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How Can We Help?
We’ve pulled some of the most frequently asked questions and compiled them into one place. Should you have any other questions that we may have missed, contact us and we will do our best to help you.
Why is special education important?
Education programs and practices are designed for students who are physically, emotionally, mentally disabled or gifted children. They require special teaching methods, equipments and care, inside and outside regular classrooms.
How can we recognize a child needs special education?
A child can be easily recognized, if he or she has difficulty in physical health, emotions, social interaction and poor academics.
Following are the characteristics:-
• Abnormality in physical features during birth such as long narrow face, high arched palette, flat feet, notable difference in the shape of jaws and ears, difference in head shape, unusual movements and postures when standing, sitting, walking, and poor eye contact. This are indications of children with mental disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome, etc.
• Have lack of understanding of others emotions as well as their own emotions.
• They usually have limited social interactions and communicate with others only to fulfil their own needs and wants. Also, they do not prefer to spend time with same age children, however some children are different.
• Exhibit poor academic performance, i.e., they show difficulty in reading, writing, spelling mistakes, and mathematics.
What is occupational therapy? How do I know that my child needs occupational therapy?
The purpose of occupation therapy is to help children to promote independent functions in daily life while preventing disability. Often Occupation Therapy is combined with other therapy to meet the needs of the child.
Following are the symptoms shown in children that require occupational therapy:-
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsivity
• Lack in attention and concentration
• Easily distracted
• Disturbs other children in school
• Does not finish tasks and moves to others tasks
• Unusual facial expressions for e.g. looking sideways
• Toe walking
• Oral sensory issues such as frequently putting things in the mouth
• Prolonged looking into inanimate objects such as mirrors, walls, rotating objects, etc.
• Swallowing food without chewing
What does autism mean?
It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that falls under category of disorder called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Children with ASD exhibits difficulties in social and communication skills, and restricted repeated behaviors.
What is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy is the diagnoses, assessment and treatment of speech disorders and communication problems. It also includes coordination of speech muscles, sound repetition and imitation.
Following are some of the conditions treated in speech therapy
• Speech Articulation Disorder- Child’s use of speech sounds below their mental age
• Expressive Language Disorder- child’s ability to use Expressive spoken Language is below their mental age.
• Receptive Language Disorder- Child’s understanding of language is below their mental age.
Speech conditions related to elective mutism, aphasias may also be treated.
How do I know a child needs speech therapy?
The child may present features related to birth defects such as cleft lips, cleft palette, tongue tie, etc.
• The child may show speech language delay, limited vocabulary, issues with speech clarity and fluency, stuttering, stammering, etc.
• Problems in expressive and receptive language.
• A child may show selective speaking, i.e., the child may not speak in unfamiliar situations but speaks in familiar situations. For example, the child may speak at home and with familiar people but is mute at school, or with strangers. This may also occur vice versa.
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy, which help to eliminate or control troubling symptoms which benefit the child and caregivers to function better and promote well-being and healing.
The following are some common problems which can be managed by psychotherapy:-
• Behavioral issues such as harming others, self-harming, and destruction of objects.
• Anger issues such as excessive anger, temper tantrums, etc.
• Phobias- extreme or irrational fear of particular objects, class of objects or situations such as fear of thunders and lightening, darkness, insects, sounds, water, height, etc.
• Anxiety and stress related to school, home, public places, social situations, etc.
• Mood disturbances like depression, irrational thinking patterns, etc.
Psychotherapy is not restricted to the above mentioned problems, any behavior that deviate from the normal conditions of a child are managed under psychotherapy.
Who requires psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy can be access by anybody regardless of whether one has a mental health condition or not. It is important to remember psychotherapy is personalized, and targets are set by the caregivers for the child before working towards achieving these goals. The therapist acts as a guide to help both the parent and child achieve these targets by working as a team. It is also important to note, apart from the issues mentioned above, psychotherapy may also be used in children and caregivers who have difficulty in managing trauma, grief, relationship issues between caregivers, siblings, teachers, students in school, etc., issues with self-confidence and emotional stability.
