{"id":121636,"date":"2020-05-13T10:16:59","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T08:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/us.edu.pl\/?p=121636"},"modified":"2020-05-13T13:39:20","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T11:39:20","slug":"dr-agnieszka-kossowska-aleksandra-ruminska-wsparcie-i-edukacja-dzieci-ze-specjalnymi-potrzebami-edukacyjnymi-spe-w-czasie-epidemii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/us.edu.pl\/en\/dr-agnieszka-kossowska-aleksandra-ruminska-wsparcie-i-edukacja-dzieci-ze-specjalnymi-potrzebami-edukacyjnymi-spe-w-czasie-epidemii\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. A. Kossowska, A. Rumi\u0144ska | Support and education for children with special educational needs (SEN) during the epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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| Aleksandra Rumi\u0144ska, Dr. Agnieszka Kossowska |<\/span><\/p>\n

The period of social isolation is very hard for everyone \u2013 children, parents and teachers. In many families, pandemic brings additional burdens, stress caused by a loss of job or income source. Particularly difficult is the situation of single parents and those who look after patients under 24-hour care.<\/p>\n

Following the first two weeks of chaos, despair, protest and being lost, some of the families have managed to achieve certain stabilisation, while others are aiming to reach this condition with better or worse results, and others still are falling into even deeper distress, helplessness or incapacity. At this point, teachers may have to cooperate with parents who no longer have the resources to provide educational support for their children and only want to survive this extreme period somehow. We need to emphasize here that without going beyond the usual routine, we (parents, teachers) won\u2019t be able to help any child. The current situation is so remote from the well-known patterns that every attempt to treat it in a standard way has to end in a disaster.<\/p>\n

When trying to help a child who has problems with focusing their attention, we keep repeating to them, \u2018Think what is most important right now\u2019. It is us, the adults, who should now ask this question to ourselves. What is most important right now? To learn another pattern, how to write letters, memorise multiplication table, or other subjects? Definitely not. The most important thing at the moment is to take care of the child\u2019s well-being and ensure their need for security.<\/p>\n

What has the child lost?<\/strong><\/p>\n

School and contact with peers, daily routine and predictability. In other words, they lost the sense of security, which especially for the children who are small, disabled, do not develop harmoniously, or live \u2018here and now\u2019, is the end of the world as they know it. The children do not understand the temporary nature of the situation they are in.<\/p>\n

Teenagers may also have lost contact with their girlfriend or boyfriend. It\u2019s a very difficult experience for them, requiring their parents to be very attentive, empathetic and delicate. A teenager may also be afraid that their relationship will not stand the test of time, which might be a source of great emotional tension for them.<\/p>\n

Has the child got something in return?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. Most often overworked, overstressed and frustrated parents, who are trying to combine remote work (or work away from home) and household duties with 24-hour care of their children. Coronavirus gave a vast majority of children the \u2018gift\u2019 of a lack of outdoor fun, severely restricted contacts with their peers and distance learning.<\/p>\n

The children for whom school was, for various reasons, a difficult experience, were relieved from the source of stress. Everyone without any exceptions was given \u2018prizes\u2019 of stress and\/fear \u2013 the effects of pandemic.<\/p>\n

So far, the outcome is not positive.<\/p>\n

How about emotions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Already before the social isolation period, some children witnessed conversations about the spreading virus between the anxious adults. Those who asked their teacher or parent to explain the situation and were left with no answer, either handled their own fear by talking about it with their peers, or… did not handle it at all. The lack of reliable information, specially adapted to the child\u2019s needs, is never good for them. We may only hope that during the period of over one month from the beginning of social isolation, each adult found a way to explain the child what social isolation is and what the cause was.<\/p>\n

It cannot be expected that children will deal with this situation on their own. It is almost certain that the lack of adult support will result in the child\u2019s huge emotional tension and change of moods. If the child is not yet aware of their own emotions and needs, self-aggression or aggression may also occur. Such manifestation of emotional condition is an important message from the child screaming for help with their entire self.<\/p>\n

So how to help the child (and consequently the whole family)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The starting point for the real support of a child (and consequently the whole the family) must be an honest conversation between the parents and teachers about the needs of all parties involved and possible support. While planning work with a child, it is good to start with their passions, which serve as internal motivation. Work sheets will not be motivating for all children; it will also not work if we try to force a child to perform tasks or take part in distance learning, make them stay or reprove them, if they don\u2019t want to participate in the classes. For example, if a child likes comic books, we can use special websites to create them (e.g. www.storyboardthat.com<\/a>), so that they can learn to tell the narrative, talk about books, learn to write and develop their creativity \u2013 such method of working can be an invaluable source of information about the young man for us. If the child is stimulated by and interested in a colourful pinwheel, let\u2019s try to think if we are able to explain to them how it works (obviously according to their cognitive skills). Perhaps we can show them how wind power plants operate, and the pinwheel will become a starting point for another child\u2019s interest? We can use tools which are natural for the child and which they are most willing to use spontaneously. For example, if new technologies are the child\u2019s natural environment, it is worth using educational platforms and websites with attractive animations and instructional videos. Lego blocks are a great tool for learning multiplication and fractals (just try typing \u2018Lego blocks mathematics\u2019 in your Google). You can also try to offer a leading theme that is interesting and attractive for the child \u2013 for example, if they are interested in nature, they have a great opportunity to learn by growing an own plant from the stage of seed. The child can also document the development of their own plant or insect cultivation (rusty tussock moth, peacock butterfly \u2013 caterpillar cultivation is not particularly demanding). And if the child is interested in experiments, we can offer to perform interesting and safe experiments at home (e.g. volcano made with sodium and vinegar), and explain, by the way, what happens during a chemical reaction. There are many options \u2013 it is only that we, the adults, have to think out of the box and remind ourselves how cool science is (and how creative we used to be as children).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not be afraid of digital tools. Children grow up surrounded by new technologies and for them, unlike for some parents, it is the natural environment, which is presently necessary for social development. Divided attention and communication are required for proper social development, so playing online together through Discord and WhatsApp, or using communicators with a camera for talking with friends can be interesting forms of spending time together (of course, please remember about restrictions in the case of children for whom excessive exposure to computer screen may induce epilepsy attacks).<\/p>\n

Here are several online platforms that we like, have tested and may honestly recommend:<\/p>\n