Backpacks and sweaters pepper the lawns while their young owners bike, run, skate, or just chat with each other. The sunshine feels warm and the air smells sweet and summer is clearly on its way. Though school buses will soon come down my street and break up this early morning scene, one can already taste those endless summer days. Those are the days in which the bike rides melt into ball games and ices and swimming and bike rides and ices and … until tired and happy children fall asleep.
My mind zooms ahead to the early days of September. I can’t wait to see the child who continues with his social skills group straight through July and August. Over the past few summers, he’s gone from learning to avoid being a target for teasing, to how to join a conversation, to how to make a real friend. I want to speak to the parents whose child attended a sports camp. Did he learn how to handle his anger in the heat of competition? I’m excited to hear about the summer experiences of the child who is transferring to our mainstream school from a self-contained program. I’m glad she had the opportunity to integrate with her new classmates in a non-academic setting. And I’m looking forward to seeing how that little three-year-old is doing after a summer of intensive sensory integration therapy.
What’s your summer plan for your child? The very notion of a summer plan seems outrageous - after all, isn’t summer meant to be days and weeks of unstructured enjoyment? Carefully consider your child’s summer, though. There are many experiences that can help your child soar, building his skills in the ways that the school setting cannot. A solid summer schedule can also ensure that your child continues to progress, and prepare your child for a smooth re-entry into school. Summer is a time to relax and play -and grow.
Thanks to your vote we are among eight other finalists on IdeaBlob’s $10,000 idea contest. The idea with the most votes at the end of the month wins, and voting for us reopens today! So please, take two minutes and vote for us on IdeaBlob at this link http://ideablob.com/ideas/2224-FunandFunction-com-Kids-With-Sp - if you did already, we need your vote again in this final round! We need your HELP to win.
My daughter would like to know who is on the phone. She has been cooperative all morning and shared with her brother. But now, she begs for my attention. The scene:
4 year old:”Mommmmy, who are you talking to?”
Myself (preoccupied) :”Mmmm”
4 year old (shrill) : “WHO?”
Myself (scattered): Um Hum
4 year old: “Waaaaa, tell me…Waaaa”
Myself (somewhat exasperated): “It is the medical insurance company, I am fighting a claim. OK Honey?”
I must prepare her before we go to social events “It will be crowded, there will be lots of noise. What can we do in advance?”
I must speak in a low voice “Mommy, you hurt my ears when you talk”.
So I continue to try and inform, prepare and speak in a quiet voice. My efforts, I am proud to say, have paid off. She knows we care about her and will try not to surprise her with the unexpected. She is better adjusted. She likes to feel important, listened to and understood.
We have dreams and expectations for our children. We are sure that they will be successful. Perhaps they will achieve what we were unable to accomplish. They will make ourselves and others proud.
But many of us get a curve ball. A child who is totally different - it can be personality, motivation, cognition, communicative skills….Initially many of us fight reality. We think: ” We will change our children. With proper discipline, this child will come around.”
Realize however, that this approach is a losing battle. Children are individuals, with unique skills, personalities and potentials. They are not born to achieve our goals. They have their own distinct purposes and missions in life. They also sense our displeasure and this creates friction.
This recognition takes time. We might think it, but to feel this truth comes slowly. Thinking and feeling and acting on this reality allows ourselves and our children to soar, accomplish, achieve- and become better friends.
Our kids are bombarded by technology beginning at birth. By the age of 4, many children can manipulate the computer better than their parents can ever dream to themselves. Our children’s attention spans continue to decrease as Wii becomes the favorite national pastime. The increased time they spend with technology translates into less time engaging in pretend play and real fun sensory activities like digging dirt and climbing trees. Good hard evidence points to the benefits of old-fashioned play, as it builds problem solving, social cognition, and creativity and prepares the brain for academic achievement in areas such as literacy, mathematics and science.
If kids are busy playing video games and shopping online at home let’s give them the opportunity to play creatively at school- right? Wrong. We focus on proficiency test performance, and skill acquisition at the earliest age possible. Many curriculums and classroom structures are still the way they were when schools as we know them were designed to meet the needs of the the industrial revolution age. At least kids got to play at home in 1800.
Are we really preparing our kids for the 21st century? Creativity, focus, innovation and individuality, all skills which are fostered by imaginative play, are key elements for success in todays world. Fret not, our 5 and 6 year olds will become literate even if they play seriously all day. Finnish schools, recently ranked the world’s best, have their children start school at the age of 7. Apparently the Finnish learn to read and write somewhere along the way.
Learning can be difficult. Baby falls, bumps and bruises when he learns to walk. Entry to the official Two-Wheeler-Bike- Riding-Club is almost never achieved without proud displays of skinned and bloody knees to prove success. Surviving sibling rivalry, playing sports, overcoming bullies at school, sitting through impossible exams, learning to drive and enjoying relationships all require learning. And learning is accomplished by making mistakes and learning from those errors. How many of our finest accomplishments were achieved through risk taking, and falling flat before we got up to try again?
Yet we often overprotect people with disabilities by encouraging avoidance of all risk. Allowing persons with disabilities to choose prudent risks is dignifying.
Living and learning is risky but well worth it. Let’s empower our finest to succeed.
For many of us, our early experiences in the world of special needs feature those Hallmark inspirational moments. You know what I mean: the fable about the animal school, the story of the woman adjusting to Holland though she dreamed of Italy. And as long as we’re involved with children with special needs, it behooves us to hold on to a romanticized vision of these children and their potential.
In our work with exceptional children, we push all the limits. We strive to help each child defy the statistics and be the poster child for overcoming his/her challenges. In earlier years, this often takes the form of remediation. Sensory integration therapy, intensive reading instruction, and specialized handwriting programs are approaches that can correct areas of deficit.
As children grow into young adults, however, it’s important to reconsider these treatment goals. If a middle school child still finds leggings to be unbearably constricting, it’s probably time to go barelegged. If reading for pleasure is a struggle for a high school student, he can use books on tape as do millions of adults who prefer the auditory modality. And for the child with illegible handwriting -welcome to the age of technology.
This shift in agenda doesn’t represent giving up on the child. Rather, it signifies accepting the person’s unique profile and not allowing areas of weakness to dominate the person’s life. Teach the young man to understand and accept his needs, and to advocate for himself. Then, he can be that exemplary individual who surpasses all those lofty expectations we had back in those early days.
Watching children learn to read is a true wonder. Sounds and words are suddenly perceived on an entirely new and sophisticated level and this process is one that must make parents, teachers, and therapists marvel at the miracle that is the human brain. Recent research indicates that learning to read is actually preceded by a set of earlier skills referred to collectively as “phonemic awareness.” Beginning at around age four, children begin to develop an awareness of individual sounds (phonemes) and are able to manipulate these units to form words, change words, or take words apart. Below are some simple and fun ways to facilitate children’s phonemic awareness skills while also keeping them entertained on long walks, long lines, or car rides without any preparation or materials. These activities are also effective therapeutic interventions for children struggling to decode or children at risk for reading difficulties based on other developmental delays.
Start and End Game: Choose a simple category that your child is familiar with, such as foods, places, animals, or names. Begin by giving any word (e.g., CAT). Have your child identify the final letter of the word (T) and then think of a word that begins with that letter (TIGER). Continue taking turns until you run out of words for your category. When playing this game with children who have not yet learned basic phonics rules, it is important to remember to use words that do not have silent final letters or atypical spelling patterns (for example, children can hear the final sound in words like cat, dog, or bird, but will have difficulty identifying the final letter of apple, candy, or grape unless they are already familiar with these spelling rules or know them as sight words).
A, My Name is: Beginning with the letter A and then continuing sequentially through the alphabet, help the child come up with appropriate names and words beginning with each letter to complete the following sentences:(Example): A, my name is Alison and my husband’s name is Andy. We live in Alaska and we sell apples.
Back-writing: Using just your finger, trace a letter on the child’s back. Have the child identify the letter and give a word that starts with that letter. Take turns with your child, letting him/her write on your back too. Use of capital letters is suggested since these tend to more familiar to children and are generally easier to identify than lowercase letters.
Silly Songs: Choose a familiar song with just several lines (e.g. Happy Birthday). Choose a letter and then sing the song with that letter replacing all initial word sounds in the song (e.g., “Bappy birthday bo bou, Bappy birthday bo bou, Bappy birthday bear B____, Bappy birthday bo bou!’).
Who’s That? Say a familiar name with the first sound missing (e.g., “ennifer”). Have the child guess the name you are trying to say, then let the child take a turn doing the same.
Watch your child develop an appreciation of letters, sounds, and the wonderful things we can do with this knowledge!
