Integrated Education for the Mentally Disabled

Imposing restrictions on children always does more harm than good- it stifles their independence, and most importantly, their growth which is essential to their overall development. Allowing children to flourish in a non restrictive environment is important, children- both normal as well as mentally disabled.

Now you may wonder that amalgamating the variations may create a chaos, disabling the growth of both. However, studies in the field of child development would urge you to think differently.

According to studies in child development and special education, a higher rate of personal as well as academic growth is witnessed in the mentally disabled children if they are subjected to an integrated environment. An environment that considers an average child no different from a physically or mentally challenged one sows fulfilling seeds of growth. With an effective technical assistance and stringent guidelines given to the teachers, the mentally disabled, or even the blind can project wonders despite their shortcomings. In such a scenario, a separate school for mentally disabled gets shoved to the bottom of the rack. Special children respond more not to a special treatment, but to an inherently normal one. All it takes is just sensitization of their requirements.

Similarly, schools for blind children are being rapidly replaced by normal schools. As it turns out, more and more parents are tresspassing the ‘special zone’ and chartering into the ‘normal zone’ for their children. They believe that schools that provide their kids the same opportunities and educational experiences as normal schools help them grow stronger and achieve better.

However, integrated education is not only about placing the children in a regular classroom an expect them to grow on their own accord. They need assistance in form of social support, love and patience. Also, correct help in form of supplying material that are integral to their lifestyle at the right time helps them adopt an easy lifestyle.

Make Your Child Enjoy Happy Shades of Life

It won’t be wrong to say that a child play can play 24*7, without complaining about anything, but if it’s a child with special needs, there have to be several considerations so that a child do not have to suffer in any which way. It’s a no stone carved rule that the child won’t find games interesting, of course they will. But there has to be sincere considerations, based on the same.  Having least said, let’s take a sneak peak in different activities that would enable you in determining apt and interesting activity for your tiny

• On a foremost note, it has to be ensured that you choose such an activity for the child that it does not become an annoying matter for the child.  If at any point of time, game becomes annoying, child would end up losing his interest altogether.

• It’s been observed in special school that majority of children with autism have a tendency to have a crystal clear view on what all what they like and what they do not prefer. Thus, it is advised that no matter where you are, do not force your child to play games, they will voluntarily tell you what all they like. If they do not, then only take an initiative to head-on.

• Do not discourage your child in any way thinking that he might not be able to perform a certain task, says an expert of a special education school. Indeed, as a parent, you should keep pumping up your child so he is motivated to set new benchmarks for himself.

• Do make your child enjoy rainbow colors in his life. There’s no point in making them feel alienated in any way, which I am sure is the last thing that a guardian would wish for.  Thus, make your angel enjoy every aspect of life in the best way possible.

Special Educators Must be Available To Every Needy

The story of the young girl from Kerala, Sophie Joe, raised quite a stir as she represented India at the Miss World deaf and dumb. It cuts out a picture of dedication, resolve and above all how special education can work wonders.

Schools for mentally disabled have been a great tool in making the lives of thousands of affected children make their way up. India has lakhs of such children who are faced with one or other disability, and there is grave need for professional specialists.

In Sophie’s case, she was blessed to have her family come together united. They stood by her to see her through from obstacle to other. But a large part of that success comes from the efforts put in by those who educated her. It was the confidence she drew out of her ability to feel at par with the world that made her aim and achieve bigger things in life.

This is where special education I feel has key role to play in shaping up things of thousands of needy children.  Like Sophie, who got her education partly home-tutored and partly through special tutors at a nearby school for autism, there are millions in need of the same.

But given our prevailing infrastructure, it calls for picking up the slack on investments and how they are invested for optimized infrastructural growth. Perhaps even more than that, we need the society to develop a fabric of compassion and responsibility.

There are hundreds of thousands of qualified teachers in the country serving the mainstream. Special education stream however is in dying need of trained faculty. Its time those with a flair for the profession of teaching go a notch above and get themselves in a position where they can leverage lives of a million special children. That would be a great platform for India to make a mark in this world.

An Ode to A Special Teacher!

The life of a teacher is not an easy but certainly a remarkable ride. Blessed with the opportunity to heal ignorance and enlighten thousands of minds, they have an imperative role to play in the society.

Being a parent, I feel honoured to mother two, and rather accomplished at having done the job reasonably. I can only imagine the sense of pride a mentor would feel, seeing his prodigies take wings and go places in this world, all sprouting from the saplings he had carefully grafted. It must involve a hell lot of responsibility, only a feeble part of which is answerable to the employer. Mainly it is to self that he answers whether he has guided each inquisitive young soul rightly. And, for a special education teacher, this sense of accountability is even more deeply rooted.

As all his prodigies, each skilled in a different and unique way, look up to him to teach them not just inked gibberish but the skill to survive. Survive... Survive against all odds of life, and he teaches them to believe in miracles and more than anything, in themselves.

At a school for physically challenged, you can see lives being transformed as little ones learn to master their more visible inadequacies than their ‘so called’ normal counterparts. They learn to believe in the spirit of humanity as they are exposed to the rawest forms of human compassion under the care staff and wonderfully patient special education teachers. In a way, this ironically points out what such a teacher imparts so easily by leading by example, and we so often fail to teach our children.

Being human is a simple virtue too tough to master. And these teachers lay paradigms of it for others to follow, unknowingly in their simplicity. What are nuances of daily life for them is an awe-inspiring life changing miracle for people like us. When with the kind of talent they have, they can easily opt for white collar jobs and more paying professions; they choose to work with these special children. A career path with little recognition and tough life, where swapping duties of a nurse and a teacher is everyday life.

Perhaps, they seek no accolades and adornments but their rewards lie in seeing their students smile and take a shot at life with full might. I salute their spirit!

Recognizing Developmental Disabilities in Infants

Taking care of a new born involves extreme caution. You must be tender while handling him and alert for his needs. You need to understand the unspoken words and tend to his needs. Things become difficult when your baby needs medical attention. Often, if the symptoms are not physical, you can rely upon your baby’s unusual wailing.

However, it is important that you keep a closer watch. No parents want to imagine that their child is born anything but healthy. But still, you cannot rule out chances and be naïve. Developmental disabilities often bear no visible signs until a much later age, while early detection is crucial for treatment. So, keep a close watch on developmental benchmarks, advices an expert at a special school for disabled children. A slight disparity in normal norms of development may be a call for attention to a much serious issue. Here are some symptoms you should keep a watch at.

After Eight Weeks

If your baby does not begin to be active even after 8 weeks of birth, then note his further activities. 

• The usual babbling and warm expressions should start by now. 

• See if he actively kicks his legs, responds to tickles and touches.

• Do his eyelids seem to be drooping even when he is active and awake?

• In his pictures with the flash on, do you notice an unusual white spot in his eye beside the usual flash reflection or red eye?

• Anything unusual not common in babies of his age. You can obtain a specific chart of symptoms once you have an area of doubt from your paediatrician or a special school. 

After 3 Months

• All of the aforementioned benchmarks must be met by now

• The child must start looking towards bright colourful moving objects.

• You should be able to distract him through claps, snapping your fingers and audio visual toys.

About A Year

• Meaningful one words babbling like ‘mum’ should start.

• He should be able to recognize family members from strangers

• He should follow sounds.

• See if he is inclines his head at a certain angle to listen things.

• If he is not active enough

• If your baby watches faces intently

• Doesn’t respond to games like peek-a-boo or tickles.

• Warm smiles and laughs are missing.

If you find a disparity in the above symptoms, see a paediatrician. Your child might have some sort of developmental issue and needs medical help.

How to Design A Room for An Autistic Child?

Designing a room for an autistic child will not be an easy activity, each and every aspect varying from colours to keeping clutter at bay have to be considered. Follow up of this blog makes a mention of different aspects to decorate a child’s room says a special education teacher.

• Light mechanism: avoid using extreme bright shades such as dark orange, yellow, black or red. This is because it is necessary to create atmosphere that do not hampers an individual’s state of mind. Going too loud with colors might affect a child and disturb him psychologically.

• Flooring: flooring should not be either too slippery or too rough. It should be easy to clean and simple. Say for instance: hardwood flooring would do well. The basic idea is that floor should not be designed in such a way that a child find tough to walk on.

• A safe and sound corner: instead of making a child’s room look like a rock star’s corner, you should try adding a glimpse of tranquility in each and every corner of the room. This way, things will work out well and your child will also appreciate being there, says a teacher of school for the blind.

• Pictures: if you are keen on hanging pictures to make your child’s room look attractive, then instead of hanging any random picture, try picking up nature oriented images. It leaves a nice impact on a child’s mental plane.

• Prefer heavy furniture at your place: instead of keep light weighed furniture, prefer having bulky ones. If there are sharp edges then try having padded covering over it to avoid any mishap. Even if you have placed a toy box in a child’s room, avoid buying the ones that have lid over them. This will create mess for the child, so a drawer or toy box without a lid would be great.

How to Make A Special Child Feel Loved At Home?

It’s been observed that there are children with special needs who despite any serious concerns become frustrated. They feel lonely and this is the worst feeling that one could ever have, thus instead of making a child feel left out in any way, make sure that he is being taken care of in the best possible way.  Teaching a child with special needs is not that easy as it certainly seems, all that you need to know is apt techniques and teaching methodologies that will make a big time difference in your angel’s attitude. Below mentioned are a few things that make a big time difference in a child’s life:

On a foremost note, it is important to make sure that child does not feel alienated in any way, says a teacher from school for the blind. This is possible only when a child is involved in everything.

Instead of making a child do his day to day things without a schedule, prefer having a fixed routine. This will make your child disciplined. Making a child do things randomly will definitely give him reasons to feel frustrated, says a special education teacher. It is advised that once you fix a time table, do not make many changes in the same, as it will affect a child in an adverse way.

While teaching a child and expecting him to mug up things simultaneously, it’s advised to add in a pinch of innovation while teaching. Make him learn poems and other things in a rhyming way. This way, this will become easier for the child.

Interiors of house make a great impact on a child physiologically, so do not bring in changes in interiors very often.  Even if you do, do not forget to consider your child’s taste and preference.