Supporting Children with Special Needs

The assignment delves into the crucial role of collaboration between families, educators, and support systems in assisting children with diverse needs. It emphasizes the importance of setting shared goals to address physical, social, developmental, and emotional requirements. The document also underscores the significance of promoting positive behaviors and recognizing each child's strengths while mitigating weaknesses. Additionally, it mentions initiatives like the National Disability Insurance Scheme as a pathway to providing comprehensive support for these children and their families.

Understanding and Supporting
Inclusion in early childhood

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................1
Discussion .......................................................................................................................................1
Briefly outline relevant policies and approaches that support children with additional needs.. .1
Discuss kinds of inclusive environment which ensures the best outcome for children..............3
Recommendations for action, support and implementation........................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference.........................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Define the selected additional need and identify major characteristics, symptoms and challenges
for children
Sensory impairments, refers to senses like sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, etc. For
example, if some individual wears specs then he has sight impairment. It refers to the loss or
absence of vision or hearing which leads to difficulties in learning. It has been noticed that, on an
average one Australian child is found with impaired in hearing every day. Furthermore, vision
impairment is seen in one in 2500 children of Australia. Children who are affected by sensory
ability, encounter difficulties in developing and this lay profound effect on their social and
cognitive development.
Other than this, children with sensory impairment restricts themselves from inclusion
which impact their physical as well as socio-economic development. Its characteristics are
clumsiness, change in behaviour, poor co-ordination, etc. This disorder is a condition in which
brain of a child has trouble in receiving information that comes via senses. The overall report
will cover Sensory impairment's discussion on relevant approaches that can support children
suffering with the additional needs. (Support Children With Special Needs, 2018).
Discussion
Briefly outline relevant policies and approaches that support children with additional needs.
Children with Multi-Sensory Impairment suffer from both sight and hearing defects.
Many children also suffer from other challenges, such as environmental and social challenges. In
environmental, children who are completely blind usually have difficult time in navigating
outside the spaces. Further, blindness can cause social challenge because there are activities in
which blind children can't easily participate. It arises due to wide range of causes. It is
determined that many children may be born with MSI or acquire it during growth period. Infants
suffering from this are affected by their surroundings and other people's behaviour. (Brereton,
Sitbon & Koplick, 2015).
With the help of careful attention and planning between educators, families and other
involved professionals, infants can be supported well. Through this way they all can work
together to create a partnership with trust, respect and understanding. Every child is different and
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hence, should be treat differently. Families should be aware of different strategies that will help
in support their child.
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), describes the practices, principles and
outcomes that support and enhance infants learning from birth to five years of age. The
framework is determined as the key element of the National Quality Framework for early
childhood education & care. It offers a vision where all children experience learning that is
engaging and builds success for life. This will help in delivering learning programs around
Australia.
Strategies for children with vision impairment
 Educators work with families to meet infant's physical, social, developmental and
emotional needs. (Support Children With Special Needs, 2018).
 Plan together:- Working with the health professionals and child's family together to
discuss ways to support them. They need to set goals together to help children with
additional needs. It has been suggested that goals must be simple and match child's
abilities.
 Look for strengths:- Parents should avoid focusing on infant's disabilities rather look for
their strengths. Each child need to be treated specially because they want to feel
successful & capable. Further, different activities should be conducted to support them.
(Supekar, Kochalka & Menon, 2018).
 Model appropriate behaviours:- It has been noticed that children with special needs,
sometimes feel fearful in playing with others. Parents should make their child learn that
how they can be their own play partner. Hence, they can play with their child which
makes him more comfortable.
 Changes in car environment:- Certain modifications in child's care environment can make
him/her feel comfortable in environment. Carers may create a private space for impaired
children so that can help them to be more active.
 Teachers can provide opportunities for Sensory impaired children to learn & play
together and also promote caring and helpful behaviours in all of them.
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 Select those toys that match their needs. There are some special playthings are available
to meet the essentialness of infant with Multi-Sensory Impairment. For example, fibre
optic cable or bubble tubes.
 Observe them playing in order to find out what are they interested in the most. If a child
has repeating behaviour try to provide them different toys with different range of
experiences. (Puts, Harris & Mostofsky, 2015).
Strategies for initial support
Difficulty Support
Hearing loss Monitoring and improving the listening environment.
Considering seating position in classes.
Follow advice from Specialist Sensory Education Team.
Ensure that any background noise is minimised.
All assignments or review to be completed on study of few
texts.
Visual impairment and
blindness
Checking and improving the visual environment.
Simplifying displays (Zwaigenbaum, Bauman & Pierce, 2015).
Inform students if teachers plan to use videos, slides or
overheads.
Make necessary books listed so there is sufficient time
available to reproduce in audio.
Physical Oversee at furniture used i.e. is it supportive or is the table has
correct height.
Discuss kinds of inclusive environment which ensures the best outcome for children.
The Physical Environment
 To maximise the children's participation who have disability in daily play and learning
experience, teachers create physical environment that help them to participate naturally.
Physical inclusive spaces maximises each child's opportunity to:
 Enter and explore both outdoor and indoor areas as independently as possible.
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 Make selective choices regarding the resources they access & the experience they
participate in.
 Independently care for themselves as much possible.
 Engage with books, images and resources that reflect children with special needs as
active participation in. (Goswami, 2015).
Recommendations for action, support and implementation
If, a child has been diagnosed with any disability or sensory impairment and needs
additional support, they are described as complex needs. An infant may have these needs from
birth or after an illness. The charity Bliss can give advice and assist families having child special
care. Supporting children with special needs allows them to engage and feel included at school or
in their society, hence, help to enhance their strengths. For these types infants, developing
individual strategies to support their requirements can be beneficial. Schools and families can
work together to make sure that children with sensory impairment are well supported which is
essential for their welfare and mental health (Diane, Amster & Judith, 2018).
Recommendation for schools
 Work with child's family and carers to achieve physical, emotional and social needs of
infant.
 Teachers should promote co-operative, helpful and caring behaviours for all children.
 Should provide chances for them with or without special needs to play and learn.
 Understand the way child learns best :- every infant with special needs have their own
unique style of learning. Some learn by reading or seeing, other by listening or by doing.
They should identify that either an infant is visual or an auditory learner. By
understanding this they can take necessary steps to ensure that type of learning is built in
the schools as well as home.
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 Emphasize healthy lifestyle habits :- it has been noticed that, if children with special
needs are getting enough sleep & exercise and eating right food, will be able to focus
better and work harder (Hanko, 2018).
Recommendation for parents
 Never underestimate children with disable needs :- there may be chances that, they have
been underestimated by other all of their life. Parents should give children some gentle
challenges daily to know whether they can push themselves with their skills and never
assume that they have been suffering with a special need.
 Focus on their strengths rather than weaknesses :- families should promote their child's
strengths and brush off its weaknesses to develop a good and life long relationship with
learning.
 Provide examples of some successful people with disability :- it has been noticed that
infants with sensory impairments, sometimes feel offended of their impairment and
convince themselves that they will do nothing in their life. So, it is the responsibility of
families to give them examples of some successful persons with special needs which
make them feel that they are no less than others rather simply a bit different from them
(Quach, Connor & Aston, 2015).
 Parents should take care of themselves too :- often happens that, parents forget their own
needs while taking care for their children's requirements. But if they don't look after
themselves, they will run the risk of burning out. By keeping themselves calm and
focused, they will be better able to connect with their kids & help them.
Implementation
All Australian Governments have endorsed Disability Standards for Education 2005 to
ensure that all students with special needs are able to engage in the Australian Curriculum. The
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standard for Education 2005 are intended to
provide them equal rights as other students. Further, government policies aims at helping
families of children with additional needs through direct financial support. The National
Disability Insurance Scheme is the new way of providing support to children, their families and
carers. Early Childhood Intervention is the process of helping infants with sensory impairment, it
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provides counselling, education, planning and coordination to assist them. The overall objective
of these services is to provide families with the knowledge, skills & support to meet needs of
their child (O’Connor, Quach & Hopkins, 2015).
Conclusion
The overall report concluded that, Sensory impairments, refers to the loss, or deficiency
of vision, or hearing which leads to difficulties in learning. Children who are affected by this
defect, encounter difficulties in developing language and this can have a profound effect on their
social & cognitive development. Apart from this, it discussed strategies to support them i.e.,
educators should work with families to meet infant's physical, social, developmental and
emotional needs, they need to set goals together to help their children with additional needs.
Further it suggested that, teachers should promote co-operative, helpful and caring behaviours
for all children. Families should promote their child's strengths and brush off its weaknesses to
develop a good and life long relationship with learning. Additional efforts taken were, The
National Disability Insurance Scheme is the new way of providing support to children, their
families and carers.
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Reference
Books & Journals
Brereton, M., Sitbon, L., & Koplick, S. (2015). Design after design to bridge between people
living with cognitive or sensory impairments, their friends and proxies. CoDesign. 11(1).
4-20.
Supekar, K., Kochalka, J., & Menon, V. (2018). Deficits in mesolimbic reward pathway underlie
social interaction impairments in children with autism. Brain. 141(9). 2795-2805.
Puts, N. A., Harris, A. D., & Mostofsky, S. H. (2015). Reduced GABAergic inhibition and
abnormal sensory symptoms in children with Tourette syndrome. Journal of
neurophysiology. 114(2). 808-817.
Goswami, U. (2015). Sensory theories of developmental dyslexia: three challenges for
research. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 16(1). 43.
O’Connor, M., Quach, J., & Hopkins, D. (2015). Approaches to the provision of educational
support for children and young people with additional health and developmental needs.
Quach, J., O’Connor, M., & Aston, R. (2015). Approaches to the provision of educational
support for children and young people with additional health and developmental needs.
Hanko, G. (2018). Special needs in ordinary classrooms: From staff support to staff
development. Routledge.
Diane, S., Amster, B. J., & Judith, S. (2018). Starting young: Improving the health and
developmental outcomes of infants and toddlers in the child welfare system. In Family
Foster Care in the Next Century (pp. 149-166). Routledge.
Zwaigenbaum, L., Bauman, M. L., & Pierce, K. (2015). Early intervention for children with
autism spectrum disorder under 3 years of age: recommendations for practice and
research. Pediatrics. 136(Supplement 1). S60-S81.
Online
Support Children With Special Needs, 2018. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/parents/needs/Pages/default.aspx>.
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