Quitting was not an Option
Travis finished his high school years at Humanex Academy. We were relieved to find that they offered open enrollment throughout the year. Their mission statement: “The mission of Humanex Academy is to provide a caring, well-structured learning environment where academically, socially, and emotionally needy students can develop the necessary skills to become productive citizens”.
Humanex completed an informal learning assessment on Travis in order to be better prepared to meet his needs and assist the staff in identifying his learning strengths and weaknesses. I was impressed that they took the time to conduct an assessment rather than just rely on opinions of others.
Per the report, “The more hands-on, creative and active the task or project, the more likely he is to perform well. Travis learns best through movement and hands-on activities. Travis struggled with visual and auditory processing activities and was unable to do most tasks that involved reading or writing independently. When possible, he was allowed to dictate his answers or have information presented orally. Travis had difficulty maintaining focus. Throughout the testing, Travis maintained a positive attitude, a great sense of humor and a solid understanding of himself, his thinking style, and his feelings."
The evaluator made the following recommendations:
Pacing
Shorten assignments such as reducing number of problems per page.
Provide prompting and encouragement.
Pause between instructions and check for understanding.
Allow additional time for written tasks.
Allow “wait time” when processing verbal requests.
Vary the pace, length and intensity of assignments.
Environment
Provide a consistent structured and predictable routine.
Provide a calm, safe environment with positive feedback and support.
Reduce or minimize auditory and visual distractions.
Clearly define physical limits, personal space and behavioral limits and expectations.
Seat Travis near the teacher, in front of the classroom and away from distractions.
Instructional Methods
Allow dictation or use of a scribe.
Provide visual instructions paired with oral directions.
Allow Travis the freedom to work while moving about, standing up, or sitting on a soft cushion or a beanbag.
Provide a multisensory approach with activities that grasp Travis’s interest level.
Provide cues for Travis when expected to focus or retain information.
Break tasks down into small, manageable parts.
Give one instruction at a time, dividing the task into smaller segments.
Provide well spaced and lined worksheets.
Use multi-sensory and hands-on approaches.
Provide a framework for information. Help Travis see how the new material is relevant to his life or related to things he already knows.
Provide frequent checks for understanding. Repeat directions as necessary.
Allow Travis to build models, draw pictures, make a display or video, do an experiment or give a dramatization.
Allow oral reading on math story problems.
Utilize books on tape.
Encourage the use of writing supports and software. (Alpha Smart, Co-Writer, Write Out Loud)
Allow the use of a calculator and word processor.
Consider the use of speech recognition software.
Assignments
Encourage the use of the computer for assignment completion.
Provide a written copy of board work, notes or outlines.
Provide assignments in “chunks” or shortened segments.
Allow the use of a math fact chart to begin to learn skills that are more complex.
Reinforcement and Motivation
Use positive reinforcement and humor. Travis needs frequent feedback and encouragement.
Check often for Travis’s understanding. If he misses a general concept, he is likely to make errors with the details.
Provide opportunities for positive social interaction with peers and adults.
I wanted to share her accommodations for a couple of reasons. First, because it’s clear that she got a good read on Travis and his learning needs. But also, some of you that are following may be able to ask for some of these accommodations for your child. It’s nice to have an example to work from.
In the Humanex brochure it defines what makes them unique. Under the Individualized Academic Instruction portion they highlight that students are evaluated to determine their learning styles and strengths. I just shared the results of their evaluation of Travis. They state that 100% individualized instruction is given. Failing grades are not allowed. Students correct their errors and truly learn skills and concepts.
Students learn the benefits of self-directed learning and how it applies to life outside of high school. Students are encouraged to understand knowledge at a conceptual level. Students choose how they learn as long as they don’t cause a problem for others.
Humanex also offers full-time counseling support. Each student receives individual and group counseling sessions with a licensed mental health counselor. The support includes immediate intervention when necessary and conflict resolution skills are modeled and taught.
Travis did need constant support from his counselor and even today they are in touch on social media.
When Travis started at Humanex he did not have a transcript. The Humanex staff worked with The Joshua School (TJS) staff to develop a transcript for ninth and half of tenth grade based on his accomplishments while at TJS. This way they would know what Travis needed to work on in order to graduate.
They gave Travis PE credit. Remember that Travis participated in a great deal of physical activities while at TJS. Snowboarding, horseback riding, hiking, swimming, bowling etc…
They also gave him credit in an elective called Employment Training. Remember TJS worked with Travis quite a bit on internships like The Ferret Rescue and the Denver Zoo.
Humanex Academy worked on a work point system. A work point represents the completion of an assignment given by a teacher. Each teacher defines what a work point is in their class, but each student’s current ability is taken into consideration. In most classes forty points completed represents one quarter of that class.
Earning a point was up to the student. If they chose to not participate in class, go to another class to catch up on points, or go to the counselor that was fine with the teacher. There was no power struggle. But you had to complete your points to finish a class and move on to another.
Travis had good days and not so good days. Or even class by class. It was pretty much dependent on the teacher. If Travis had a good connection with a teacher he was successful in the class and earned a point daily. There were some teachers that he did not connect well with. And he may go days without earning a point. Or he would he in the counselor’s office during that class period needing support. Sometimes he had a better connection with a teacher because it was a subject that was of more interest to him. He did great in his Computer Arts class because he spent a great deal of time working on a computer animation program. He did not have a great connection with his English teacher. Surprise!
She even let him develop a comic book page and write captions. She did try to meet him at his level, but he really struggled with writing.
Travis’s great grandma had written a journal about her life and had a copy bound for each family member. One of his English teachers allowed him to read it for credit. This same teacher recognized his interest in gaming and allowed Travis to develop characters and a storyline for his game development. The only catch is that he needed a scribe to keep up with his thoughts so I had to work with him at home quite a bit on that project.
He had a Current Events class that he did well in. The teacher would read an article or show the class a film clip or documentary. Then the students could earn a point by participating in the discussion. Here are some of the subjects discussed:
Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, media discussion
A-Bomb
Medical marijuana debate - state vs. federal law
Economy - global power
Rolling Stone EPA article compared to Newsweek article
Oil Spill
Frontline: Merchants of Cool - A Report on the Creators and Marketers of Popular Culture for Teenagers
Bigoted politics
Article on music pirating
Smithsonian article - Prohibition
Article on censorship - South Park
Article on violent video games
Death penalty
N. word/rap culture pros and cons
I’m quite sure that some of these topics were chosen with Travis in mind! I could see why he showed success in this class. The teacher found a way too teach relevant (to the student’s world and future) subjects and held discussions and debates. Travis was able to learn high school material even though he was unable to read and write beyond the elementary school level.
This teacher understood that asking Travis to write a report on a given topic would not work for him. First, Travis becomes extremely frustrated when trying to write. His brain simply thinks faster than he can write. And second, Travis will be unable to focus unless the subject holds his interest.
Travis had an Environment class where they built a worm farm. He learned about human footprint and how to decrease our footprint. He planted seedlings in a miniature greenhouse and created compost. His class discussed the garbage patch in the Pacific ocean. He learned about the effect plastic waste had on our environment. They took a field trip to the landfill. He learned about the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle.
Travis took a Keyboarding class. It is an important class for everyone because computers are such a big part of our lives today. But especially important for Travis because he has great difficulty with writing.
Travis took a Research class. Because of this Travis is a wizard when it comes to navigating the internet. The teacher was able to keep Travis focused by letting Travis choose the research topic. (Within reason!)
Travis took a Public Speaking class. You know how most of us hated that class? Not Travis. He will speak to anybody and everybody that will listen! And he does not care how much or how little he knows about the subject. (Emphasis on how little!) He will just make it up along the way!
Travis watched videos on several subjects in History and Science. At times it took him two or three class periods to get through a video as he would lose focus. But he learns much more by watching videos than by reading. He works so hard trying to decode the words that he loses all comprehension.
Progress reports were emailed home on a daily basis. Comments were given by teachers at the end of each two week period. These reports included attendance, work points and comments on daily progress.
Early on the comments looked like this, “He misses many points due to being emotionally distraught about some issue. When he is ready to work, he requires total one on one interaction to stay focused and on task. His reading skills are very poor and the one time he wrote something it seemed to be a huge accomplishment to complete two whole sentences, needing much spelling and grammar help. He has a hard time interacting with peers in an appropriate manner.”
And another teacher, “We have been working 1:1 so that he has my full attention and then he stays fairly engaged. He is very motivated to work on projects, but often does not want to follow through to the end”.
At this point I asked the administrative staff if the teachers even read the evaluation that was performed when Travis started at Humanex. I reminded them that it really is a huge accomplishment for Travis to write two sentences. And that lack of focus and needing one on one support is part of the reason Travis needs a school like Humanex. The comments became more positive moving forward.
It took the support of a lot of committed people for Travis to finish high school. In the end we were all working very hard to help him with this goal. I read the entire American History book out loud to Travis. If you know me, you know how painful this was for me on many levels. But mostly because history is my least favorite subject. It probably was good for me to read as I had already forgotten most of our country’s history from when I was a junior in high school.
Let’s be honest. I have already forgotten it again.
When Tracy asks me to watch a special on the History Channel with him I run away down the hall as fast as I can crying nooo! I tell him my brain does not have the capacity. If I learn something new I am sure to lose something. And I don’t know what tidbit of information I am losing until I need it. Could be someone’s name. Could be how to spell a simple word like the word what.
Travis had his struggles at Humanex. The counselor had a Xbox in his office for the students to use during free time. Travis argued with me one morning, wanting to bring his storage notebook that held his entire game collection. I advised him to bring one or maybe two games to school at a time. He said that the games would be safely kept in the counselor’s office. Are you cringing? Because you know what I am going to type next? The entire collection disappeared.
Travis had a hard time with relationships. The students at this school were his age. Most of the students at TJS were younger. Most of his peers at Humanex did not have the patience to deal with his social ineptness. Travis did make a couple of good friends that he hung out with outside of school. And he is still friends with a few of his classmates today.
Travis did obtain his high school diploma from Humanex Academy in May of 2012.
If you have been following our story, you know that getting Travis through school was a major accomplishment. But quitting was not an option that I would even allow him to consider. My hope was that with time team Travis would discover some way to help him get a handle on his emotions. And that we would find the key to unlock the door to his learning ability.
Having that high school diploma in hand was a positive step to his future. Getting through the process at the time, as hard as it was, would still be easier than going back and trying to earn it later in life. He may have leaned pretty hard on his support group, but he did it.
He fought us every step of the way. He struggled, he cried, he melted down. But ultimately he dug deep and he did it. We couldn’t have been more proud.
“Some quit due to slow progress, never quite grasping the fact that slow progress is still progress.” - Toby Mac
He did it!!
