert in Neuro Diversities, nor in how to teach those who have them, but I do have experience in helping affected pupils successfully achieve their driving licence. I have attended courses (mostly organised by local instructor organisations) which have raised my awareness, made me more understanding and improved my coaching / teaching skills. I regularly ask colleagues for their advice on strategies that they have adopted. I’ve Googled for information, and joined online forums to seek advice (I had never heard of dyscalculia until a pupil advised me that they had it. I found a forum, asked some questions and the responses I received were invaluable). As with any subject, the information and guidance is out there, you just have to go looking for it.

I find teaching pupils with learning differences to be hugely rewarding. I never cease to marvel at the determination and drive to overcome the difficulties that people who face them demonstrate. I sense the huge level of achievement and self-esteem boost that they feel upon passing their tests (theory or practical). There is much I can learn from a person who has creatively developed strategies to cope with various challenges over a period of years. That creativity has on so many occasions generated ideas which have helped improve my own teaching practices.

That is not to say I have found it to be without challenge – at times I have struggled to find the best strategies to take learning forwards, often goals take longer to achieve and it is easy to fall into the trap of trying to move things on too quickly, and many times I have found myself having to think completely “out of the box”. But what always seems to keep things on track is a mutual understanding that it is a voyage of discovery for both the pupil and myself, and that my motivation ultimately mirrors that of my pupil as we seek to achieve the same goals.

You might recognise the key words in this article as “awareness and understanding”. I hope I have in some small way helped to provide a little of both. I'd love to hear about your experiences and opinions, as that can only further enhance my own.

Ultimately, by having a better insight into how neuro diversities affect the learning process, I believe you can better understand and address the needs of the individual. And if you can do this, any pupil with a learning difference can be treated as equally as any other valued customer who has a particular learning style that works for them. To me that seems a good thing, how about you?

Gareth Marchant ADI

www.marchdrive.co.uk