Looking Through Their Eyes

BY SUSANNA PINKUS

Seeing the world through a young person’s eyes, in order to enable them to be, and feel, understood at home and school, is my aim.

Whenever a young person trusts me with their story, I explore holistically what is going on.

So often, there are feelings of anxiety and overwhelm related to unmet sensory needs such as noise, movement, touch, smell, and taste. 

Social communication needs which do not obviously show in lessons but create undue stress at breaks and lunch time and PE. 

Difficulties with attention — more often than not, these are inattentive rather than hyperactive, so the child is seen as daydreamy or just not that engaged in class.

Spiky cognitive profiles with substantial strengths that mask areas of need for a time, but as the work becomes more difficult, the cracks begin to show.

By understanding what is actually happening for that young person, and introducing gentle adaptions (with their buy-in), situations can often be hugely improved and quickly. And this is why I love what I do.

Credit: Artwork by Ria Mishaal, using components by herself and Inna Sinano and gnatuk and Ger Bosma Photos/Shutterstock.com