Strategies to Overcome Learned Helplessness

One very important thing to consider when working with students who have disabilities that affect their ability to communicate is that they may develop patterns of learned helplessness derived from years of disempowerment. Teachers need to be able to identify signs of learned helplessness and be able to provide their students with support. Below is a listed tips to help students overcome learned helplessness:

• Build a daily expectation of communication through specific activities such as choosing the activity during recess, picking a book to read, or identifying where to each lunch.
• Construct a brief daily report to parents that is communicated by the student.
• Allow natural consequences to occur and provide avenues for repair. This includes setups that alter the environment to provide less support of sabotage.
• Provide for choice making whenever possible that requires that student to his or her augmentative communication system.
• Provide powerful phrases on the device for students to reject or protest something