Task 4: Inclusive Education

How has reading about Simon deepened my understanding on individual needs, before learning about Simon and that there are steps to take with children with special needs I always thought they would just fit in, that they would settle down if that's a way of explaining it to a centre life. After reading about Simon I have learnt that there are more things to a special needs child that what appears to the eye on a first look. Each child being unique and all having their own individual needs met is very important.

I have worked with children for 10 years and only ever have come across a child with downs syndrome and she looked a little different but she fitted in well, she was a very smart child and loved to draw. I didn't work at the centre for long to see what things were put in place with this child but I do know for sure every time things got hard she would do some drawings. For Simon he appears to be a smart kid, “he had the ability to think of a superhero game, assign roles to other children, create costumes for those roles and direct the play “ (Glass, B., Baker, K., Ellis, R., Bernstone, H., & Hagan, B. 2010, p. 85).

The stafff at the centre noticed this and went with it, once he was diagnosis with Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) they noticed he enjoyed looking at his very special made books just for him. These books are to help him understand routines, Ok/not Ok behaviour chart and a book about him. This made me think about a child in my centre on a way we could help him as he has ASD and likes to hit other children, something like a book might help him learn good and not so good behaviour. “Simon liked reading about himself and he could articulate the expected behaviours” (Glass, B., Baker, K., Ellis, R., Bernstone, H., & Hagan, B. 2010, p. 89).

I liked how the staff got a public meeting together to help the other parents understand what was happening with Simon, some parents weren't on board or didn't understand still but a lot of the community were all for helping Simon, children would see Simon do things and ask questions to their parents, one child decided to pray for Simon to make the right choices and other children would role play acting Simon out making right choices. This shows they have also learn skills from Simon that they could take with them to school. 

“Understanding difference and how children think about difference is an important aspect of developing inclusive practices and policies and we should not forget how, at a very young age, children can develop political, social and cultural preferences which could – ultimately – lead to the generation of exclusionary values and behaviours” (Nutbrown, C. & Clough, P. 2006, p. 50).

This has deepened my understanding by knowing that each child is different and each child with special needs has different interests and its best to find out what they enjoy and go with that. Talking with other staff members, teachers and involving the other parents to a public meeting about issues can help everyone involved. Parents can help their children understand the needs of another child and can help that child make good choices. Keep children with special needs in a centre is good it includes them and helps them transition to school later on. I believe now that a centre has a lot of input in a child with special needs that can be remembered for a lifetime, like what Simons mother said “I am grateful for the work you did with Simon. You made him what he is today. He still talks about you all the time” (Anecdotal notes, March 2008. Cited in Glass, B., Baker, K., Ellis, R., Bernstone, H., & Hagan, B. 2010, p. 96)

References

Glass, B., Baker, K., Ellis, R., Bernstone, H., & Hagan, B. (2010). Inclusion at Botany Downs Kindergarten. Retrieved from

http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/ece/22551/inclusion-at-botany-downs kindergarten-centre-of-innovation-2006-2008/chapter-6-including-simon-inclusion-in-action

Nutbrown, C. & Clough, P. (2006). Cultures of inclusion in the early years. In Inclustion in the early years: Critical analyses and enabling narratives(pp. 1-16). London: Sage Publications