ADVOCACY IN ACTION A SON COMPLIMENTS HIS MOTHER(S) ADVOCACY WORK
Gregory Toy, recent college graduate
Sharing Views of Initiative with Families 85
feel okay about the fact that what goes on in the program is different from what they do at home. Other times you may need to have a deeper discussion about differing perspectives on individual initiative.
Special Considerations for Children with Disabilities There has been a movement for some years to include children with special needs in environments with their typically developing peers in schools, preschools, and child care centers. It isn’t enough to just enroll these children in programs; the programs must be prepared to work with the children and families so that they gain a sense of belonging. A book called Inclusion Works! (California Department of Education, 2009) offers many practical strategies to enable the integration of children with disabilities and their families. It’s important for adults who have only worked with typically de- veloping children to realize that some children with disabilities arrive in a play envi- ronment with less initiative and motivation to play than others. It may be that they have not been encouraged to play and explore. Or children who are medically fragile may have parents who concentrate more on keeping them safe and healthy than on encouraging them to play. Or it may be that the child is interested but has little or no access to the toys, materials, and activities. It’s up to the adult to ensure that all children have access, including those with disabilities and other challenges.
Sometimes providing access is as simple as restructuring the environment so that a child in a wheelchair, for example, can move around. Putting toys within reach of a nonambulatory child is another practical strategy. Positioning a child so he feels secure enough to use his hands and arms to explore and manipulate will enable a child who has a disability to more fully experience his environment. Close attention to what interests each child can guide the teacher when selecting toys and materi- als to make available. Also, being aware of what playthings will build on a child’s strengths is important when setting up the environment. Toys and materials that are responsive—that the child can have an effect on—are usually winners. Some toys that are already available can be adapted so they are easier to use. One teacher glued tongue depressors to the pages of a cardboard book to make the pages less difficult to turn for a child with cerebral palsy. One way to figure out how to modify the environ- ment is for teachers to put themselves at the level of the child in question and look around. For example, a child lying on his back may be looking directly into a bright ceiling light.
Programs must be prepared to work with children with disabilities and their families so that they gain a sense of belonging
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Families can be helpful in thinking with you about how to organize or adapt the environment for their child’s special needs. They often have access to experts who can be helpful, too. Don’t try to figure it out by yourself or with only the help of other early educators. Use the families and their resources. Work together to discover the adaptations that are appropriate for each child.
Children who have attention deficit disorders may be distracted in a play space where there is too much going on. The way their brains are wired seems to give them the urge to seek novelty, and everything attracts their attention. The early childhood educator can simplify the environment, but it isn’t enough just to create an appro- priate play environment and then expect children with certain challenges to auto- matically start playing with their typically developing peers. Special strategies are necessary to support interactions with other children and promote skill development (California Department of Education, 2009). One such strategy is to slow down the pace for those who need it and allow plenty of time to react. Some children need the slow pace to help them focus. Others need help to refocus. For example, giving plenty of time for a reaction can be a help to children with Down syndrome, who need the extra time to change the focus of their attention. Asking a question and expecting an immediate response, for example, doesn’t work as well as pausing after the question and just waiting quietly for the child to absorb it before expecting a response.
Again, you don’t have to discover all this for yourself. Engage the families in help- ing you understand their children. Share information that you have and listen to what they know. Teamwork is critical for making the environment work for every child in it.
A child with language delays can benefit when the other children see the teacher responding to communication attempts and building on the skills the child has. Modeling has a strong effect, and other children pick up on what the teacher is doing and do it also.
Children with autism benefit from playing with their peers who are more accom- plished players. Their ability to play increases with the support of the teacher in an integrated setting where the environment and the learning plan focus on play. Their imagination increases as well (Wolfberg, 2009).
In some cases you may have more information than the parents if they haven’t seen their child around other children. Share what you know. Collaborate with the parents to make your programs a good experience for each and every child.
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory has implications for including children with special needs or developmental delays in programs with their typically developing peers. Vygotsky used the term zone of proximal development to describe how social in- teractions increase understanding. Certainly in a play environment there are lots of opportunities for children to help one another move forward in their understanding and skill building (Vygotsky, 1967).
Look at this example. Jayden has taken a puzzle off the shelf. It is harder than any puzzle he ever did before. When he dumps the puzzle upside down the pieces fall all over the place. He looks stunned. He also looks around at the other children. Olivia, his good friend, comes over to Jayden’s side and sits down. “That’s a hard one, Jason!” she says. He looks distressed, but then notices that Olivia is picking up some pieces and turning them over. He starts doing the same thing. She finds a corner piece and hands it to him. “See where it goes, Jayden?” He does! Right away! He puts the piece where it fits. He looks at the other pieces he dumped. They are all turned over now. Olivia points out that the piece he just put in has a big splotch of yellow on it. Jason gets it! He starts looking for other pieces with yellow on them. He
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is in his zone of proximal development. He’s learning an approach to more complex puzzles—with just a little help from Olivia. The two finish the puzzle and high-five each other.
For more information about inclusive child care, visit the Easter Seals website.
The Shy Child Some children seem to lack get-up-and-go. Even though they have no developmen- tal differences, challenges, or disabilities, they seem to lack initiative. They may be labeled shy, or perhaps they are looked at as withdrawn.
Let’s look at one of these children:
Dakota has always been the quietest child in the preschool she attends. She hangs out on the fringes of things and seldom talks or even smiles. When someone talks to her, she lowers her eyes and stares at her shoes. She follows the routine of the program but never really joins in with anything that is going on. She’s so quiet that sometimes she’s almost invisible.
What could be going on with Dakota? The place to start answering this question is with the family. What is their take on their daughter? Is she the same way at home as she is at school? Certainly this conversation should be held without indicating that the teachers think something is wrong with Dakota. An exchange of information is what will be helpful. In this situation, what the teachers finally figured out was Dakota fit a particular pattern that they had already discovered in other children.