The challenge: Children with varying abilities. Developmental Delays (Social, emotional and cognitive).
I have selected this challenge due to working in the early childhood field and coming in contact with many young children who may have one or more of the abilities. I believe all young children deserve to have a high quality education, however if a child has an ability he /she will not grow and develop without the proper resources. Many parents have a problem when an early childhood professional brings to their attention an issue that their child may have or a learning ability that may need further resources or instruction. As an early childhood professional, I want to be able to bring to the attention of the parents, that their child may need further assistance and that their child will benefit from the services that are provided at no cost to the family.
Questions that I have or look forward to answering:
How can an early childhood professional help a child who may need additional resources, especially when the child's parent is in denial?
How can I as an early childhood professional meet the needs of young children with the support of parents?
What types of strategies can I have in place when I present my documentation to the child's parents and explain whay I have assessed and how we can work together as a team to benefit the child?
Lori Gardner
I think all of your questions are highly valuable. I especially like the first one, as I have had personal experience in that area. I had a child one year who was not diagnosed with any condition. As an educator of 18 years at that time, I knew his behaviors were not typical for a developing child his age. He was an only child, and his mom did not feel anything was out of the ordinary. She refused to get any kind of suggestions or advice from medical personnel. Because of her denial, I was focused to attempt to meet his needs without her support. It was extremely difficult, as his behaviors were so intense that I did not enjoy coming to school. The staff tried their best to support me, but without the support of the mom, it was a difficult year for me. I hope you find the answer to that question. I look forward to following your future posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Lori,
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog, I like your wallpaper. I work with a lot of children who have experienced trauma. Due to the trauma that they have faced, they struggle with emotional issues. Using appropriate coping mechanisms are challenging for them, as they do not have much support from their family. Similarly, there are children who have emotional issues, which contribute to their learning disabilities. You should be able to find a substantial amount of literature on this topic; I hope you find meaningful information through this research project. You asked, “How can I as an early childhood professional meet the needs of young children with the support of parents?” This can be difficult as many parents are not involved in their child’s education or mental health. I find the task of receiving support from the parents I work with difficult, as they often do not follow through with recommendations. It is important for professionals to use different strategies to engage parents and educate them on their child’s challenges.
Hi Lori,
DeleteGreat Blog, I like your wallpaper. I work with a lot of children who have experienced trauma. Due to the trauma that they have faced, they struggle with emotional issues. Using appropriate coping mechanisms are challenging for them, as they do not have much support from their family. Similarly, there are children who have emotional issues, which contribute to their learning disabilities. You should be able to find a substantial amount of literature on this topic; I hope you find meaningful information through this research project. You asked, “How can I as an early childhood professional meet the needs of young children with the support of parents?” This can be difficult as many parents are not involved in their child’s education or mental health. I find the task of receiving support from the parents I work with difficult, as they often do not follow through with recommendations. It is important for professionals to use different strategies to engage parents and educate them on their child’s challenges.
Best,
Shamanie
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI agree that children have various abilities. However, what I observed is that many times if a child is gifted, one does not receive the necessary services to challenge them and meet their cognitive abilities. Have you thought about how you could address gifted children in your project?
Melissa,
DeleteNo, I didn't think about addressing gifted children, in my current school the developmental delays are truly higher than gifted. In pre-k all we can do is document in either situation, but it easier to service a developmental delayed pre-k student than a pre-k student that I may think is gifted, they cannot be tested for the gifted program until after 6 weeks of their kindergarten school year, however if there is a delay then the resources can start sooner. Thanks for the suggestion!
Lori
Lori,
ReplyDeleteDocumentation is the best resource you can have for helping children with delays. When I suspect a delay, I try to document as many behavior indicators as I can. I gather tests, student work samples, and anecdotal notes; which may help parent see the areas the child needs help. If possible, I also include some other children’s sample work. I have found many parents may not be aware of the skills their child should be displaying. I try to preface the conference with the fact that children develop in different rates, but that I am concerned. I usually ask the parents to share any concerns they many have with their child. I ask questions about self-help skills and common activities. If the parents are receptive, then I ask for permission to have their child tested by our intervention teachers. Most parents I have approached are willing to have their child tested. Some may not agree initially, but many want their child to get help as it is available. In my experience, once the parents know their child will not be put in isolation special education classes; they are willing to work with me to get help for their child.
Cynthia Thralls
Cynthia,
DeleteIn the pre-k program that I work for we have to have atleast 10 consecutive days of documentation, along with work samples, photos and/or matrices to have for the conference that we schedule with parents. Some times we as professionals follow all of the necessary steps and then we get rejected by the child's parents and then the child ends up suffering. I had a student last school year that I started documentation on the third week of school and had everything ready for the conference and the parent backed out and now the kindergarten teacher is doing the same thing,along with what I had from last year, I hope she gets the support from the parent, because the child really needs resources and one on one.