This month we talk about how to integrate modifications, rest, and grace into your advocacy work, so you can be a strong, effective advocate, even when you're exhausted or discouraged.
As a gifted learner, it's always interesting to hear about the perspective of the adults working in the field. I think older generations have encountered more stigma around accommodations, and thus it's natural to want to model them as normal so students don't feel ashamed. It is an exhausting job, but I'm not sure I'd want to tell someone it's a "special accommodation" to take a break.
In my experience as a student, treating everyday modifications as equivalent to therapeutic ones made me feel like everything in my life was pathologized. For years I felt like it was a bigger deal than it was to decline side dishes I didn't like at dinner because the distinction between a neurodivergence that deals with significant cognitive rigidity and normal disliking a food was never explained to me. That's made it harder for me to take breaks nowadays for similar reasons.
On the flipside, several neurodivergent friends have told me teachers take their challenges less seriously when students use "anxiety" for smaller things like to get out of homework, and they need the distinction made clear so their legitimate challenges are understood. A lot of times, accommodations ARE bypassing accountability nowadays. Without explicitly clarifying something like, say, the difference between anxiety disorder and regular nervousness, people with anxiety disorders are feeling more misunderstood.
I could expand more on what these things are like for my generation if there are questions. I think it's important to hear from the students, especially considering the culture surrounding accommodations has changed a lot.
Still, I thank you for providing the resources for gifted advocates and adults in the field. There's not enough out there and us gifted kids need someone there to have our backs!
As a gifted learner, it's always interesting to hear about the perspective of the adults working in the field. I think older generations have encountered more stigma around accommodations, and thus it's natural to want to model them as normal so students don't feel ashamed. It is an exhausting job, but I'm not sure I'd want to tell someone it's a "special accommodation" to take a break.
In my experience as a student, treating everyday modifications as equivalent to therapeutic ones made me feel like everything in my life was pathologized. For years I felt like it was a bigger deal than it was to decline side dishes I didn't like at dinner because the distinction between a neurodivergence that deals with significant cognitive rigidity and normal disliking a food was never explained to me. That's made it harder for me to take breaks nowadays for similar reasons.
On the flipside, several neurodivergent friends have told me teachers take their challenges less seriously when students use "anxiety" for smaller things like to get out of homework, and they need the distinction made clear so their legitimate challenges are understood. A lot of times, accommodations ARE bypassing accountability nowadays. Without explicitly clarifying something like, say, the difference between anxiety disorder and regular nervousness, people with anxiety disorders are feeling more misunderstood.
I could expand more on what these things are like for my generation if there are questions. I think it's important to hear from the students, especially considering the culture surrounding accommodations has changed a lot.
Still, I thank you for providing the resources for gifted advocates and adults in the field. There's not enough out there and us gifted kids need someone there to have our backs!