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. 

CASE STUDY ACTIVITY 10.1

CASE STUDY ACTIVITY 

Tuesday May 4, 2021

Mr. Smith is the father of a child with cerebral palsy, who is about to enter a preschool that practises inclusion. He is concerned about his child’s education and health needs. He was advised that the class will be taught by special education teacher and a teacher’s assistant. He has doubts about the staff being able to give his child proper care in a class with so many children who do not have special needs.

• Do you think that Mr. Smith’s concerns are valid? If  so, explain why.

Use the comment sectipon to respond.

• In a simulated situation, explain the following to Mr. Smith: (live discussion)

- How his child’s medical needs will be properly taken care of

- The teaching methods and developmentally appropriate practices and activities that will be used

- What role he can play in supporting his child’s learning and development in the inclusive setting

- Who he can address his concerns to

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

Activity Monday May 3, 2021- ECDL2 Parttime Group

After reading your prescribed text (pages 13-18) use the comment section below to repsond to the following. Add your name before each comment. Do not rewrite the question/items just number your responses. 

Write your answers in your notebook as well. 

1. What is Acute stress?

2. What is episodic acute stress? 

3. What is chronic stress? 

4. List 4 signs of stress. 

5. What is the importance of identifying that someone is experiencing stress?

6. Define culture and state why culture affects an individuals response to stress. 

7. Define stressors and indicate 3 stressors. 

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.