One evening in the Fall of 2014 – years before I had any idea that life would take me in the direction of working with nonspeakers and motor-coaching them for communication – my mind was blown with a new concept: The Growth Mindset.
My own three children were all in elementary school and we had recently moved to a new town, a new home, a new school. It was several years after that night, that I actually cracked open my free book entitled Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives (by Peter H. Johnston) which someone gifted me at a PTA meeting at Columbia Pike Public Library in Arlington, Virginia. But the woman who handed me the book offered an epiphany, through our conversation, nonetheless. She told me about the difference between a “Growth Mindset” and a “Fixed Mindset.” Ever since then I have been gradually and gratefully recovering from the grips of perfectionism, and hoping to offer the same to others.
Let’s get to it. What are these contrasting mindsets and why is it important for Spellers? Simply put, a Fixed Mindset sees talent and intelligence as inherent and generally stable. In other words – sure, we all can improve ourselves somewhat over time, but people basically have certain strengths and weaknesses, end of story. A basic sense of identity about our abilities might include statements such as “he can’t carry a tune in a bucket” or “I’m just not cut out for math.” Even when tempered with positive takes like “but he’s a total science wiz” or “but I’m a brilliant artist,” a sense of identity is formed around fixed characteristics.
In contrast, a Growth Mindset looks at abilities as dynamic and developed through effort and strategy but most importantly: through process. Bringing a Growth Mindset to any task means that the only thing that is inevitable is learning.Trying something new = Change = Learning = Expansion = Becoming Smarter = Growth. If you’re on the journey of spelling, hopefully you have already come to believe that nonspeakers are profoundly smarter than the broader world has understood them to be. Period. But a Growth Mindset takes this further. It is a lens that supports both you and your Speller in realizing your goals of robust communication, increasing autonomy, and more fulfilling lives.
Who doesn’t want to experience life through such a lens? Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 where we’ll dive deeper into the origins of The Growth Mindset and how it applies to supporting and encouraging Spellers.