Activity 9.2 PROVIDE SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE

 PROVIDE SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES 

The changes that take place for a family of a child with special needs are often out of the family member's control, so it can be a confusing and frustrating time. Parents may begin to feel helpless and powerless with decisions often being made by professionals outside of the family unit regarding what is best for their child. An important part of your job is to provide support and assistance for children with exceptionalities which will enable them to receive quality community services. You can do this by:

• Providing the child, staff and parents with access to the resources they need
• Helping children to access the appropriate type of service for their condition that will suit both their needs and the needs of their family
• Helping parents to develop an individual programme for each child’s development
• Informing parents about workshops on child development and children with special needs There is often an assumption that the quality of education for all students will decrease if children with exceptionalities are included in the programme. Parents of children with exceptionalities feel that their children will not get the necessary attention and specialized instruction that they need. On the other hand, parents of the other children feel that those with disabilities will hold back the class because of the additional attention that they require. In order to maintain quality in early childhood education, it is important to provide the additional services that a child requires. It does not benefit anyone to try to include a child with a developmental delay in an early childhood programme without the necessary services. Not every child with a developmental delay will need an additional staff person or speech and physiotherapy services. Parents, staff, specialists and the manager must work together to determine and secure whatever resources the child requires. For example, if an exceptional child in an inclusive ECI is crawling and needs to be carried sometimes, the manager should arrange for an additional part-time staff member. If the child needs additional assistance with gross motor skills and language, a physiotherapist and speech therapist should visit the child at the centre. The staff at the ECI should have access to the information they require to provide the quality care and education that the child needs. The staff may need additional materials and opportunities to attend conferences, workshops and specialized training sessions.

CHECKPOINT- Complete using the comment section below. Number your responses. Do not rewrite the questions. Add your name or initial to your comment. 

1• Why do most parents need assistance and support with ensuring that their children receive quality community services?
2• How can you provide the necessary assistance and support?
3• Why are parents of children with exceptionalities often concerned about the quality of the care and education that their children will receive in inclusive settings?
4• How can the management of inclusive ECIs ensure that exceptional children receive quality care and education in their setting?

Activity 9.1 Segregated Services and ECIs

 

Read the content below and complete the activities as indicated. 

MAKE AVAILABLE INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICES

Segregated – the practice of keeping one child or group of children with exceptionalities separate from the other children You have already learnt in Element 1 that you may be the first professional to talk to parents about their child’s developmental delays. You should therefore take a proactive approach by informing them about the options for the care and education of their child. Parents will therefore have an understanding of their child's needs and will be capable of making informed decisions for their child. Although you are keen to provide adequate information, you should always remember that parents know their children best and are ultimately in the best position to make the decisions regarding their care. Children are considered to be exceptional when their educational programme must be altered to meet their unique needs. In order to access community services, children must demonstrate a clear need for support services to reach their full potential. Some of these community services are considered to be segregated while others are considered to be inclusive.

Segregated community services
• Home based services – these services involve a nurse or early childhood special educator visiting the family in their home on a regular basis. This type of service is frequently used for infants and young children with serious medical conditions.
• Centre based services – these services may be situated in hospitals, schools, childcare centres, public or private agencies. The parents are usually responsible for bringing the child to the centre, although some may provide transportation. Some programmes are designed for a specific disability such as hearing impairments, while others serve children with a variety of disabilities. These centres usually have a team of specialists as well as specialized materials and equipment.
• Home/Centre-based services – some programmes are a combination of both home-based and centre-based services. In these programmes children go to the centre but have a home-based component as well. Trained professionals are in charge of the programme and parents can consult with them on a regular basis.
• Hospital-based care – most hospitals are designed for short-term care. The focus is primarily on medical rather than on social needs. The length of a child’s stay and the seriousness of the illness will determine how much contact a child will have with the early intervention team.
• Residential care – a residential programme is a treatment facility that is not a medical facility, where young children live in order to receive intervention/educational services. Some children whose parents cannot care for them live in nursing homes or government institutions where they receive care and education.
Inclusive community services Inclusion means removing barriers and providing supports in order to allow children with disabilities to participate in all aspects of life to the best of their abilities. This is important because:
• All children need a sense of belonging in their communities for self-esteem and healthy child development
• Being with other children helps children with disabilities to learn social skills
• Inclusion contributes to children leading active and independent lives
• Inclusion helps make other children more aware, sensitive, and compassionate

Early childhood institutions

Many children with disabilities are included in early care and education settings. In these programmes, early childhood special educators and other professionals train the childcare provider to be a part of the early intervention team. Barriers to accessing services were already discussed in a previous section. When you provide clear and accurate information to parents, you have already eliminated the barriers associated with lack of awareness and the confusion that parents experience in selecting the service that best deals with their child’s needs. Providing information on the other barriers will have the added advantage of making parents more prepared and equipped to handle any problems that may arise.

Pages 21-23 of your prescribed text.  

Complete the following checkpoints by replying to each comment I will make below. State your name or add your initials when replying. 

Session 2. Manage Stress Discussion and Activity

 

Look at the image above. What are 3 thoughts relating to stress that comes to your mind? 

What do you think maybe causing her to react in this manner?

What do you suggest she does to manage the situations? 

Let us say that Mary above was tasked with preparing for an annual fish fry. She forgot to completed needed tasks. 

You were asked to help her get things ready for the fish fry. How can you help her to get things in order? 

Use this link to learn more.(6 minutes read) 

 https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_04.htm 

Record your response in your notebook and prepare for live discussion. 

Write the notes that follow in your notebook/print the webpage if you are able to. 

Stress Reduction Strategies

Stress reduction strategies may include:

Family Support

Time out

Group activity

Sharing work

Staff intervention

Awareness raising

Training

Stress related signs may include:

 absence from work

 poor work performance

 conflict

 substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)

 illness

Sources of stress may include but not limited to:

 workloads

 complex tasks

 work and family conflict

 cultural issues

 financial situations

Getting Help 

Help may include:

 review of job design

 counselling

 mediation

 family support

 team support

TASK: Use the comment section below to answer these questions in one post. Add your name at the start of your comment. For example: Saskia- Stress is .....  Two tecniques for managing stress includes....support groups are important in managing stress because....sharing work load is relieves stress by....

Feel free to record your answers in your note book for future reference. 

1.      Define stress (2 marks)

2.      Write two techniques for managing stress. (2 marks)

3.      Highlight the relevance of support groups in managing stress. Add 2 reasons. (4 marks)

4.      How can sharing workload relieve stress? (2 marks)

CLASS REGISTER Use this link to complete today's class register: https://forms.gle/eU2SqzDnzF2C1EgE8 

SPARE TIME ADDITIONAL NEEDED READING: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm

 

 

Activity 8.3 IDENTIFY ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES & Other topics

READ THE CONTENT BELOW AND COMPLETE THE CHECKPOINT  IN YOUR NOTEBOOK AND IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW WITH YOUR NAMES. 

 IDENTIFY ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES

The professionals referred to in the previous element, work either individually or together to
provide community services for the care and development of children with exceptionalities.
Children can access a range of community services depending on their specific disability,
medical condition, family needs, location (urban or rural) and funding. These community
services vary according to their:
• Location
• Level of inclusion
• Focus (child or family)
• Level of formality (formal/informal)
• Ownership/funding (private or government)
Once it has been determined that a child needs community services, some of the issues that may
arise include:
• Inadequate information about the available community resources
• Criteria for accessing community services may be confusing to parents
• Getting a referral to see the specialist – some services can be accessed directly by
parents/guardians, while other need a referral from the Early Childhood Institution and
others may require a referral from a medical doctor or another related professional  • Matching the community service/resource to the family need
• How soon the service can be accessed – there are sometimes long waiting lists to see
specialists
• The cost of the service and who will pay for it – some individuals have health insurance,
others pay privately while others who cannot afford either, will have to rely on
government funding
• Lack of continuity of services/programmes from one community to another
• The limited availability of needed services/resources in certain areas, for example rural or
inner city areas
• The level of cooperation/participation that can be expected between parents and the
service delivery system – For example, if mothers work, home-based services will not be
a feasible option unless specialists are prepared to work in the evenings and on weekends

CHECKPOINT
• What are some of the differences between the different community
services provided for children with exceptionalities?
• What are some of the issues affecting access to the various community
services by children with exceptionalities?

DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE NETWORK OF COMMUNITY SERVICES

As an early childhood worker, you are a part of the early intervention team and as such, you will
be required to take specific action in order to assist parents to deal with difficulties experienced
with accessing community services. You may need to update your knowledge on various options
for accessing services/resources. In addition to knowing where to start looking for resources in
any community, you should also be aware of how to build links in the community to stay abreast
of new information.
You will also be required to develop and maintain a network of community services that can be
easily accessed by children with exceptionalities. Social networks are made up of people who are
outside the home but engage in activities or support (material and/or emotional) for the family.
Support networks can be formal or informal.
• Formal networks - are usually made up of professionals involved with service agencies.
• Informal networks – are usually made up of friends, neighbours and family members
There is some concern that families with disabilities may lack informal networks and rely mainly
on the support of professionals. One of your roles is to help families to develop and rely on an
informal support network rather than on a formal one.
Support networks offer three major types of support. They include:
• Providing material goods and services when needed
• Providing emotional support by communicating the person’s value and worth to them
• Providing information about and referrals to other support systems
Support empowers families to strengthen and add to their already existing networks. One easy
way for parents to increase the size of their support network is to meet parents of other children
in their child’s setting. As an early childhood worker, you should try to facilitate this process
whenever possible.

CHECKPOINT
• What is the difference between formal and informal networks?
• What are some of the supports that these networks offer?
• Why is it important for you to develop and maintain effective networks
for children with exceptionalities?

Activity 8.2 Programmes to promote the positive images of persons with exceptionalities

Read the following information and record and complete the checkpoints that follow in your notebook. 

People may have different views on persons with exceptionalities or disabilities, depending on
their personal knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, many people in society think of
disability in terms of ‘tragedy,’ having an ‘impaired body’ or being ‘abnormal.’ As a result, these
persons are treated with sympathy and pity. As an early childhood worker, you should help to
change this negative perception. An important part of your job is to promote positive images of
persons with exceptionalities.

Children with exceptionalities have the same requirements for love, security and protection as
the other children that you care for. They have individual personalities, likes and dislikes and
you should take the time to give them a lot of attention and encouragement while understanding
and respecting their differences and needs. This may be achieved by:
• Ensuring that you give them opportunities to be independent
• Listening and talking to them so that you can learn from them

• Providing them with stimulating development activities and experiences
In addition, you can help to promote positive acceptance of people with exceptionalities by:
• Avoiding the use of labels such as ‘handicapped’ or ‘abnormal’
• Recognising and trying to deal with all forms of discrimination, bias and inappropriate
language and behaviour
• Responding quickly and firmly to such behaviour so that the person(s) understands that
their approach was wrong and insensitive
• Displaying and using positive images of persons with exceptionalities in books, pictures
and classroom displays
The multi-cultural nature of society dictates that visual displays, books and pictures should
promote positive images of all people including those who are considered to be exceptional.
Placing positive images in displays will encourage children to respect and value differences in
other people as well as discourage them from making antisocial comments which may be
harmful or upsetting. Books that include a child with special needs as an integral part of the story
can help children to develop an understanding of disabilities.
Children should also be encouraged to avoid stereotyping. Stereotyping – categorizing individuals or
groups according to an oversimplified,
standardized image or idea
Positive images of children and adults with disabilities and special needs from different cultures
should be displayed/represented in childcare settings through pictures, posters and displays.
Persona dolls may also be used in the home corner to help children to gain positive and accurate
information about disabilities.
The children in your ECI will be naturally curious when they become aware of exceptionalities
(at around three years of age) and they will ask many questions. You can help to promote the
positive acceptance of children with exceptionalities by providing accurate and developmentally
appropriate information both to the affected children and to the other children. Ignoring the
questions or not answering them properly may lead to fear and anxiety which may in turn lead to
discrimination.
As someone who cares for children with exceptionalities, you need to become as knowledgeable
as possible about the children and the impairment. Ask for advice from the parents, occupational
or physical therapists, special education teacher, or other people who have been working with the
children. You may also get information from one of the national organizations that serve children
with specific exceptionalities.

Note. 

You can help to promote positive images of children with exceptionalities by:
• Ensuring that informational materials for your ECI such as brochures and flyers
always state that all children, regardless oflevel or type of disability, are welcome
• Ensuring that photographs and drawings on the walls include children with visible
disabilities

CHECKPOINT
• Why is it important for early childhood workers to develop programmes to
promote the positive acceptance of persons with exceptionalities?
• Give two ways in which children in a childcare setting may be encouraged
to understand and respect children with exceptionalities.
• How can books, pictures and displays be used to promote positive images
of persons with exceptionalities?

IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW state how you would make a chart displaying positive images of children with disabilities. 

 ADD YOUR NAME AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR COMMENT to identify yourself.