BY LUKE DOUGLAS Career & Education senior reporter editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 09, 2011
DESPITE the lack of facilities and staff to adequately address the needs of children with learning difficulties in most schools, parents must make the effort to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for them.
So says developmental pediatrician Dr Andrea Garbutt. She noted that while all children should be adequately prepared to attend school, more time and attention should be spent preparing a child with special needs, such as those with autism spectrum disorder, than that of a typically developing child.
You have to address the health and physical development of children, whether they have special needs or not; their emotional well-being and social competence, in terms of their approaches to learning, their communication skills, and cognitive skills and general knowledge,” she told Career & Education.
“For special-needs children, such as those with autism spectrum disorder, it’s the same criteria they are required to fulfil to be ready for school. It just means it may require more effort, frequency and attention to get them ready on the part of the parents and community,” she added.
The doctor explained that the development of a typical child is taken for granted in that they are ready for school by age four. But the special-needs child may have a range of physical problems, including dental, which may cause the child discomfort, so parents must be on the lookout for these signs.
“From very early, aware parents of children with special needs are cognisant of the fact that they need to do a little extra. It could be getting them to walk, practising to hold a pencil (or) potty training them a little longer. But being aware doesn’t always mean that the parent can do what is in the child’s best interest because they may have to balance home with work,” Garbutt noted.
Bearing in mind the financial constraints of the Government, she did not comment on whether more should be spent on facilities for special-needs children.
But Kathy Chang, co-founder of the Jamaica Autism Support Association, noted that private schools have better facilities for special-needs children, and these are concentrated mostly in Kingston and Montego Bay.
Garbutt conceded that public schools with their large class sizes were unsuitable for special-needs children.
“Special-needs children need more one-to-one action and more supervision than a typically developing child. So the ratio of 35 children to one child is not the right setting for a special-needs child,” she said, noting that children with severe difficulties may even need a ratio of one teacher to one child.
“When you look at it that way, you realise you will also need auxiliary services, such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech, and language therapy to accommodate them,” Garbutt added.
But for parents who cannot afford private school, the physician encourages:
* early diagnosis of their child’s condition from as young as 18 months;
* continuous research about the condition on the Internet; and
* a close relationship with the child’s doctor and teachers.
Garbutt recommends, too, that parents utilise the health and development passport issued to newborns since September 2010 to monitor the child’s developmental milestones.
“Know what your child should be doing; go online and look it up. Compare with other children of the same age and compare with your other children. After a few weeks of school, go in and ask your teacher how your child is doing,” she said.