Revision Task

 Friday May 14, 2021

Complete the brief revision exercise. Use the comment section below to respond. Add your name before each comment. Record items and your responses in your notebook for future reference. 

1.List the label words that can be used to describe the following in a sensory experience.

a. Music Activities

b. Texture Activities

c. Tasting Activities

2. Outline what pictures you will need on a chart to teach children about their five senses

 

3. Why are the pictures you selected in item 2 appropriate? 

Monday May 10, 2021

 Monday May 10, 2021

Task 1. FLYER 

A child in your class is diagnosed with total blindness. The parents see it fit to enroll their child into a segregated community for children with liked condition because your ECI is not equipped to educate and care for children with blindness. The parents would like information on a school that can cater to their child’s needs with the appropriately trained staff.

Create a flyer informing the parents about an appropriate segregated community/school that can help their child. Be sure to add an address and other contact details.

Please be guided by the rubric below. All criteria must be included in your flyer. 

Task 2. Revision Game Link will be added after task 1 is completed. (Create an account. This will be required)

Task 3. Worksheet. Link will be added after task 2 is completed. 

Task 4. Register: Link will be posted by your instructor. 

COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS

 Friday May 7, 2021

Read the content below and respond to the questions asked in the comment section. 

COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS 

As a part of the team that caters to the needs of exceptional children, it may also be useful for you to collaborate with the community service provider to identify which services are needed. Some of the key areas in community service may include:
• Public education
• Advocacy
• Community development
• Community access
• Family support In order to carry out these functions efficiently, they may require the services of the specialists discussed in Element 1 such as doctors, nurses, special educators, child psychologists, therapists and social workers. In addition, they may also require the services of a public relations or communications specialist to deal with the issues of public education and community access and ensuring that the necessary information resources are available. These specialists could also help to ensure better communication between the different service providers. Social workers will play a critical role in community development and family support. It is important that all members of the special education team and other members who provide related services work closely together so that exceptional children can develop to their full potential.

IDENTIFY AND PROVIDE COMMUNITY SERVICES GEARED TOWARDS ASSISTING
FAMILIES

Raising a child with special needs places many demands on parents and the family. The demands on parents vary according to the nature of the disability. Many parents of children with special needs say the experience has enriched their lives in many ways. However, most parents with special-needs children face additional challenges to those faced by parents raising children without special needs. These include:
• Day-to-Day Care - Children with disabilities may require more physical care and for a longer period. Parents must take on multiple roles of therapist, teacher, playmate, and advocate. They may also struggle with behaviour problems, greater susceptibility to illness, sleep disorders, and medical emergencies. The result can be physical and emotional exhaustion for the parent(s). It can also strain relationships with spouses and other family members. The additional cost of raising a child with a disability can cause financial strain. The needs of the child may force one parent to quit his/her job or seek part-time and/or less demanding work. Single parents face even greater challenges.

• Services - Parents often have to work hard to find, access, and sustain services for their children. Most parents spend many hours both on the phone and taking their children to appointments. They may face long waiting lists, or depending on where they live, having to travel long distances. Some needed services may not be available.

• Childcare - Accessible, affordable childcare is an issue for many families with young children. It is usually an even larger issue for parents of children with special needs. Although some childcare centres will do everything they can to accommodate children with disabilities, others will refuse them. While the issue of childcare disappears for most children as they get older, it remains a key issue for children with disabilities over 12 who still need care.

• Education - Parents of children with disabilities cannot take for granted that their children will be educated at their local school and many will have to fight for this if this is what they want. Despite the fact that there is greater acceptance of the idea of inclusion, there are not always the supports in place, or teacher willingness and ability, to make it work. The family needs support and understanding in finding the right help for their child. You can assist by identifying the various places where parents may get the desired assistance. 

These include:
• Family members (husband or wife, parents, in-laws, sisters and brothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, legal guardians, or caregivers)
• Teachers
• Friends, neighbours, or church members
• Social workers and others who work with families
• Doctors, nurses, and other health and mental health professionals
• Support groups
• Parents of other children with special needs

You should find out if there is a group in the community that provides support to parents of children with special needs. In some of these groups, an experienced parent is matched in a 1 to 1 relationship with a parent who has just found out his or her child has a disability. The match is usually based on a similar disability or special concern of the new parent. The experienced parent shares real-life stories of raising a child with special needs (using everyday language) and gives the kind of support that only another parent who has been there can. You should also find out if there are parent networks that provide information, training and assistance with accessing the community service. This information should be obtained from organizations that focus on children with special needs, schools, social workers and other community service providers.

Brothers and sisters of children with special needs also need support. They may participate in activities designed for family support groups or they may participate in groups organized especially for siblings. These support groups are a good way for children to talk and share information about special needs. You can provide further assistance to parents by:
• Being sensitive to their feelings and the challenges they face. Try not to add to their stress
• Making sure families have information about other services, financial support (e.g. respite care)
• Remembering that you may have the expertise, but only the parents know what it is like to live with their children
• Remembering that parents have many appointments to attend, and often must co-ordinate them with work schedules. Be as flexible as possible. Try not to keep parents waiting
• Not overwhelming parents with unpleasant news. Emphasize the strengths of the children.
• Giving parents credit for successes. Acknowledge their efforts
• Helping parents to find resources and support that fit with their particular family needs
• Providing them with information about their rights as parents 

Having families involved in the education of their exceptional children is a positive experience for all. The parents can reinforce learning and skills taught in the classroom, and parents and teachers can work together to solve problems that may arise. You should try to facilitate the needs of these families in whatever way you can.

DEVELOP A DIRECTORY OF AVAILABLE COMMUNITY SERVICES

Friday May 7, 2021

Read the content below and respond to questions asked in the comment section. 

DEVELOP A DIRECTORY OF AVAILABLE COMMUNITY SERVICES

Directory – a listing of the names of people and organizations, usually with telephone numbers, addresses websites and other information about them. In order to assist your clients to access community services to provide quality care and education for their children’s needs, it would be useful to compile a directory of available community services. Remember, it can be extremely difficult for parents to accept that their children are exceptional. During this confusing and stressful time, parents not only have to come to terms with the exceptionality, but they also have to consider getting their children assessed and evaluated and also which services would be most appropriate to effectively care for the children’s condition. The directory that you compile should be:
• Accurate
• Up-to-date
• Detailed
• Clear

The information may be arranged in different ways, but it should include:
• Name of the community service provider
• Exceptional group that service caters to e.g. blind, hearing impaired, children with physical disabilities
• Information on the nature of the services provided
• Address and telephone number of the service provider
• Funding e.g. whether the service provider is private or public, whether health insurance is accepted by the service provider and whether financial assistance is available

APPROPRIATE MECHANISM TO ASSIST VULNERABLE CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES

Friday May 7, 2021.

Read the content below and respond to comments made by your instrutor. Comments may take the form of question. 

DEVELOP APPROPRIATE MECHANISM TO ASSIST VULNERABLE CHILDREN WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES 

When assisting children with exceptionalities to access community services, you should make special provisions and concessions for vulnerable children. Some families experience challenges that not only increase the risk of having a disabled child but that also make it more difficult to care for such a child. You may need to provide additional assistance to:
• Children living in poverty – Poverty increases the risk that a child will have - inadequate health care, nutrition, housing, educational opportunities and even parental support and involvement. This often results in developmental delays and problems. Poverty also limits parents’ abilities to access certain specialists and community services.
• Children living in violent environments – Young children show their reaction to violence by emotional distress, physical complaints, regression and loss of language skills. Children living in violent environments need to know that their childcare setting is safe or else they will not participate in activities.
• Children whose parents have disabilities – Some exceptional children may themselves have parents with physical and learning disabilities, sensory impairments and chronic illnesses. Sometimes these conditions may limit the parent’s ability to access appropriate community services. Be sure to offer additional assistance in these special cases.
• Children living in single parent families Some of the main concerns of these exceptional children from vulnerable families are the provision of adequate levels of funding for services. Poor and single parents in particular will require adequate financial support if they are unable to work due to their children’s disabilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES IN ASSISTING CLIENTS Activity 10.2 TUESDAY MAY 4, 2021

 OUTLINE RESPONSIBILITIES IN ASSISTING CLIENTS

Advocate – to support or speak in favour of somebody or something 

All parents and guardians of children with exceptionalities have certain legal rights. This refers to the power given to them by the law that entitles them to the support and services their children need. As an early childhood worker, you have certain responsibilities to assist your clients to realise their rights. 

You can do this by:
• Familiarising yourself with legislation relating to persons with disabilities
• Learning as much as you can about support and services that can help parents and their exceptional child
• Ensuring that the child's education and environment meets his or her special needs Under the law, children with special needs are guaranteed rights to certain educational services. Parents should always advocate for their children. The process, however, can be confusing and intimidating for them. Early childhood educators should be aware that many parents are not fully aware of their rights and responsibilities. An important role of early childhood workers is to inform parents of their rights.

Here are some guidelines for assisting parents to realise and protect their rights:
• Help parents to be proactive and to take necessary steps to make sure their children receive appropriate services
• Inform parents who they can appeal to if they have difficulty accessing community services
• Tell parents of their right to be informed about a complete evaluation that is carried out on their children. Parents must be informed as to what the evaluation will consist of and give their written consent before any testing can begin
• Tell parents about their right to obtain an outside evaluation by a private consultant if they are not satisfied with the evaluation provided by the school
• Tell parents about their right to participate in planning an individual programme for their children’s education
• Inform parents that they must agree with the plan by signing an agreement. They have the right to disagree with the programme offered by the school system and to appeal to another authority to serve as a mediator. Parents may challenge decisions relating to their children’s education through a due process hearing. You can help parents to access resources that would support the development of communication techniques that would help them be more assertive about their child's needs and getting their child's and their own needs met.

ACTIVITY

3 questions have been posted below by your instructor. Respond to each question accordingly. State your name before each response.