Wednesday, October 16, 2013

HOW TO HELP EXCEPTIONAL NEEDS CHILDREN (THE EXAMPLE CASE STUDY OF MICHAEL)


My current client is 5 years old and his name is Michael. He suffers from hearing loss along with a speech disorder which he is receiving current therapy for. Although, his speech disorder is being addressed, he still has an issue with premature social skills. His parents have also asked me to design an intervention plan which will offer positive growth within this area of development.

According to (Kaplan’s Unit 1 Key Concepts), “children who are physically disabled often need intervention plans. These plans specifically suggest a schedule of developmental markers and required services. Intervention plans are used as a tool to measure how successful particular interventions are and provide valuable feedback for the child and parent” (p. 1). In order to devise a successful intervention plan for Michael, I will first need to determine why his lack of social development may exist. Once this is identified, I will then need to decide what specific techniques may work best in order to help Michael further develop these skills. Therefore, I will build this intervention plan by also addressing these five questions:

1. Why is Michael unable to make friends?
2. How might his disabilities be interfering with social development?
3. How can I assist him with a plan that addresses both immediate and long term goals?
4. How can his parents assist him with this issue?
5. How can his future kindergarten teacher assist him with this issue?


Why is Michael unable to make friends?

Michael’s parents have disclosed that he is an only child who doesn’t play with neighborhood children. He has been exposed to occasional play dates but is unable to effectively communicate with the other children during these times, so his parents rarely set them up now. They have also not enrolled him in school due to this issue. After considering these factors, my initial hypothesis is that Michael may be too isolated and therefore he lacks the level of social interaction that is needed to successfully develop this skill in a healthy manner.


How might his disabilities be interfering with social development?

Michael may also find it difficult to make friends or interact socially due to lack of proper communication. Since, he is hearing impaired and suffers with a speech disorder, it will be very difficult for him, to understand or comprehend his peers. He may also experience a certain level of ridicule and/or rejection by other children due to these factors.


How can I assist him with a plan that addresses both immediate and long term goals?

Early Intervention is the first key factor in order to properly diagnose and assess a child’s existing physical, cognitive and language skills. This can also make a huge difference when it comes to the child’s future overall level of physical and psychological development. Therefore, based on my diagnostic results, I will begin assisting Michael by enrolling him in a regular weekly play therapy group with other children who have exceptional needs. This is because I’m confident that this will build his short and long term level of social skills by offering four major advantages. These are as follows:

1. He will get to interact with other children who have hearing loss and/or speech disorder.
2. The learning environment is specifically designed to aide and assist hearing impaired children.
3. Child Development Specialists will have the opportunity to teach Michael communication techniques, like sign language and lip reading.
4. I will also ensure that bi-weekly reports are provided to both the parents and future teacher. 


How can his parents assist him with this issue?

Since, his parents want to offer the best possible opportunity to develop adequate social skills he will need a way to properly communicate. Therefore, I will highly recommend that they take Michael to a hearing specialist so he can acquire hearing aids. This is because these tools may amplify any hearing that he currently still has while also offering a new and exciting experience! 


Along with this, I will also recommend that both parents enroll in a sign language class because it may give all family members an easier way to communicate. One other valuable strategy that I will implement is to recommend that his parents become involved with Michael’s future Kindergarten Teacher before he begins school. This is because previous research has shown that exceptional needs children seem to improve when they experience a thriving social structure of positive support and growth.

How can his future kindergarten teacher assist him with this issue?

According to (Hunt, Marshall, 2005), [in the past, the diverse educational needs of children with physical disabilities and health impairments often kept them away from public education. Today’s teachers need to know, however, that in most cases, these children can be part of the regular class with accommodations and support] (p. 449). There are also strategies which can be used in order to offer these children normal educational opportunities and development in reading, writing, and thinking skills. Specific strategies may also include federal requirements which must be followed when assisting children with exceptional physical and/or psychological needs. Some of these strategies include:

1. Educational Planning - It is a teacher’s responsibility and federal requirement to ensure that yearly assessments of these children are conducted. This ensures that the children will receive the individual services which are needed. This not only includes children who have current disabilities upon initial enrollment, but also those who show signs of disabilities at a later stage.

2. Accessing Instruction - In 1990, the federal government enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act. This ensures that all of these children have access to public facilities (bathroom) and buildings (school). This act also requires proper placement of equipment and/or furniture within the classroom setting. Not only does this act ensure proper access, but it also requires teachers to provide physical support to children who have exceptional needs. This can include offering help with breathing equipment, feeding and physical movement of the child. This process is also known as physical handling and health maintenance.

3. Integrating Technology - This involves continuous evaluation and/or assessment of a child in order to offer the most appropriate medical and/or educational service/s. These educational services are also most commonly known as assistive technology or special education classes.


Conclusion

My 5 year old client named Michael suffers from hearing loss along with a speech disorder which he is receiving current therapy for. Although, he still has an issue with premature social skills and his parents have requested that I design an intervention plan which will offer positive growth within this area of his development. Therefore, this plan will be accomplished by concentration within five specific areas. These include questioning and addressing why Michael is currently unable to make friends, how his disabilities are interfering with social development, what I can do that addresses long and short term goals for improvement, how his parents can help and what services his future kindergarten teacher can provide. I am also confident that if we work together as a collaborative team to accomplish the goals which are set forth in this plan, than Michaels’s level of social maturity and/or skill should begin to increase at a dramatic level.


References:
Hunt, N., & Marshall, K. (2005). Exceptional children and youth (4th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Kaplan University (2011). Unit 1. Key Concepts. Retrieved on March 3 2011 via the Kaplan Online Campus at http://content-asc.kaplan.edu.edgesuite.net/