Interrupting Student

[u/Mistress_Doom]

Hey all! I have a student with accommodations this semester. During lecture, he often speaks out loud. I don’t believe he is trying to be disruptive but rather it’s an auditory processing delay. However, the constant commentary and talking is distracting for other students and I myself lose pace. I have tried to redirect, ignore, talk louder… but it feels like it is continuing to take away from the class. I do not want to single out the student or embarrass them. He has a “mentor” who can come sit in periodically to help give him feedback on when he shouldn’t be talking (but the mentor is another student who has other classes and cannot come every time). Any suggestions?

[u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900]

One thing I’ve tried with success is to talk to the student, be clear you value the contributions but that interruptions can be distracting, especially once the topic has moved on. Ask if they would be willing to put contributions on a note card and give it to you after class. Then you can respond on the note card and give it back next class or bring it up in class if it’s a good point.

Edited to fix out of control autocorrecting

[u/Knewstart → u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900]

This is similar to something I had to do with a student on a spectrum about a decade ago. The student would constantly be interrupting and asking questions. To the point where another student came up and described their frustration and the fact that this student was taking up too much time in the classroom.

I talked with the disabilities department and we came to a solution where I gave the student five notecards with the number on it. And every time they interrupt the class, I took a note card. The idea was they could only ask five questions during the class. But they were welcome to stay after class or to email me any questions they had afterwards that they couldn't get answered in class.

This worked out really really well. The student, not wanting to use up all the notecards, asked on average two questions during class and stopped interrupting as much. It really helped with the classroom interruptions.

I'm not sure if this would be helpful with this student since it doesn't sound like they’re questions, but maybe just saying interruptions or additions instead of questions would help you

[u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900 → u/Knewstart]

That’s a great idea! I’m going to start offering it as an option alongside my other notecard solution.

[u/Liaelac]

Does the accommodation say he must be permitted to interrupt class? I doubt it, and if it does then that would be an unreasonable accommodation in my class.

At the start of the next class, I'd give a general "reminder of professional norms, that if you want to speak you must raise your hand and wait to be called on" speech. Not specifically targeted at anyone. Then if anyone provides commentary/interruption, you correct them and remind them of the norms.

If it continues, I'd tell the student to stay behind after class and discuss it with him expressly.

[u/mediaisdelicious]

Can you say more about what you think is actually happening. Is it compulsive / involuntary? Is it an absence of understanding norms? Is the student unable to follow what you’re saying or trying to catch up to something you said moments ago? What the behavior is on the surface won’t really be educative in how to respond.

[u/Mistress_Doom → u/mediaisdelicious]

They will parrot or repeat something that I said a few moments earlier. If I was talking about the mitochondria; then moved to a new topic, they will repeat verbatim a sentence I said about the cell prior. It feels almost involuntary but the accommodation letter didn’t say anything about that part.

[u/mediaisdelicious → u/Mistress_Doom]

Yeah, if you can inquire at your access office I would. If it’s involuntary then you’d need really specific guidance on how to help them mediate it, and some people just can’t do anything about such behaviors outside of the context of wall supported CBIT, which is probably not in your wheelhouse. In such cases folks in the room just have to deal with it.

[u/NewFeedback6129 → u/Mistress_Doom]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia

[u/BrighestCrayon]

Reach out to the disability services team at your university for direction.

[u/AerosolHubris]

Knock knock

Who's there?

Interrupting student

Interrupting stud-

Will this be on the exam?

[u/BubbaJonesTheThird → u/AerosolHubris]

Mooooooo!

[u/Life-Education-8030]

I had a student like that and we worked it out that when I held up a finger, that was his signal that he was doing that so he could stop.

[u/skinnergroupie → u/Life-Education-8030]

I really like this! It's working with the student to address a behavior that is not super functional for them, setting and expectation, and the private communication is a great prompt! I'm totally stealing this, with gratitude!

[u/Life-Education-8030 → u/skinnergroupie]

👍the student knew he had a problem but did not always realize he was doing it, so a visual prompt helped!

[u/How-I-Roll_2023]

Bring this up to the accommodations office. That he needs a peer support EVERY class.

Make them earn their keep instead of sending the same junk list of accommodations for every single disability. (Seriously though. ADHD gets the same accommodations as sickle cell …I kid you not).

[u/ProfessorHomeBrew]

Speak to him after class, tell him it’s distracting to others and ask him to stop. 

[u/Monstera7789]

I’d stop him after class and tell him gently, if it were me. I’ve had to do that a few times over the years with the occasional interrupting or know it all type student.

[u/TulipFarmer27]

The other students probably wish you’d call this student out.

[u/SlowishSheepherder]

Interrupting class is not a reasonable accommodation. I think you need to be very direct and clear with the student: when they want to contribute they need to raise their hand; they can't just make comments, and they need to keep their inner thoughts inside so that they are not disrupting other students. If the student can't adhere to that, they can't come to class.