Category: Education

Posted on Arts therapies

“One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs or their creativity.” – An Interview with Johanne Hanko

“…one of my favorite games [in the book] is ‘Contemporary Music or Drawing Music’ (activity #80, page 103) because I was told not to use this game with children with differentiated capacities or in mainstream classes because it would lead to failure: ‘Children in special education and elementary school children cannot compose,’ I was told. Well I can tell you this is not true. I was amazed to see the creativity of some of the children, while all came up with something different and interesting; some compositions were quite beautiful. One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs and their creativity.”

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Posted on Adoption and Fostering

Misunderstood “Misbehaviour” – Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Syndrome in Children

“Many parents tell us that they have struggled to find a diagnosis that ‘makes sense’ of their child’s development and behaviour. Often they have read the descriptions of PDA and comment on how it is ‘like reading my child’s life story’. These parents don’t just want a label for their child – although they are often criticised for just that – but they want a way of understanding him or her. With understanding, they can then move forward knowing the best ways in which to manage their children, encourage them to be less anxious and reduce some of the outbursts that are having an impact on all of the family.”

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Posted on Counselling

Recognizing and Helping the Neglected Child – An Interview with Brigid Daniel, Julie Taylor and Jane Scott

“Social workers tended to focus on responses to referrals and may need help to look beyond that to an overall picture of the child’s development. Other professional groups (such as dentists or nursery nurses or teachers) are well-placed to pick up on signals that a child might be being neglected, but may need more help to recognise this, and to know how to respond. Further, mothers in particular can recognise when they are struggling. Practitioners should not be afraid to ask them how they feel their parenting is going.”

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Posted on Education

Looking beyond “bad” behaviour – Melanie Cross on the importance of recognising communication difficulties in young people

“Non-compliance might be due to not understanding what’s been asked and not knowing how to ask for clarification. What might be seen as a refusal to explain might be due to difficulties constructing coherent narratives. Conflict resolution and negotiation require high-level language skills and if these are lacking, then aggression can result. If adults do not recognise the underlying communication problems, the children and young people who experience them can be misunderstood and even misdiagnosed.”

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