Understanding children with Special Education Needs (sen)
| Tuesday June 24, 2014 17:47
Children with SEN are those who fall outside what is regarded as normal development of a learner based on age and class level at the school.
If your child’s special needs are not physically visible, your child can be misjudged as dull, rude or as irresponsible. It is not always easy to identify children with special education needs, especially for teachers working in schools which have high student enrollment.
If parents have a cause for concern, regarding their children’s’ behaviour, or performance at school, it is advisable to consult professionals such as counsellors, clinical or educational psychologists for help.
A child with SEN will not reach their full potential if proper support is not given to them and they can really feel frustrated when they don’t get a sense of belonging. This explains why some of them end up showing some behavioural problems.
How would you know if your child has special needs?
Each one of us is created uniquely, and we all have special needs. It is therefore, important to note that the special needs referred to here are those of learners who are generally struggling to fit in a normal school. Special needs can either be physical, behavioural or both. Below are some of the symptoms that can help you know that indeed your child needs special attention:
l Consistent avoidance in reading.
l Problems with writing,
clumpsiness in holding a pen.
l Not enjoying school.
l Disorganisation – always
finishing work later than peers
l Being easily distracted.
l Easily causing distraction.
l Reluctance to do homework.
l Not getting on with other children - perhaps avoiding social contact altogether.
l Continuously showing
aggressive behaviour.
Every child is different and should be treated differently. For example, two children with the same diagnosis of dyslexia may have different support needs and may progress differently.
How can parents be
affected by their children’s SEN?
Parents experience a whole range of emotions as they try to learn about their child’s SEN. These emotions may include anger, anxiety, guilt, fear, surprise, grief, as well as acceptance, relief and hope.
Emotions also trigger different reactions in parents, once their children have been diagnosed with a disability.
Some parents may straight away feel relieved that they understand their child better, and that they finally know how to support their child to grow and develop to their full potential. Some may adopt a wait and see approach, with the hope that their child will outgrow their disability with time. Some may feel confused, not knowing how to handle the diagnosis given to their child while many others may seek spiritual counselling.
How can you help your child?
Meet other parents in similar situations.
Peer support groups can be of great help in helping you understand how other parents are coping, so that you may also adopt some of their strategies.
They may also help you deal with some of your emotions such as anxiety when you realise that you are not alone in your situation.
Seeking professional help
Although peer support groups are helpful, you cannot bank on them alone.
It is important that you seek professional help for proper diagnosis and intervention specially designed for your child. There is no one size fits all kind of intervention, because each situation has its own unique features.
It is so easy to assume wrong diagnosis for your child if you do not involve professionally trained personnel. It is therefore, important for parents to pay attention to abnormalities in their children’s behaviour, no matter how small they may seem, and seek professional help if these abnormalities seem persistent. It is better to appear silly than to pretend to be smart.
Common disabilities
among children
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
ASD are a group of disabilities which affect a person’s developmental ability to communicate and interact with others. Children with ASD face challenges in social interaction, activities and other behaviors.
Intellectual disability
Children with intellectual disability show intense difficulties in the ability to think, concentrate, reason, formulate ideas and recalling information.
Adaptive functioning refers to the ability to independently handle daily challenges of life such as communication, motor, social and interpersonal skills.
Although we have some schools for children with Special Education Needs (SEN) Botswana, we still have a lot of them in mainstream schools.
The extent of children with SEN varies from mild to severe. It is those with some mild and moderate SEN who get absorbed in mainstream schools. Mainstream schools do have accommodations for SEN children. Such accommodations may include giving extra time during exams for those who have under developed motor skills, and those who have visual difficulties. It is important for parents whose children have SEN, to liaise well in time with relevant authorities in their respective schools for advice. This will help in making necessary referrals for proper assessments and effective interventions.
*Victoria Sethibe is a practising school teacher. She writes here in her personal capacity.