Everyone needs help sometimes and that’s okay. Asking for help can be challenging for our students with special needs. Learning to ask for help is a skill that sometimes needs to be taught. You might have students who need help and don’t ask for help. They may continue to work and get the answers wrong or they may just sit there and look around because they don’t know how to answer the questions. They may even try to avoid or escape the tasks. None of these are solutions to helping your students, but they may not know that. It’s our job, and it’s often an IEP goal for students to learn to ask for help when they need it.
Here’s how I teach students to ask for help. VISUALS! Using a visual reminder helps students become more independent in asking for help when they need it.
I use a two sided card. The green side says “I can work on my own.” The red side says “I need help.” Having these visual reminders encourages students to ask for help and also lets the teacher know when they are able to work independently. The students can either hold up the card showing the side that says they need help OR if your students are becoming more independent at asking (or if you have students who don’t like to look like they’re asking for help) then they can just flip the card and the teacher will see it on red when walking or scanning the room.
If you want these Help Cards for your students, you can click here or on the image above to sign up to get them in your inbox. I hope these help your students as much as they have helped mine!
