SENIA March 2022 Newsletter


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Be Like Chris

The Inclusion Revolution is happening. We see a revolution of positive change as more international schools are expanding their inclusive practices in a variety of ways. March happens to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st annually.

This year, something awesome happened on World Down Syndrome Day. Adidas and the Boston Marathon announced they will always hold a place for neurodivergent athletes in their events. Their website states, “When you see yourself represented in sport, you start to see possibilities. So we’re calling on every marathon to hold bib #321, a number representing trisomy 21 in the Down syndrome community, for a neurodivergent athlete to ensure their representation in mainstream sports. It’s time we saw a Runner 321 in every race. Will you join us?”

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Nikic, an American triathlete. Chris was the first individual with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon and was the inspiration behind the above mentioned new initiative.

In addition, Chris started the 1% Better Campaign. All of us at SENIA would like to encourage you to join Chris. Chris’ idea is a simple one; “You get 1% better for 30-days, and you help someone do the same.”

Here’s what you do:

Set a goal for the next 30 days (run 2 miles, swim 20 laps, walk 5 km, etc.)
HELP someone with special needs do the same. (Make sure your goal aligns with their goal and that they want to participate).
Create a plan to improve a little each day.
Share your progress with SENIA and on social media to help raise awareness.

If you go through Chris’ website you can purchase 1% Better t-shirts as well as his book to help support his upcoming Ironman event in Hawaii.

Check out our podcast with Chris to learn more. As with all of our podcasts, a transcription of our discussion is available on our website.

During these particularly difficult times, having a short-term, 30-day goal may help us focus on something positive as well as improve our own physical and mental health. In the meantime, we’re all working toward a common goal; to be inclusive and to be more like Chris!

-Lori Boll, Executive Director

Friendly reminder: We have lots to share. Sometimes in your email, our whole newsletter does not show up. Make sure you click on the 3 dots to "show more."

Meet Chris Nikic: Ironman

Podcast

Join the 1% Better Campaign

Is Your School Considering Opening an Intensive Needs/Higher Support Needs Program?

A team from SENIA invested significant time into researching best practices of numerous international schools that run intensive needs programs. The team compiled and organized the data into a series of helpful videos that outline the necessary steps to create a program of your own.

In addition to full access to our five-part series, you will receive a one-hour individual meeting with a member of the SENIA team to help you in your preparations towards your intensive needs program. You then have the option of continuing the conversation with one of our team members.

Join a growing number of international schools who are committed to supporting all learners by opening an intensive needs program. We are happy to help you along the journey!

Get the Video Bundle

AIS-Dhaka Takes Steps Toward Inclusion

The American International School Dhaka located in Bangladesh decided to register a cohort of individuals for the SENIA coursework. They just finished their first course and are ready for more. This group consists of Learning Support teachers, a counselor, English and EAL teacher, an administrator and a HS Science teacher.

Suzanne Herbert, Director of Support Services and Admissions for AISD told us why her group chose to complete this coursework. "The SENIA courses have helped develop a PLC in evaluating our current support practices. By including teachers/counselors/ support faculty from across divisions and subjects, we are creating a shared understanding that will help guide a school-wide vision for developing research-based approaches across the school. In addition, the professional discussion about the coursework and the direct application in our setting and discussing individual student needs has proven invaluable.

The course will benefit our school in the future in that we have excellent resources to use and modify to fit our context. In addition, as we move to create systems and structures that support an inclusive school model, we have more faculty members who will help implement the changes and lead conversations at different levels in the school. This Professional Development opportunity through SENIA is helping us as a team determine what the priorities need to be and the next steps we need to take as we develop the quality and structures of our support program."

Way to learn as a team, AISD!

Are you interested in signing up a cohort of learners from your school? Contact us today.

Join our SENIA Certification Program- Next Course begins April 4th

Our coursework is perfect for the beginning to intermediate level Learning Support teacher or general educators who want to learn more about supporting students with learning differences.

You can take one course or all six. The certification enrollment is on a rolling basis, so you can start at anytime. Educators who take all six will earn a SENIA certification and badge.

Our April course is entitled Universal Supports. In our May course, we'll be focusing on Supporting the Whole Child.

SENIA Europe Conference

We are still All IN! (Just a little later than we planned). We will see you in Bonn, Germany.

Preconference: September 29, 2022

Main Conference: September 30 & October 1, 2022.

Please save the date & visit our website to see the list of speakers and presentations being offered.

What We Are Watching

I just finished watching CODA, a film that has been nominated for three Oscars including best picture, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor. "CODA" – which stands for "child of deaf adults" – is the story of 17-year-old Ruby, the hearing child of deaf parents (Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur), who's caught between helping her family's fledgling fish business in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and pursuing her singing aspirations in college.

This film features a trio of deaf actors and is being seen as a turning point for the deaf community in Hollywood. Actress Marlee Matlin signed this at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards where the film took top honors "this validates the fact that we, deaf actors, can work just like anybody else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors,"

A representative from RespectAbility, a diverse, disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities stated that "After seeing so many stories where people with disabilities are depicted as helpless, forlorn souls needing to be rescued, it is so refreshing to see a story with deaf characters that are small business owners and leaders in their fishing community, with depth and nuance that rival and even exceed that of their hearing counterparts in the story."

This film provides audiences with authentic representation of deaf people, and leaves viewers hoping for continued representation of deaf people and their stories in future films.

-Kate Balsamo, SENIA Board Member

SENIA Local Chapters

The SENIA Saudi Arabia chapter’s mission is to increase and promote awareness of individuals with neurodiverse needs. Their aim is to bring professionals from different communities across Saudi Arabia together to collaborate and share experiences. They hope to support families and professionals who desire to be well equipped to serve the needs of neurodiverse students.

You can learn more about SENIA Saudi Arabia on their Facebook page where they plan to keep their followers up to date with recent news and events. They can be reached by email at: SaudiArabiachapter@seniainternational.org

Board Members (Left to Right): Rayan Itani (AIS-Riyadh), Roslyn Dotterweich (AIS-Jeddah), Inna Polianka (The KAUST School- Thuwal)

SENIA Beijing Conference- Open to All

Our friends from our SENIA Beijing Chapter are holding their annual conference on April 22nd. As this a virtual conference, participants from around the globe can participate. Be sure to scan the poster for more information.

What We Are Reading

Review by Bahera Abbas, SENIA Associate Director

This book is of great importance as it creates a next step in the journey of education. It’s a revolutionary approach to the RTI (Response to Intervention) process. It builds on the foundation of the PLC (Professional Learning Communities at Work) by focusing on collaboration, learning, and creating a multi-tiered system of support to ensure highly effective levels of learning to all students.

The authors introduced the RTI pyramid upside down. Why? Many traditional RTI approaches highlight Tier 3 on top of the pyramid for special Education/Intensive interventions. The reading behind this is that each school will view each tier as a required step before placing students into special education classes. Unfortunately, this traditional approach will oblige schools to screen and document students for this possible outcome.

The authors used the upside down RTI pyramid to focus on the individual student approach. The importance of this approach is that the school will highlight the fact that every student is capable of learning at high levels. Taking into consideration that not each student learns the same way and at the same speed, or enter schools with the same prior knowledge. In this way, the school builds additional support tiers and they are approached as digging deeper into students' individual needs. Every student might not finish every school year mastering the standards, but it's essential they mastered the learning outcomes. And the teaching for Tier 1 must include instruction, on the skills, knowledge and behavior with respect to the core instruction program that the traditional RTI stresses on.