Street-Based or Detached Youth Work: What it looks like, and why it matters
By Vanessa Rogers, youth worker and author of 101 Things to Do on the Street: Games and Resources for Detached, Outreach and Street-Based Youth Work.…
By Vanessa Rogers, youth worker and author of 101 Things to Do on the Street: Games and Resources for Detached, Outreach and Street-Based Youth Work.…
“Children with ASD are not good at generalising. They cannot transfer knowledge from one situation to another. Something as simple as having a different symbol to show ‘choosing’ for example, may result in the child being unable to understand what is expected. Not all schools have access to symbol writing programmes or they may be different from those used by early years practitioners. Parents usually have no access at all and are not even aware of the visual symbols they could be using to aid their child’s understanding at home…The aim of the book is to promote and foster collaboration between the home and the school. This will result in improved generalisation of skills and opportunities to exchange ideas and to decide what methodology works best for the child.”
“The important thing for me is that every child is valued and that we look at the causes of their difficulties rather than just the presenting symptoms: Why are they struggling in school and what can we do about it that is simple and easily implemented as the first stage in supporting them?”
“True empathy is part of a very genuine understanding of the other person. And we learn this through dramatic playing which we can observe in the first few hours after a baby is born: they will try to imitate the expression on the mothers face…the baby is responding as if they are the mother; this ‘dramatic response’ continues to develop in those early weeks and months, like a life rehearsal for the development of empathy.”
“One of the most important messages I would want to give to a newcomer is that your reluctant client will probably never [become a ‘willing’ client]. Why should s/he? Compliance with you and your rules is a massive victory. If you can rejoice with your clients when they are finally getting rid of you, this is very liberating. Social work and care does not change people’s personality fundamentally, it helps them function.”
“It is already half term, and the end of the school year seems to be a long way off, as we plunge into a series of cold wet days. However, in terms of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and statements of SEN the school year is approximately one sixth over. This is time we can never get back, and children with SEN need each half term to really count…”
“As a parent of children who had speech delay, I would have found this book an invaluable resource and many parents I’ve spoken to have said the same. The real appeal is that it is a fun book that children will enjoy, making these exercises an exciting thing to do every day which I think is important.”
We were thrilled to launch Reflective Practice in Mental Health last night at an event hosted by the book’s editors, Martin Webber (pictured) and Jack…
“My boys go back to school next week. I can’t believe how quickly the holidays have passed by! In addition to all of the usual preparation, next week I will be performing some extra tasks to make sure that the school year gets off to as smooth a start as possible. Here are my Top 5 Back-to-School Guerrilla Tips…”
“When you look at it on paper it is difficult to see why the current system for meeting the needs of children with SEN is so prone to failure. On paper it seems to work, but in practice there are some big weaknesses that lead to its failure.”