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About Special Needs (continued)
Sadly however, far too many special needs
children -- especially those with less "obvious"
challenges, such as ADD or ADHD -- are falling through the cracks of
our school system, victims of what has too often been a "one
size fits all" education philosophy. Such a situation is
outrageous when one considers that even the minds and bodies of
so-called "normal" children do not all develop at the same
rate and in the same order.
Additionally, all children naturally differ as
to their styles of self-expression and modes of learning. That is,
some children are naturally inclined to be very physical, exuberant,
and to learn through movement. They have a kinetic orientation. The
understanding of what they are doing comes to reside as much in their
muscles as in their brain. Meanwhile still other children cannot make
sense of instruction unless they can see and touch and
sometimes even smell what is being explained and described. They too
require a very "hands on", concrete approach to learning.
And yet, our school system traditionally forces all children to learn
in a fashion that emphasizes sitting immobile for long periods at a
desk or table, while passively absorbing, abstract information
through verbal instruction and two-dimensional representation
(drawings, photos).
It is a sad fact that our traditional approach
to education favors those children who are naturally oriented to this
style of learning, while labeling as less intelligent those who learn
best through movement, through artistic expression, and through full
engagement of the senses -- touch, smell, taste, etc. In similar
fashion the naturally active child -- when judged against the
(socially constructed) norm of passivity -- becomes labeled
"hyperactive". And the highly sensitive and/or intuitive
child who finds it more challenging to shut out her emotions and
those of others around her becomes labeled as having "attention
deficit disorder".
This is not to say that these children don't
have real challenges, or that ADD and ADHD are not real conditions.
They most definitely are. The point is, in order to help
these children and ourselves we need to assess the scope and exact
nature of each child's particular challenges and then educate ourselves
-- as parents, teachers, and caregivers -- about how we can best help
that child meet and overcome
these challenges. And we need to develop realistic expectations
about children's behavior and development, both for "normal" children
and for those with extra challenges.
If you would like to learn more about how to
positively enhance the lives and education of the "special
needs" children in your life, please check out the resources
included on this site. And if you have already been on this quest for
some time, please feel free to send us your suggestions for further
resources and information that we might include here.
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SPECIAL NEEDS |
