The objective given to me as a part-time reading teacher was clear: help kids with low Lexile levels improve their reading performance through eight one-hour reading sessions. It’s a tall order for such a short amount of time, but I willingly took on the challenge.

I met all nine kids on Day 1, some of them are kids with autism. I did enjoy our first class but a part of me also wanted to beg off after it. But as soon as Day 8 was over, I said goodbye to the kids and left the school with tears in my eyes. In my heart, I hoped there was still a Day 9 or 10. I think I learned a lot more about life than the kids ever learned from me in those eight sessions.

If you’re a parent or teacher of a neurodivergent kid, this article is especially for you.

(Note: Learners’ names are altered to protect their privacy.)

Our classes were held in the library, the perfect setting to reinforce reading. On Day 1, Martin kept standing and sitting and lying down and back again, and the rest of the class inevitably focused on him than on the task at hand. “How do I proceed with 7 more sessions with them when the first day already looks like this?” I asked myself. I, too, was distracted by Martin who wouldn’t keep himself seated.

But as we were reading our story for the day, we encountered an unfamiliar word: mending. I helped the group decode its meaning by reading the sentences that surround the word, gave them examples, and prompted them with questions, but still, no one got close to the meaning of the word. I was about to give the definition away when Martin said, “Mending means fixing.” I turned to him in awe and said, “That’s right!”

He went on to explain that he encountered the word through a video game. According to him, there’s this “mending tool” in the game which function is to repair.

Let me introduce another kid we’ll call Anna. Of the group, Anna reads at a much slower pace. When we did timed reading, she was the one with the lowest number of words read. Picture this: whenever she reads out loud, her classmates’ facial expressions and body language speak of impatience, as if wanting to take the task off her. I keep reminding them to give her time to finish. There’s this unmistakable sense of accomplishment in Anna’s voice the moment she’s done reading her part.

In the midst of her slow reading, I can’t help but wonder if she understands anything she reads. I feel like most of her energy is spent on reading the words out loud that comprehension is not in the equation anymore. But of the group, Anna is the only one who can answer oral comprehension questions, which made me realize: she just reads slowly, but she understands what happens, and she listens to my reiterations of the important points.

Had I cut her short of her time to read out loud, Anna might not have understood the story. With her, I realized that the time we give our kids to finish their task contributes to the confidence they will need to accomplish other tasks.

Another student I’ll call Gillian finds it hard to understand long texts, as she herself admitted on Day 1. Throughout our sessions, she provides answers which do not hit the questions I asked.

In one read aloud session, I discovered that she can read a story very well – complete with emphatic pauses and vocal expressions. I was so surprised to learn this, that I made sure to tap this particular strength in our succeeding session. I let her lead the group reading, a task she tremendously enjoyed!

Since then, I noticed her increased involvement and participation in our reading tasks. By Day 8, she can already manage to give me correct answers, delivered with utmost confidence.

On Day 8, I asked all of them to write down their plans for the summer so they can get better in reading. A student I’ll call Kayla wrote, “Don’t read too fast so you don’t miss some words.” Upon reading it, I asked unassumingly, “Wow! This is so good! Where did you get this?” She said, “From you. You told this to me.” I was caught off guard!

I learned that kids listen to what we tell them. It may seem like they absentmindedly say yes just so the conversation is over, but they do remember. They keep the things we say in their minds.

Two meetings before our last, I talked to another student who’s so fond of saying, “Miss, it’s hard” whenever I hand them their worksheet. I looked him in the eye and said, “You know what, if you say something’s hard, it’s really going to be hard. Why not try saying, ‘I’ll try, Miss’ instead?” The following meeting, I caught him saying, “This is hard” again. I looked at him. He smiled and said, “I’ll try again, Miss.”

Teaching neurodivergent kids takes a lot of heart. Should you as parents and teachers need more tips and support, mom and psychologist Patricia Pacheco-Beton provides these:

• Set your own expectation. As a parent, we may have different expectations for our children. Take into consideration what your child really needs as of the moment. Never force learning, most especially if you feel and see that they are not yet ready to face a new challenge.
• Go back to basic. Given that there are a lot of reading materials that can be found online, look for the one that will fit both your needs as a parent and your child’s needs. Allow your child to be ready with proper materials. Be equipped with the correct and good foundation before proceeding to the next step/s in reading.
• Dive into real life. Learning by experience and through sensory play is one of the most effective tool when teaching any lesson. Allowing them to apply what they have learned in the real life setting makes it easier for them to build stronger connections from what they have learned.

I came in as a reading teacher, but I finished Day 8 much like a mother who cared for my kids’ needs beyond improving their Lexile scores. Through the pages of the stories we read, I discovered that these kids needed to be seen and met where they’re at. They may have acquired a reading skill or two, but I learned a lot more from teaching them reading – including creating the feeling of home in our small shared space in the library, because home is where genuine learning takes place.