UNIT X - EDUCATOR: WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

This workshop was a very different way to how I’ve been involved in workshops.

Play dough, pieces of paper and pens positioned on the tables and we could do whatever we wanted with them, sit or lay down if we wanted to, as people learn in many different ways.

Make, draw, note taking, mind mapping anything that works for me.

To which the talk begun. It was so interesting to hear about the different types of learning difficulties and how to work with the children... what was more interesting and what engage me more was that Brian Frew had a story to tell, not a story exactly he had the experience. He has helped kids with special needs in his school overcome and develop. I feel that the key things to know about teaching are so beneficial and give you clear insights on how to cope with a class and not even for classroom experience I felt like Brian gave us life advice on how to approach a child with special needs as in all honesty kids and even adults are scared to approach them just because you don’t know how they will react to you.

Just from this little intro and basically the basics I feel that I’m wanting to learn more about children with special needs and how my practice could be beneficial to them, Brian mentioned a book that was written from someone who has Asperger syndrome “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” that gives some insight in the book about autism.

Key things to know if teaching special needs:

·         Require a lot of repetition

·         Don’t generalise/ assume

·         Communication KEY.

·         Simplified language, name first gets the attention.

·         Pictures GOOD to use for communicating

·         Social stories particular good with autistic children.

·         Routines not change. OR prepare them with/for change

*Next Wednesday we go to the dentist* show pictures of how the day will happen- picture of a bus, picture of receptionist, picture of dentist etc.

·         Under and over sensitivity – tend to develop fixations on things

·         A syndrome as some have some aspects and some have others.

·         React badly to loud noises- very common

·         Want a calm and bland enviro

·         Keep things age appropriate – teenagers do teenage things, young adults do young adult things.

·         Backward chaining (practical skills) start with last part of the skill- work back to the next. Always letting them do the last bit... TEACH IT BACKWARDS

·         Plan lessons in advance

·         THINK. Is this too simple? Too difficult? Easy? How do I simplify this? Backward chaining?

·         Awareness of challenging behaviour

Social, emotional behaviour difficulties often acquire problems from there social background- neglect, drink/ drugs, parental issues. CAN get violent

·         They are not doing this because they want to!!

·         Social space

DOODLING. PATTERNS.

To refer back to the very start of the workshop of how play dough and paper were placed in front of us, we were then asked at the end of the talk how we felt. I tried to doodle with pen and paper as I normally doodle, but I found it so hard to listen to Brian and doodle at the same time as I was really interested in what he was saying I needed to make notes not doodle. During the talk I did notice a lot of the group started sculpting with the play dough and majority of the group did prefer to play with play dough whist Brian was talking and still took In what he said... Where I felt like my 2 page of note taking was more beneficial than the top of head.