I emailed my teacher I wanted to switch seats as I felt excluded in my current group and told him I will step out of class when I get too anxious. Communication with teachers is a scary part & I’ve avoid that all my 10 years going to school but I’ve learnt that they have to manage 30 students in a room and all they know about you is very surface level. They don’t know what obstacles you carry during class so you need to advocate for yourself, speak yourself. Though for most people they would delete some part of the email to make it not long to not bother them, but I say they’re humans as well and 9/10 they probably can relate to you as much as your surprise. So don’t hold back as you need both parts of the story to meet at the bridge.

I think it can be scary to communicate with teachers, they are authority figures after all, but they’re working for YOU. Part of being an effective teacher is wanting to have any and all the pertinent information your students are willing to share with you so that you can best help them learn. Teachers see the bigger picture even to the extent of spending plenty of time making strategic seating charts. An effective teacher will not have a “random” seating chart; that’s a recipe for disaster if Emma can’t see the board, quiet and anxious Anna is missing sitting with her friend, George’s ADD is triggered by being able to see the whole class from the back, and chatty José is sitting on the opposite side of the teacher with his two best friends. An effective, productive learning environment is all by design and considering all factors like student personalities, abilities, willingness to sit in the back or the front (if it’s in the student’s best interest to have a choice.) It’s absolutely best to know about a student’s anxiety ahead of time so that the systems are in place for your comfort. Teachers need to go through every lesson plan and consider: How will this affect my learners with ADD? Anxiety? Strong personalities? What different learners do I have in my second hour? Sixth hour? If you don’t speak up, they can’t consider you. Maybe the teacher picks random partners for the class but always lets you work with a friend. Maybe you raise a peace sign when you’re feeling overwhelmed to signal that you have to leave class. Maybe in case of a panic attack, Cassidy is in charge of running the timed activity, Charlie’s in charge of the two bathroom passes, and Alex goes next door to inform Ms. Smith that you’re stepping out of your classroom while you and Alyssa walk down to the office for a breath. It’s for liability reasons that classes need to have a teacher monitoring at all times even if it’s just from the hallway. Even the most effective teachers can be caught off guard by the urgent need to leave during an important activity for “no reason,” or a panic attack of a student that “didn’t” have anxiety. Again, it’s all about having those procedures in place to help students succeed. If student A needs to walk the halls, maybe they have a special pass or admin are informed on the situation. Some students take advantage of teachers by using hall passes to avoid schoolwork, so it’s something that needs to be monitored and controlled. If there’s a medical reason for why you may need accommodations, a well trained teacher will thank YOU for that information and will most likely want to know more throughout the year. They’ll use their education, brainpower, training and resources to work with YOUR on what you need to succeed. Disclaimer: Some teachers may be lazy with thinking up accommodations to help you and try to pigeon hole you into learning the material in a way that won’t work for you. In that case, I would encourage you to consult with the 504 plan coordinator at your school. When in doubt, you can raise concerns to admins and special education teachers who can either help you or point you in the right direction. From a former long term substitute (who was still very full time and had all of the responsibilities of a regular teacher), best of luck this school year 🍀