LIVING IN THE ORANGE
But, don’t freak out. Uninfluenced open spelling support isn’t just making sure you “blank your mind” (which is virtually impossible anyway unless you’ve logged some serious meditation hours) but ethical open spelling support is a skill that can be learned.
One key pitfall that may lead Practitioners, CRPs, and Parents to influence non speakers they are supporting, is rushing to and through the in-between.
Influence is defined as “the power or capacity of causing an effect in INDIRECT or INTANGIBLE ways.”
In the acquisition phase of S2C, we DIRECTLY and TANGIBLY coach the body and support regulation to aid in the acquisition of the motor skill of getting to intended letters.
Is this influencing?
NO!!
It is COACHING because of the body based, direct and tangible supports provided to coach the body. Would we consider a basketball coach teaching a child to shoot a free throw to be influencing or coaching?
Coaching!!
When we work with nonspeakers, we assume that both the communication support person and the nonspeaker know the intended letter, but that the nonspeaker does not yet have the motor skill to reliably get to the letter that they want with accuracy and consistency.
Therefore, we prompt the body (without physically touching the client) to hit the target so they can develop accurate, efficient, and precise motor skills.
Again. Sinking the free throw. Increasing the batting average.
This distinction of coaching vs. influence is very difficult to understand if you are functioning under the assumption that the nonspeaker is intellectually in-competent but makes perfect sense if you assume that the disability is body based.
It’s really important to keep in mind. Spelling to Communicate is like a sport for our nonspeakers. It is a body based skill.
If a speller and the support person are given the time to adequately move through the board and question hierarchy in S2C with patience and fidelity, uninfluenced open spelling will be the byproduct.
Reminders, tips, and questions to ask yourself:
Check in – know when to move up on the boards and question types.
- 3 Boards to 26 Board – high accuracy without directional or gestural support on 3 boards over multiple sessions before 26 board. (With flow, without fatigue) (unless working with an experienced speller that is just new to you).
- Moving to Broad Semi Open on 26 Board – high accuracy without directional or gestural support ongreen questions over several sessions and high accuracy on tight semi opens before moving to broad orange questions. You need to know that your speller can get to their intended letters.
In broad orange, you as the communication support person need time to transition and acclimate yourself from proactively coaching the nonspeaker’s body to get to the intended letter, to realizing that they can now get to their intended letter and that you are on the receiving end. This gets much easier once you have practiced the skill with multiple spellers.
Purposeful practice (on appropriate boards) over time is the only way to successfully acquire the skill of accurate pointing in order to use Spelling to Communicate to express thoughts and ideas. - 26 Board to Laminate – Several open sentences / a paragraph spelled on the 26 board with accuracy, flow, and without fatigue.
- Laminate to Keyboard (if a goal of the speller) – Multiple paragraphs of spelling on the laminate with accuracy, flow, and without fatigue.
If you’re struggling with “sloppy” spelling or lots of mis-pokes, and are worried about “guessing” or influencing, move back on the boards or question types until you find the sweet spot where practice is purposeful and you are right on the edge of skill acquisition. You might just be practicing too far ahead with a motor demand and/or cognitive demand that is too high.
Receive don’t anticipate
Now that you’ve ensured you’ve practiced on the appropriate boards through acquisition and are ready to live in the Orange, you have the platform set to receive letters without anticipating what the speller is going to spell.
But…our brains are wired to try and finish things for us!
Here are some things that help me.
- Try shifting your gaze from the letters on the board to the speller’s finger or pencil. Just this subtle change in focus does wonders for my overly helpful brain.
- Make sure you’re regulated before you sit down to work with a nonspeaker.
- Take a moment of stillness with the nonspeaker before you jump right in. Find a place of co-regulation, noticing, and mutual readiness. You are slowing yourself to meet them in their timeframe.
- Make sure your initiation, eye, and continuation prompts don’t completely drop off when you move into open spelling. Sometimes by trying so hard “not to influence” we remove all support without realizing it.
- Notice, cooperate with, and support the particular speller. Get out of your head. As a coach, we get to know the person, support and teach their body, and feel out when they’re ready emotionally and physically (skills wise) to try something new. We are in a partnership.
Receiving letters means never rushing.
By “living in the orange” as one nonspeaker put it, nonspeakers are allowed to explore taking the lead in the safety of a strong context and (a piece that is often forgotten) the support person learns the skill of receiving letters, confidently following, and trusting that all the practice has indeed led to the acquisition of skill. This sets both parties up for authentic uninfluenced open spelling.
Embrace the orange and Happy Spelling!
About the Author
Gigi Nelson is a Certified S2C Practitioner and Mom to two non speakers. She writes at Magicpencil.substack.com
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3 Responses
I also loved when you sid to take a moment of stillness with the nonspeakers, before jumping right in. I love this suggestion and I’ll go for it. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I found the answers to my questions, in this blog on “Living in the orange”!
Thanks a lot!
Thanks this was very helpful. My daughter is 51. She has some minimal verbal skills. We have been using spelling in some form or another for years, and I have felt strongly that I am influencing her. If I think of a letter she touches it, so I haven’t really had a lot of faith in the process. This makes me want to try it again.