Repeat. Repeat. Repeat: Why Repetition Isn’t Redundant—It’s Brain-Based
🧠 Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Why Repetition Isn’t Redundant—It’s Brain-Based
Hey SPED Teachers—
Stop worrying that you’re saying the same thing over and over. You should be. In fact, if you’re not repeating yourself, your students might not be retaining what you are teaching them.
Let’s break this down with a little brain science.
🧠 The Malleable Brain: Why Repetition Works
Students with moderate to severe disabilities often need multiple, consistent exposures to new content before it sticks. Why? Because their brains—just like all growing brains—are malleable, meaning they’re capable of being shaped and reshaped over time. This process is called neuroplasticity, and it’s your secret weapon in the classroom.
When you repeat instructions, model behaviors, or practice routines, you're helping the brain build and strengthen neural pathways. Without repetition, the message doesn’t land—or it lands and disappears before it can be useful.
So yes, you might feel like a broken record, but guess what?
Your students need that repetition to thrive.
🔁 3 Repetition Rules for Real-Life Classrooms
Here’s how to stop overthinking it and start intentionally using repetition to elevate instruction and build independence.
🔁 1. Repeat with Purpose, Not Frustration
You’re not just “saying it again.” You’re reinforcing a skill. Shift your mindset:
Repetition isn’t a failure—it’s an instructional strategy.
Try changing the tone, using a visual, or giving a physical prompt alongside your words.
Example:
"First, put the spoon down. Put the spoon down. Now wipe your mouth. Let’s try it again—spoon down… good!"
🧱 2. Build in Repetition Through Routine
Consistency is repetition. Embed core skills (like handwashing, requesting help, cleaning up, or transitioning) into your daily structure. The more predictable it is, the more likely it’ll stick.
Classroom Hack:
Use First-Then boards, visual schedules, and song cues to reinforce repeated routines.
🗣️ 3. Vary the Method, Keep the Message
Repetition doesn’t mean boring. You can say the same thing five different ways to increase engagement and access:
Verbally
With visuals
Through gestures/signs
With modeling
Using music or chants
Add choreography
Same instruction, new delivery. That’s how we reach diverse learners.
🔄 Repeat to Empower
Students with significant disabilities aren’t incapable of learning—they just need more reps. You are building functional communication, daily living skills, and independence with every repeated directive, reminder, and modeled behavior.
You’re not nagging. You’re rewiring the brain.
✅ Try This Tomorrow:
Pick 2 daily routines to reinforce through repeated practice
Use a verbal + visual cue with every instruction
Celebrate micro-successes loudly and proudly
👏 Final Word:
Special education isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what works.
And repetition works.
So go ahead and say it again. And again. And again.
You’re not just repeating instructions—you’re building new neural connections, one prompt at a time.
📚 Ready to SLAY the Whole Year?
Don’t just survive—own your role as a badass SPED educator with the tools, mindset, and fire your students deserve. Grab these game-changing resources:
🔥 The Special Ed Rookie Blueprint: How to Crush Your First 100 Days
Your no-fluff guide to mastering your first year in special education.🤝 The Co-teaching Playbook: Partnerships That Get Sh*t Done!
Everything you need to co-teach with confidence and stop being sidelined in inclusion.🚨 Unapologetically Special: A Manifesto for SPED Teachers to Disrupt, Demand, and Deliver
A raw, revolutionary call-to-action for SPED teachers who are ready to flip the system.
💥 Read them. Live them. Share them. Change the game.
If you haven’t already, join our Facebook tribe
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