Access Through Action

11/10/2026

Empowerment by design, technology helps but it the work families put in, goes far beyond fitting and therapies.

01/10/2026

Long before I had the words "sensory processing," I was learning to read it. Still today it is under recognised nor does it get enough consideration.

The meltdown after a busy day. The child who can't sit still on the mat but focuses beautifully after ten minutes of movement.

The constant fidgeting, the crashing, the "won't listen."

Often it isn't "won't." It's "can't yet." The body isn't ready.

So much of what gets called behaviour in our kids, whether they have ADHD, autism, hearing loss, or all of the above, is a nervous system trying to feel safe and settled.
A child described as hostile is a child in need, not ignored.

When we meet that need first, a lot of the struggle eases. The diagnosis doesn't change, but the child is no longer fighting their own body just to get through the day.

What I've seen make the biggest difference is simple, everyday access:

🔹 Movement before learning, not as a reward after it.

🔹 Heavy work like carrying, pushing, and bouncing before listening tasks.

🔹 Weighted tools, fidgets, and water play to calm and ground.

🔹 Visual timers so kids don't have to hold the whole day in their head.

🔹 Fewer visual distractions and softer lighting

🔹 A self-soothing kit that goes everywhere
None of it is expensive. All of it is access.

If your child is "too much" or "not listening," try a different question: what does their body need right now?

When behaviour is questioned, question access and the ability to participate.

09/09/2026

🚨 TEACHERS, STOP ASKING “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

You explain a lesson.

You look at the class.

Then you ask:

👉🏽 “Do you understand?”

And what do you hear?

“YES!” 😭

But five minutes later, you ask a question… and suddenly everybody is looking at the ceiling. 😂

The problem is that “Do you understand?” often measures confidence, not comprehension.

A child may say yes because:
• They don’t want to look confused.
• They are afraid to ask questions.
• They think their classmates understand.
• They genuinely think they understand… until they have to apply it.

So, instead of asking “Do you understand?”, try these 5 questions:

1️⃣ “Can you explain what we just learned in your own words?”

This checks whether the child can actually process and communicate the idea.

2️⃣ “Can you show me how you got your answer?”

Perfect for Mathematics, Science and problem-solving.

Don’t just check the answer. Check the thinking.

3️⃣ “Can you give me your own example?”

If they can create an example, they probably understand the concept—not just the definition.

4️⃣ “What part was difficult for you?”

This gives children permission to admit confusion without feeling embarrassed.

Sometimes the child doesn’t need the whole lesson repeated. They need one small part explained differently.

5️⃣ “What would you teach your friend about this?”

🔥 THIS ONE IS POWERFUL.

If a child can teach the concept to someone else, you’ve moved beyond memorisation to understanding.

And here’s something every teacher should remember:

Silence does not always mean understanding.
Nodding does not always mean understanding.
And “Yes, ma!” does not always mean understanding. 😂

As teachers, our goal shouldn’t simply be to finish the lesson.

Our goal is to know:

“Did the child actually learn?”

📌 Save this post.
📤 Send it to a teacher who needs this reminder.

And teachers, be honest… how many times do you still ask “Do you understand?” after teaching? 😂👇🏽



I am Chibuihe Favour
A Teacher Empowerment Advocate

08/09/2026

A brilliant ad from Apple that has won an award and so it should. Enabling is not hard, it just requires exploration and creative awareness.
Our passion is empowering yours.

Apple has built-in accessibility features like Magnifier, Accessibi...

02/09/2026

Capacity outcomes matter, but can't be achieved or demonstrated while systems don't collaborate on the continuity of access across more than one task or environment at a time. Why complicate it, secure personal access first and independent ability to participate wherever possible. One well considered device, can replace multiple.

09/08/2026

When new devices are upgraded, it doesn't mean they always behave the same way.

Have you upgraded your cochlear processor lately..

If your finding that your Bluetooth connectivity drops out try this. If it helps, please like and follow our page.

To fix a Cochlear Nucleus 8 (N8) that stopped connecting to Bluetooth, forget the processor in your phone's Bluetooth settings, restart both your phone and the N8 processor by turning it off and on again, and re-pair the device through your phone's accessibility menu or the Nucleus Smart App.

Quick Troubleshooting Steps Forget the device:

Go to your phone Bluetooth settings, find your N8, tap "Forget This Device" or unpair it.

Power cycle:
Turn your smartphone completely off and back on. Turn your N8 processor off (remove battery or place on charger) and back on.

Toggle Bluetooth:
Turn your phone's Bluetooth off for 10 seconds, then turn it back on.

Re-pair fresh:
Put the N8 into pairing mode and reconnect it through your device settings or the Cochlear Pairing Guide instructions

Fingers crossed!

30/07/2026

Getting out and about today, I look forward to catching up with people and exploring options that empower.

28/07/2026

Is it really an ACCESS problem, or an APPROACH problem? 🤔

One of the most useful questions we ask in AT Mentoring is this: when something isn't working, is the barrier actually about access, or is it about how the task is currently being attempted?

They can look identical from the outside, but they need completely different solutions.
🔹 ACCESS barrier
The environment, equipment, or information genuinely isn't reaching the person the way they need it to.
Example: A child can't follow the teacher in a noisy classroom because there's no FM/Roger system connecting to their hearing device.
→ The fix here is about removing the barrier: better equipment, better environmental setup, better connection.

🔹 APPROACH barrier

The access is actually fine, but the way the task is being done doesn't match how this person takes in and processes information.

Example: A child has a working FM system, but instructions are still only ever given verbally and quickly, with no visual backup, no processing time, and no way to check understanding. The fix here isn't more equipment. It's adjusting the strategy: how instructions are given, paced, or supported.

Why this matters:
If you treat an approach problem as an access problem, you can end up adding equipment or funding requests that don't actually solve anything and the person still struggles, but now it looks like "the tech didn't work" rather than "the task needs to be done differently."
And if you treat an access problem as an approach problem, you can end up asking someone to "try harder" or "adapt" to a situation that genuinely isn't accessible to them.

The starting point is always the individual's profile: how they actually take in, process, and communicate information. From there, we can properly separate:
✅ what needs to be removed or upgraded (access), and
✅ what needs to be adjusted or taught differently (approach)

Once you know which one you're dealing with, the right strategy usually becomes a lot clearer.

If you're not sure which one is showing up for your child or yourself, that's exactly the kind of thing we work through together.

"CONNECT with us to IDENTIFY the barrier, ADJUST the approach, and ACHIEVE the outcome."

24/07/2026

Built-In Accessibility and Apps: Tools Already On the Device...

A lot of accessibility support is already sitting on phones, tablets, and laptops, unused, because nobody told families it was there.

Reading (dyslexia traits)
Built-in text-to-speech (Speak Screen, Select to Speak, Immersive Reader)
Adjustable font, spacing, and background colour
Read-aloud apps that highlight text as it's spoken.

Writing (dysgraphia traits)
Built-in dictation and voice-to-text
Word prediction keyboards
Apps to plan out loud before typing.

Maths (dyscalculia traits)
Apps showing quantity visually before a written number
Visual number lines built into learning apps
Calculator access as an accommodation, not a shortcut

Working memory:
Built-in reminders, visual timers, step-by-step checklists
Apps that break instructions into one step at a time
Recording apps to replay instructions

Visualising language:
Some children don't naturally form a mental picture from words. Certain apps pair language with image, symbol, or sequence, so a picture builds alongside the words
None of this replaces a proper assessment. But most of it costs nothing and is already sitting in settings menus.

If your child is working hard just to access the task, it's worth checking what's already built in.

24/07/2026

Reading for Life:
A Program That Gives Confidence Back.

I want to be clear from the start. This is not a promotion. I have no relationship with this program beyond my own lived experience using it as a parent.

I'm sharing it because it did something for me that very few things did in those early years.
It gives confidence back.
Not confidence that things would "catch up" or fit some standard timeline. Confidence that what you're doing is actually working. As a parent, that's sometimes all you need.

You can put in the time every single day, but if you don't believe the strategies are landing, that time feels like a fight. Reading for Life changed that for us.

Here's what I noticed most. The switch wasn't really about the reading itself. It was about the sheer enjoyment of attempting the task. The moment something stops looking, feeling, or sounding overwhelming, a huge hurdle disappears before you even get to the reading part.
Reading avoidance and behavioural avoidance go hand in hand. A task that feels gruelling and exposing will be avoided every time it can be, and that avoidance so often gets read by adults as defiance, laziness, or lack of effort. It's none of those things.
It's a nervous system trying to avoid something that feels unsafe or impossible.
When a task is broken down properly, it can feel like a game instead of a test. That shift alone changes willingness to try.

One thing I've learned through this: knowing what the barrier is doesn't automatically tell you how to target it. Naming a diagnosis is not the same as knowing what to actually do at the kitchen table. Programs like this are valuable because they sit in that gap, between the diagnosis and the daily practical strategy.

If you're a parent standing in that gap right now, wondering if what you're doing is enough, I see you.

Keep looking for the tools that make the attempt feel possible. That's often the whole battle.

You may talk to your school, perhaps raise it at a P&C meeting, ask your school if they can support introducing the program which provides the tools, when schools can support these initiatives it does more than just provide tools, it creates collaboration, consolidates support across environments, provides the child structured activities and concrete manipulative tools they can build rather than have to have broken down. This feeds into further stepping stones and available programs often seeing continuity of learning and greater outcomes due to the foundations that came before.

Reading for Life® - Learning Links

Reading for Life is a fully funded school-based program that empowers children in Years 2-4 who are having difficulties or falling behind in their literacy development.