During the period of the 16th to 23rd March, the Education Department here in Anguilla will be celebrating SEN week. The theme will be: “Our challenges do not limit our abilities.’’
This article and future articles will be focusing on different areas of special needs among school-age children. They are primarily written to provide information for carers, parents and teachers alike who work with children with SEN.
What is understood by the term special needs?
The term ‘special educational needs’ (SEN) refers to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age.
How do I know if my child has special educational needs?
Your child may have special educational needs, if he or she, require extra help in a range of areas such as:
• School work – reading, writing, number work or understanding information
• expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
• making friends or relating to adults
• behaving properly in school
• organising himself or herself
Other symptoms of learning disabilities include difficulty in reasoning and remembering information and instructions.
Of importance, children may have some kind of sensory (hearing or visual impairment) medical or physical needs which may affect how they function at school.
What should parents or teachers do if it is suspected that a child has learning difficulties?
The parent should contact the child’s school and arrange with the teacher for the child to be tested and evaluated. In Anguilla, children are referred to the Education Officer Multi-professional Services (EOMPSS) who in turn refers the child to the school’s educational psychologist to be assessed. At the same time, the parent should take the child to the family paediatrician for a complete physical examination. Problems which may cause difficulty in school such as poor vision or hearing loss should be checked for.
How can special education help?
If tests indicate that the child requires special educational service, an individual educational plan (IEP) geared to the child’s specific needs is developed by the school’s team. (The IEP describes in detail an educational plan designed to remediate and compensate for the child’s difficulties.) Depending on the outcomes of the assessment, the team may be made up of various agents such as the class teacher, special needs educator, counsellor or speech pathologist. These agents work together to accomplish the goals set out in the child’s education plan. Special needs educators will take account of this in the structure and delivery of their lessons and materials used.
What causes learning difficulties?
There is a much discussion about what causes learning difficulties. Research has linked learning problems to genes and neurological, biological and environmental factors. However, some general observations have been made:
• Some children develop and mature at a slower rate than their peers. As a result, they may not be able to do the assigned school work.
• Some children with normal vision and hearing may misinterpret everyday sights and sounds because of some unexplained disorder of the nervous system.
• Injuries before birth or in early childhood may account for some later learning problems.
• Children born prematurely and children who had medical problems soon after birth sometimes have learning disabilities.
• Learning disabilities tend to run in families, so some learning disabilities may be inherited.
Learning disabilities are more common in boys than girls, possibly because boys tend to mature more slowly.
• Some learning disabilities appear to be linked to the irregular spelling, pronunciation, and structure of the English Language.
Special educational needs can range from a mild and temporary learning difficulty to severe, complex and permanent difficulties that will always affect the child’s learning. It is therefore important that children be assessed early and the right interventions be carried out to help them meet their full potential.
Contributed by Violet Martin
Special Needs Educator.
