exerpts from special needs discussions

Tricia asked the Jft community for help with a pupil who can't distinguish right from wrong:
We have a Year 3 boy who needs help! He is statemented and has 50 per cent classroom support but among his many problems is an inability to distinguish right from wrong.

We have tried rewarding good behaviour in a variety of ways. We feel that telling him off is pointless because he really doesn't know what he has done wrong! Does anyone have experience of a similar situation? What did you do to help the child and did it work?

Lorraine Wynn believed using social stories might help:
I am a teacher in an all age special school, and often we have pupils with similar difficulties, especially those on the autistic spectrum who find it hard to read social situations. We often use 'social stories' as a way to provide examples of good and bad situations.

This involves writing a simple tale, often with the pupil and friends as characters in a familiar setting which demonstrates a good or bad action, people's reaction to it and a way to change the situation. For example, perhaps a story of hitting another child causing sadness, or a situation when a pupil helps tidy up as a way of making others happy.

You could also focus on a good or bad situation or emotion in circle time or story time, even as a play. Anything to give the kid relevant examples of what is a good and bad situation or act will help - and I hope I am not teaching you to suck eggs!!! Hope this makes sense and is of use.

Louise Bruzon is concerned about low achievers but is more worried about the 'forgotten' children:
I feel that too much time has been given over to children at the extremes of the special needs spectrum. I do sweat blood and tears for my LAMBs (lower achievers mainly boys) but I am more worried about the forgotten children who simply plod through school unnoticed. They are not quite special needs but not up with the core achievers. What do we do about this group of children who are in danger of slipping through the net?

Mechthild thought that the top students could help:
Give them chances to work with the top ones. Teach top ones to give clues, rather than answers.

Triciahs too thought using the brighter children was the key:
In addition to Mechthild's answer, here is a little idea which has worked for me for a few years now. I found that with monitoring and helping children drafting and re-drafting work I was leaving myself short of time for other things, such as reading consultations, which I felt were being rushed.

My solution was to select a core group of about 6 bright and tactful children (or as many as you can find - this year I have 3!) who were prepared to act as editors. I trained them to help with re-drafting, working alongside the less confident. They make suggestions and underline spelling errors etc.

They don't always get it right but this system gives them valuable experience in proof reading and means that the plodders don't feel they always have to be running to me for help. The plodders still have to correct their own work and use a dictionary but at least they have an idea of where the problems are - if any. Careful selection of editors is the key to success.

Teaching students with physical disabilities

Lorac:
I work with a group of six profoundly disabled students with an I.Q. in the 0-40 range.They are non-ambulant and non-verbal. I work in Ireland and am anxious to source research and practical lessons for the group. I would very much value feedback.

Tim Fulford:
In the coming new school year I will be teaching a pupil with severe visual impairment. Can anyone help with ideas, methods, does and don'ts for teaching in a CDT environment?

The child is in yr 7. I have been given a set of notes about the environment, which suggested that we use a matt white board, we have a white board but I have never come across a matt finish one. Also we have been told that red pen on the board is good, however most people who have good sight cannot read red pen on a white board from any distance!

My biggest concern is in a workshop environment where children will be using tools and materials. I think that the child will need one to one help but I am not sure how this can be achieved.

Jo Kerr has had plenty of experience and had this to offer:
I qualified as a primary teacher five years ago but have spent the last three and a half years teaching children with varying degrees of special needs, here in south-west Scotland. I had a long spell in a school with both severe and profoundly disabled youngsters in it and got a great deal of satisfaction from that job.

We relied heavily on sensory based activities, lots of tactile, hands-on work with a variety of materials and lots of sound and smell too - as many had poor vision. Great sources for such activities are found in nursery and pre-school education. Ideas for good materials include shaving foam, Lux Flakes gloop, cornflour paste, bubbles, fibre optic resources - anything that gets a response really! Hope you're getting on all right.

K Burrell made mistakes when she taught a blind student:
I taught a blind student in high school Geometry last year. My biggest mistake, which the student never minded, was to say "look down at the bottom of page 22". Usually, I would just continue on without making a big deal of it but I always felt a twinge when I said it. This student had a full-time teacher with her in my class. She was responsible for making sure the student understood everything. She had a book in Braille and her teacher Brailled all of her tests.

Teaching abused children:

An anonymous member is worried about how to teach an abused child:
Recently I have become aware that one of my pupils who is 14 years old has been in care and abused. Some topics that we discuss upset her and I am not sure how to deal with the situation - am I sympathetic or ignore her when she is upset? Have any other teachers been in this situation - especially English teachers?

Ruth Webb, from a centre for childhood studies, says the school needs a trained teacher to deal with abused children:
Courses on working with children are known to attract students who are coming to terms with issues from their own childhood, therefore in a Centre for Childhood Studies in a college of FE we come across this type of situation frequently.

When we are teaching child protection, we warn the counsellors so that they can arrange availability for those who find this topic distressing. We always issue a 'health warning' at the start of the unit/session, so that if students feel the need to leave they can. (Although for students who cannot cope with a significant amount of learning in this area there are consequences in terms of gaining the vocational qualification).

We have a child protection officer who is trained to deal with disclosures of abuse. I believe that these students should not be ignored and that those who become aware of abuse have a responsibility to refer the case to a suitably trained, designated person within the school. There is not room here to give this complex subject the attention it requires, but you have raised an issue which is more frequently occurring than most people realise.

The Jft moderator said:
I have had a look at the childline website, which has some useful factsheets on child abuse among other topics.