The Competence Code
For special educators and teachers who work with students with severe learning differences.
You believe in your minimally speaking / non speaking student. You just don't know what to do about it on Monday morning.
Inside The Competence Code we'll show you:
- Learn the labels and diagnoses that don't directly serve you, including labels like intellectual delay, genetic conditions, and in one case, a GLP processor
- Walk through the 3 foundational principles that hold for every learner, no matter their diagnosis
- Practice the skill of reading whether a student is actually open to learning right now, instead of guessing
- Get 3 specific moves you can use in your very next lesson
The Competence Code
Give me 80 minutes and you'll walk away knowing exactly how to presume competence with the student everyone else gave up on.
Why I teach this
My son's school oscillated between presuming genius and assuming intellectual delay. And neither worked. No one seemed to know how to teach him, so I had to homeschool him myself to actually teach him.
Since then, more and more parents and students have told me the same story: they're being taught nothing at school. High schoolers still being taught to count.
I hear from teachers too. Teachers want to do more, but the systems aren't in place. And they have no idea where to start when a student is just not responsive and seems completely disinterested.
That's what The Competence Code is. A live walkthrough of the moves that turn presuming competence from a belief into something you actually do on a Tuesday afternoon.
I'm Dr. Vaish Sarathy. I am an educator, and I help parents, and now teachers, stop guessing and start teaching kids others (including school systems) are giving up on. This workshop is the first step in my endeavor to support overburdened teachers.
Got a question?
Will this work if my student is minimally speaking / non speaking or has limited communication?
Yes. That's exactly who this workshop is built for. The moves don't depend on your student's ability to answer back.
What if I've never used presuming competence in my classroom before?
Even better. You won't have habits to undo. We build the moves from the first principle up.
Will I have time to actually apply this, or is it just theory?
This is concept-first, not a lecture. You'll walk through real classroom scenarios and leave with three specific moves for your very next lesson.
My students have a lot of behaviors. Will this still work?
Yes. Part of the workshop is specifically about telling the difference between a behavior that means stop and one that means keep going, so behaviors stop being the reason you hold back.
I have to stick to IEP goals. Does this fit inside that?
Yes. Nothing here asks you to abandon your IEP. It changes how you read and respond to your student inside the goals you already have.
Can I get a refund if it's not for me?
No refunds on this workshop. The replay is included, so even if the live session doesn't land for you, you've got it to revisit.
Do I need Building Intelligence and Critical Thinking in Your Students to make this work?
No. The Competence Code stands on its own. Building Intelligence and Critical Thinking in Your Students is for teachers who want the full academic growth system once these three moves feel natural, not a requirement to benefit from today.
The Competence Code
You believe in your minimally speaking / non speaking student. You just don't know what to do about it on Monday morning.
