Six for September: Recommended Reading

It’s the beginning of a new academic year. The pressures from the previous year may still linger in your mind. Undoubtedly there will be more challenges in the year ahead and your stress levels may already be high.

This is a short blog about six books which I recommend for anyone working in classrooms or within the wider education sector. They may change your perceptions and challenge your practice, or they may confirm that you’re already taking the right approach and offer fresh perspectives and ideas.  

Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion, and fitting in. A guide for schools.

Author: Fran Morgan with Ellie Costello. Edited by: Ian Gilbert

Simply put, this should be on the desk of not just every school leader, teacher, and teaching assistant, but every education minister, social worker, education welfare officer, psychologist, and other professionals who work with or advocate for the “square pegs” – the many children who are overwhelmed by and discriminated against in a one-size-fits-all education system.

The real strength of the book is the diversity in background and experience. Each chapter has a different contributor, including teachers, professors, psychologists, youth workers, neurobiologists, and representatives from education, mental health, and social enterprise organisations. The chapters cover a wide range of issues, including attendance, belonging, exclusion, behaviour, trauma, and staff wellbeing.

As so many topics are covered, there is something for everyone. Some readers will enjoy the chapters on school cultures and legal frameworks, while others will gain a lot from the chapters with practical recommendations and accommodations. Language and perspectives are an important thread throughout the book. There is an emphasis on can’t instead of won’t, barriers to attendance rather than school refusal, co-production over coercion, and support instead of punishment.

“Square Pegs” will no doubt challenge your beliefs and how you make sense of behaviour. It doesn’t hold back on sharing real stories and case studies. These will resonate with school staff and families who have seen the stress and pain inflicted by trauma-inducing systems and policies. The book also provides a stage for practitioners who have had the courage to think and act differently. They are the champions of empathy, autonomy, flexibility, regulation, play, and relationships.

Is that clear? Effective communication in a neurodiverse world.

Authors: Zanne Gaynor, Kathryn Alevizos, and Joe Butler.

So many difficult situations in education arise from misunderstandings. I continue to read negative and ableist reports about a child’s communication. They are labelled as rude, aloof, showing poor eye contact, and being in their own world. Thankfully, many neurodivergent practitioners are positively promoting a range of communication styles, such as speaking more directly, taking longer conversation turns, and info-dumping about a topic or interest.

Not only do we need to accept natural differences in communication, but we must also consider how our own communication can be unclear and open to misinterpretation. Adults can speak too quickly, say too much at once, change their words when repeating themselves, and use confusing metaphors and idioms. They can use visuals which are too abstract or write reports with massive paragraphs and few headings. 

While “Is that clear?” is written in the context of neurotypical people making adaptations for autistic people, the key principles are relevant to a range of neurodivergent populations. It’s a small, thin book, and the short chapters are packed with practical examples of unclear communication and how these can be reduced through accommodations. Examples include slowing down your pace of speech, saying what you mean, giving more processing time, and avoiding language which conveys stressful demands. “Is that clear?” also emphasises that speech is not the be-all and end-all of communication and our non-verbal communication also needs to be fine-tuned.

The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance.

Author: Laura Kerbey. Illustrator: Eliza Fricker.

From my own visits to schools and listening to school staff and parents/carers on social media, it’s clear that the expectations and demands placed on children are increasingly out of sync with what they are capable of doing. When our own stress levels are high, our acceptance of poverty, trauma, mental health, and neurodivergence quickly evaporates. Blame, shame, power struggles, and breakdowns in communication become rife. Accommodations for uniform, attendance, and sensory differences diminish, while the likelihood of fines, seclusion, restraint, suspension, and expulsion skyrockets.

Laura’s book nicely illustrates the various demands building over hours, days, and weeks using the bucket analogy. When systems place unbearable pressure on children, it is no wonder we see their bodies shift into fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown. “The Educator’s Experience of PDA” gives voice to these children through real case studies. The chapters focus on a number of ways in which we can lower demands and meet children where they’re at. For example, Laura writes about the importance of humour, the nuances of providing choices, the need to be flexible, and how we should be open-minded about the many different manifestations of anxiety. Other chapters describe the need to validate and empathise with the child’s feelings and develop a genuine interest in their talents and passions.

The illustrations by Eliza Fricker offer a brilliant insight into the child’s perspective in different situations. This book is not about applying generic strategies to change the child. Instead, it gives lots of examples of how we can establish and maintain trusting and authentic relationships. As much as the behaviourist-minded “experts” and influencers would have you believe that more threats, more coercion and more punishment is the answer, Laura reminds us that it’s the adults who need to change. Our expectations, routines, environments, and our whole way of being with children need to be stress reducing rather than stress inducing.

Understanding & Supporting Refugee Children & Young People. A practical resource for teachers, parents, and carers of those exposed to the trauma of war.

Author: Dr Tina Rae.

In the introduction to this book, Dr Rae emphasises the role of educators in supporting children to navigate stressful times. This has shifted from the COVID-19 pandemic to the many refugee children who have experienced the trauma of war and conflict. Dr Rae notes that children in the UK are also being exposed to this trauma through daily TV and social media coverage of global conflicts.  

The chapters in this accessible resource flow naturally from talking to children about conflict to practical ideas for support and the importance of self-care. An enormous range of contexts and issues are covered. You will find ideas and frameworks for recognising distress, making the curriculum accessible, promoting effective communication with families, and creating tools for sensory regulation.

Dr Rae draws on various psychological models and approaches, such as the window of tolerance, emotion coaching, the healthy mind platter, and vicarious trauma. Each chapter is packed with colourful diagrams, clear headings and take-home messages. There are also dozens of handouts and resources which can be completed with children or kept as aide-memoires. Given the scarcity of specialist therapeutic services, Dr Rae highlights how we can still use therapeutic approaches without being therapists ourselves. At its’ heart, this is about being safe, striving to understand, and remaining emotionally available.

Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom. The updated guide to teaching happiness and positive mental health.

Author: Adrian Bethune.

“We have been focusing so hard on filling our children’s heads, but we have forgotten about their hearts”. Adrian’s opening words in the second edition of “Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom” is a rallying call for those who want to see a comprehensive change in priorities within the education system. He has been a leading voice in the campaign to understand and support children’s happiness – a significant influence on their relationships and academic success.

Each chapter is nicely divided into “In theory” and “In action”, with an overview of psychological models and research and examples of how to put it into practice. Overviews of attachment, belonging, negativity bias, and the stretch zone dovetail into ideas for tribal classrooms, good deed feeds, what went well displays, flow-rich activities, and outdoor learning. The positivity is infectious and a striking contrast to those who advocate increasingly rigid and joyless policies.

Not only does Adrian give examples from his practice, but each chapter includes tales from the classroom where teachers describe their own wellbeing approaches. The final chapter of the book focuses on teacher wellbeing, and Adrian provides lots of simple ideas for supporting your own mental health while putting children’s happiness at the centre of the classroom.

Inclusive Education for Autistic Children. Helping children and young people to learn and flourish in the classroom.

Author: Dr Rebecca Wood.

“When I enter a room, I see everything in the room – at once. In some scenarios, this is awful, for example with a very ‘busy’ room that has much to take in, but I will be expected to engage with a professional or be alert and focused”. This is just one of many quotes throughout the chapters which provide the reader with insight into autistic people’s thoughts and feelings about school. Many books on inclusion convey principles and strategies in a “doing to” manner, whereas Dr Wood’s writing is led by the voices of lived experience.

This book effortlessly mixes empirical research, practical ideas, and the day-to-day reality of the school environment. Dr Wood starts with the varied definitions and terminology surrounding autism and uses the social model to consider how attitudes and environments can be disabling for autistic children. She then examines a variety of issues related to communication, social interaction, the curriculum, and holistic approaches to assessment and teaching.

Dr Wood offers accessible explanations of key concepts, such as monotropism, the double empathy problem, the complexity of sensory differences, and the need to respect non-spoken communication. There is also a dedicated chapter on the role of teaching assistants. Key points at the end of each chapter – such as incorporating interests, access to quiet and uncluttered spaces, and respecting socialisation preferences – help the reader to reflect on how inclusive their own practice is. Rather than offering a list of prescriptive strategies, the real strength of the book is enhancing understanding and building empathy for the many barriers which autistic children encounter in the education system.

References

Bethune, A. (2023). Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom. The updated guide to teaching happiness and positive mental health. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Gaynor, Z, Alevizos, K. & Butler, J. (2020). Is that clear? Effective communication in a neurodiverse world. Autism-inspired tips for allistic (non-autistic people). Acrobat Global.

Kerbey, L. (2023). The Educator’s Experience of Pathological Demand Avoidance. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Morgan, F. & Costello, E (2023). Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion, and fitting in. A guide for schools. Carmarthen: Independent Printing Press.

Rae, T. (2023). Understanding and Supporting Refugee Children and Young People. A practical resource for teachers, parents, and carers of those exposed to the trauma of war. Oxon: Routledge.

Wood, R. (2019). Inclusive Education for Autistic Children. Helping children and young people to learn and flourish in the classroom. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.