Teacher

Toolbox Entry
Two
COURTNEY HALLAM
Strategy and
Population
One strategy that can be
used to help students with
selective mutism (emotional-
behavioral disability) or
dysgraphia (learning
disability) is response cards.
This can be used for testing
and class participation. Using
response cards ensures that
all children can interact in
the classroom and can share
their knowledge.

Step One Step Two
The teacher must read The teacher can create
their student’s IEP to see different response cards
if they have selective with a range of responses.
mutism or dysgraphia. These can include:
Then, they need to True/False, Yes/No, “I
agree/disagree,” ”Can I go
observe their student’s to the
behavior in order to see nurse/bathroom/office?” etc.
signs of difficulty with They can make several
writing or difficulty in different sets of cards that
speaking aloud in certain all apply to different
situations. subjects that the class is
learning about. For instance,
in Social Studies if the class
is discussing the Civil War,
the teacher can create
North/South Cards. The
teacher can then ask if an
event happened in the North
or South and the student
can respond with their
cards.
Steps Necessary for
Implementation
Step Three
These cards can then be put
together using a binder ring
so that they do not get lost.
They can also be bundled
using a lanyard that can be
hung on the student’s chair
or in their cubby. This allows
students to have easy
access to their cards, so that
they can be used at any
time during class.
Step Four
Students will use their
response cards to answer
questions when asked by
their teacher or other school
professionals that they do
not feel quite comfortable
communicating with
verbally. Response cards can
also be used during group
work, so that the students
can feel completely involved
with their group mates.
Response cards allow
students to feel like they are
being heard without having
to verbalize. Others can still
communicate with them,
which makes them feel like
they truly belong.
Example of Strategy Implementation
• Testing
• For a student with dysgraphia,
testing can be difficult as it can
require a lot of writing. Rather
than writing and filling in
blanks, the student can use
their response cards while their
teacher marks their answers.
The teacher and student can
sit at a table together and the
teacher can pose the
questions. The student will
then answer the questions
using their response cards.
Example of Strategy Implementation
• Classroom Participation
• For a student with selective mutism,
classroom participation can be very
difficult and, at times, dreadful. Not
being able to verbalize what one is
thinking can be difficult. These
students are often seen as being less
intelligent than their peers because
they do not answer questions ever.
When the teacher poses questions to
the class, the student with selective
mutism can use response cards to
answer and feel like they are being
heard. The cards can also be used by
every student in a game, which
allows the student with selective
mutism to feel fully integrated.
References

• Heward, W. L., Alber-Morgan, S. R., & Konrad, M.

(2019). Exceptional children: an introduction to special
education (11th ed.) 204. Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India:
Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd.