Both notes and detailed essay about caring for and supporting children with additional needs and disabilities. Originally for childcare course in 2016 but still relevant to current childcare qualifications and summarises a lot of information from textbooks. This looks at different types of special ...
Autism
Autism is a disorder which can affect a child's social and communication development. It can also
affect there behaviour. Some 0-2 year olds with autism don't use verbal communication and older
children might struggle with non-verbal communication for example in a setting a child with autism
might struggle to show eye contact when talking to someone. Autism can't be cured but profession-
als can help the child learn ways to make life events and daily tasks easier for them to deal with.
Professionals could include a speech and language therapist and educational support. Also set-
tings would need to make sure that families have support and have the information they need to
help the child.
ADHD
ADHD is disorder that causes children to have several noticeable behaviour symptoms that cause
them to be hyperactive and getting distracted easily. This can be identified before a child starts
school but as they get older the symptoms are more noticeable. This disorder can cause children
to become frustrated easily. ADHD can also cause things like anxiety disorders. There are times
when children are being restless and can become distracted but this is thought to be 'normal',
therefore making it difficult to identify if a child has this behavioural disorder. In a setting children
with ADHD may struggle to focus on tasks set by practitioners and may not be able to sit and listen
for too long.
Spina Bifida
This is a condition that causes issues such as paralysis or weakness in legs, loss of sensation on
skin and in some cases can cause learning difficulties/disabilities. Most of the time surgery can be
used to help treat the condition but children can still be left with physical and learning disabilities.
To help with physical disabilities children can use things like walking frames, wheel chairs, etc, to
aid their mobility and promote independence. Settings should also provide adapted play equipment
and change activities to meet the needs of the child and give them the same opportunities as other
children to develop their learning.
Down's syndrome
This is a genetic condition which is caused when cells in the body contain extra chromosomes and
this is what makes the characteristics of Down's syndrome. People who have Down's syndrome
won't have all of the physical features of this condition but some characteristics could be:
floppy muscles, slanted eyes, small facial features i.e Nose and mouth, they are small than aver-
age weight and size when they are born. Children who have Down's syndrome will have some sort
of learning disability and will be behind in one or more areas of their development, however this
can vary between each child depending on the severity of the condition. They are more also likely
to have or develop health problems such as heart conditions, hearing or visual impairments and
are at more risk of infections/illnesses. Professionals that can be involved in supporting children
with Down's syndrome could include speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupa-
tional therapists. Children can also be supported by parents at home through play activities/oppor-
tunities, social interactions and encouraging constant communication. Most children with Down's
syndrome are in mainstream schools but if mainstream settings aren't suitable for a child they
might benefit more from a special needs school however what ever setting they are in as children
get older they probably would need more support in school to help with their learning and develop-
ment.
Having a child with additional needs can be challenging for families however it can also have posi-
tive impacts for parents and any siblings or other children in the family. Some parents may struggle
to except the fact their child has additional needs which can mean they don't won't support or are
too afraid to ask for help. This could be because they feel responsible for the child having a disabil-
ity or they don't want their child to be seen and treated as 'different' compared to other children.
Parents might have to spend a lot more time caring for their child and supporting learning and de-
velopment which means they might struggle to find time for other children in the family. This could
therefore impact the children as they wouldn't be getting much attention and this could lead to
them misbehaving and/or falling behind in their own education at school.
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