Breaking things down, creating routines, and the power of passion with Chris Fugelsang

This week's podcast features my first guest, Chris Fugelsang. Chris is an executive functioning coach, so I figured he would be a perfect person to talk to since that's what I've been talking about all summer! You can listen to this week's episode HERE or watch it on YouTube HERE.

Here's a soundbite from the episode: 

In my early days of teaching, I would get like, five, six kids pulled out of a class and I would have to help them manage school. And they really were weak in those areas. Intellectually they were mostly above or average intelligence, sometimes exceptionally above average. But what I found out was that it wasn't the content that they struggled with, it was these peripheral things around learning, like planning and organizing and sustained attention and study skills and impulsivity and all these other things that they struggled with. But what I was doing as an early teacher was just putting out fires and helping them do work and being a tutor showing them how to get their work done so that they can get the grade. But I wasn't really helping them. I didn't feel as though I was helping. I've almost felt like I was doing them a disservice because they were getting, they were passing the class, but they weren't necessarily learning the skills. And that's kind of what this work is all about is learning the fundamental skills.

This clip really stands out to me, because it highlights that it's not the SETTING that supports our kids in their learning, it's TEACHING THE SKILLS.

Kids don't learn how to study or complete their assignments by being in mainstream classes, and they don't learn how to make friends by being around other kids. If either of these were the case, our kids would function just like everyone else by now. 

But they obviously don't.

The biggest misconception about our program here at Starfish Social Club is that the benefit is in either the group, or the in-person service. 

It's not in either of those.

I'm currently working with a 21-year-old 1/1. He emailed me a bulleted list of what he would like to work on. We have had some amazing conversations and he's recognizing that he's trying to use 'traditional' social skills, which are actually making him seem more awkward. He's not part of one of my groups, and he lives on the other side of the country. It's not the group or the location that leads to social growth.

Sometimes the group actually causes things to be MORE challenging. If you didn't see the video I posted Thursday about our challenging day at summer camp, you can watch it here.

We didn't turn things around because the kids were with me in person. We did it because of the way I interact with the students, the relationship we have, and the skills they have learned in the program.

If I just stuck all my students in a room together so that they would gain social skills, it would most likely end up in chaos and arguments and crying. It's not the environment. that leads to growth. It's the acquisition of skills.

You can listen to this week's episode HERE or watch it on YouTube HERE.

How to contact Chris:

www.exceptionalpath.com

t[email protected]