It's OK to be silent!

Supporting school staff in mainstream schools, when the teacher's and TA's have no experience of working with blind or visually impaired students is rewarding but you need confidence to say it as it is. Many practitioners who are new to working with blind or visually impaired students have a tendency to talk through everything, describe everything, may talk when the teacher is talking and fill the silent gaps.

The truth, from my experience, is that these students need some silence during lessons. They need time to process what they are listening to, focus on the braille they are reading or the image they are interpreting. It takes confidence in the one to one, or teacher to be silent and allow the student to work independently, to explore through touch and think about what they are going to do to answer a question or complete a task but be there to answer questions and have discussions as necessary.

When supporting settings and families I always make it clear that - 'It's OK to be silent'.