News & Events

ACC Student Finds Learning in Routine

Pt 2

Tabby and Lanna Slaby, a teacher from North Dakota Vision Services and The School for the Blind, work on speech therapy. By using a hand-held recording device, Slaby can create samples of different words and sounds to help Tabby learn.

In this second portion of a two-part series, we learn how Tabby, an Anne Carlsen Center student with autism and blindness, is finding new ways to learn and interact. The staff at ACC shares how this young girl is teaching them just as much as she is learning.

It is a typical afternoon in teacher Sharon Olson’s classroom in which each student is receiving a highly-individualized care. One student is creating a card for her parents, while another student is preparing to go to a therapy session.

For Tabby, it is story time. A young volunteer sits in a brown, child-sized chair next to her and begins reading.

Tabby listens intently to the story being told, as a tale of trains that wind throughout a fictional land unfolds. Her head is cocked to one side as she listens, and when one story is completed, she nods immediately when asked if she wants to hear another.

Learning a Routine

From story time to meals, each day Tabby’s schedule is carefully planned. She arrives at school in the morning and then spends one-on-one time with one of her teachers in a room adjacent to Olson’s classroom. This period helps acclimate her to her new surroundings and is part of a routine specially crafted to help her learn.

“For her day, we do many of the same activities,” says Olson. “This way she has learned to anticipate the activities. It gives her security, and she knows what to expect during that specific time. The routine builds trust.”

Helping a student become comfortable is something that helps to create an environment of learning says Olson.

“If a student is not anxious, they are able to easily take in information,” Olson says. “That is important for all students, not just Tabby. But each day, you can see how important it is for her.”

Helping a student with vision disabilities become comfortable means including other senses in every activity. This includes introducing yourself to the student.

Tabby is an energetic student at the Anne Carlsen Center. Born blind and later diagnosed with autism, she has learned to communicate and interact with the world around her.

“We use touch cues every day,” says Olson. “When we approach Tabby, we touch her right hand twice when we greet her and say our name to help identify ourselves. When we leave, we give her two pats on her right knee and tell her what is happening.”

The sense of touch acts as sight in many activities. Through touch, Tabby is able to learn words and numbers.

Each day the class rolls a die as part of a counting game. Tabby’s die is about the size of a softball, filled with rice to create an auditory component, and has raised bumps on each side. Her calendar has raised numbers on it, and staff is teaching Tabby months of the year with symbols (for example, a heart shape represents February) that were designed by the Texas School for the Blind.

“Because Tabby is unique, as is her learning, we make adaptations daily for her,” says Olson. “That is something we are happy to do with her. Her team meets once a month because her likes and dislikes may change so much and so often. That helps better serve Tabby, too.”

Transitioning from one room to another can sometimes be difficult for Tabby, and the Center tries to help as much as it can there, too. If Tabby is having a hard day or isn’t feeling well, staff will not ask her to walk from her classroom to therapy. Instead, therapy will come to her. There are a number of other advantages to being a student at the Center.

“She loves the pool, being in a swing, going outside, and riding a bike,” says Olson. “She really likes Chapel, and having adult time and having an adult near her. She likes books, listening to books on tape, and we have music playing for her when she arrives.”

“Tabby loves to be outside and her parents do such a great job of keeping her active,” says Steph Nelson, a speech therapist at the Center who works with Tabby. “They are always trying to find new things that will make her happy.”

Tabby’s fun-loving personality shines through each day, as she is learning how to interact with others.

“She has a great sense of humor,” says Steph Nelson. “She understands more than she is able to convey.”

When faced with a task Tabby is a doer. She enjoys accomplishing goals and likes to be challenged.

“You can reason with her,” Nelson adds. “During meals, she may not want to finish something, but you can ask her to take a few more bites. She understands when you set expectations and is able to work through more difficult tasks.”

The combination of autism, blindness, and her repaired cleft lip and palate make eating and drinking very challenging. Certain tastes and textures may trigger revulsion due to hypersensitivity, even though most others would find them delectable. In this respect, the process of eating is a highly-individualized event.

“Tabby has sensory defensiveness and may have an aversion to certain foods,” says Nelson. “If something she is eating is unfamiliar, it is scary to her.”

Communicating Thoughts and Wants

Communication has been a huge payoff for Tabby and her parents since the Center became involved.

She can sign, nod, or shake her head when asked if she is hungry, finished eating, or not feeling well.

Many of these learned responses have come as a result of a team effort of professionals working together to help Tabby. In addition to Olson, members of this team include Nelson and Lanna Slaby, a teacher from North Dakota Vision Services and The School for the Blind.

“Our Number One goal is communication,” says Slaby, who works with Tabby each week on a number of skills. “When we learn, 85 percent is through the sense of vision. For someone born with congenital blindness, there is no incidental learning. All concepts must be taught.”

“Not only is communication the goal, we are trying to give her a better understanding of the world,” Slaby adds. “Objects are meaningless unless she has tied a passion to them.”

An example of this is the footbath Tabby enjoys when Slaby visits the classroom and works on a variety of skills. The footbath is something Tabby enjoys and an activity she looks forward to

Because her day is a scheduled routine, Tabby is able to anticipate the footbath. She knows before dipping her toes in the warm water she must remove her shoes and socks, place them in a box and roll up her pant legs.

“We keep building on the routine,” says Slaby. “The next step is to have her fill a pitcher of water and use it to fill up the footbath.”

By combining familiar routines with new activities, she is able to expand her scope of learning.

“Another big stride has been to try new things,” Nelson adds. “She has familiar activities, but now we are trying new things. Through those, we are learning more about Tabby and things that are motivating for her. She teaches me something new every day.”

The Center reinforces the skills she is learning at the ACC Campus with its Community Services, by visiting Tabby’s home and teaching her and the family skills

“We are trying to establish that consistency throughout the day,” says Nelson. “I can’t applaud Sharon Olson and the classroom enough. They do a great job in carrying out the plan.”

Tabby is one of the success stories at the Anne Carlsen Center. At ACC she is a person of worth, and an individual who is learning new skills every day. Her fun-loving personality makes her memorable. But it is Tabby’s smile that makes her impossible to forget.