Begin with the life the student wants to live.
Brooks continually asks: What will help this student participate as independently as possible? Developmental sequences and best practices matter, but they serve the student—they do not become barriers to participation.
Academics
A calculator may make real shopping, budgeting, and problem-solving accessible while mathematics instruction continues.
Occupational therapy
If typing makes it easier to express ideas than handwriting, the student can use a keyboard now while continuing to develop fine-motor skills.
Mobility
A student who propels a gait trainer backward has discovered a functional strength worth using.
Adaptation is not giving up.
Alternative tools and strategies allow a student to participate now while continuing to learn. The objective is not to make every student perform a task in the same way. It is to increase agency, access, dignity, and quality of life.
Sometimes success is finding a different path to the same destination.