Interviewing Parents of Children with Special Needs - Assignment Example

?ASSIGNMENT: Interview a parent of a child with special needs. Family background and history briefly (to the extent you have access) –pregnancy, birth, infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, and school age (if applicable) with associated milestones. The questions asked to Jerry’s family: 1) What is your name and your relation with Jerry? 2) When an how did you come to know about Jerry’s disabilities? 3)What kind of disabilities she is suffering from? 4) What was your reaction when you first realized her disabilities? 5) How did you help her to grow up? 6) What kind of problems or challenges you have to face? 7) What types of step have you taken when you came to know about his disabilities? 8) Which kind of support helped you the most? 9) Did you noticed any problem she is facing with her brother? 10) What are your experiences with school personnel and what is your dream about her future? Children with special needs are those who have different types of disabilities. An ample range of ‘special needs’ and ‘childhood disorders’ can be found. Some of them are : Autistic Disorder, attention deficit, emotional disturbance, speech and language impairments, mental retardation, speech and language impairments, traumatic brain injury etc. The paper presents an interview with the mother of Jerry, a 10 yrs old girl, who is suffering from multiple disabilities. Her problems are speech and intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment. The paper discusses the experiences of the father of a child suffering from multiple disabilities (CCIC, 2013). Jerry’s father Mr. John Browne is a Marine Engineer, mother Mrs. Rina Browne is a school teacher. Being a Marine Engineer, he is bound to travel for long periods. When Rina was pregnant for the first time John was serving emergency sailing duty. Rina was alone in their flat. No one was there to take care of her except she herself. One day on her way to school she faced a severe accident . Doctor suspects this trauma during her pregnancy was the reason for Jerry’s speech and intellectual disability. Moreover Rina had a hereditary problem of calcium deficiency which was not taken special care of during her pregnancy which affected her child Jerry. When did the family begin to suspect that their child was not developing typically? Basically Jerry was a calm baby. Generally a baby grows in different stages. But in the case of Jerry, their parents noticed that ,“ Jerry was not reacting like the child next to their house , who was of Jerry’s age”. Jerry’s friend was much advance in everything. She learned to walk and talk at the age of 9 months. Generally babies learn to walk and talk within the age of one and a half years, but Jerry did not learn this. She did not speak. She used to point out every thing through different expressions. Her parents noticed, “ when her friend is roaming here and there, singing in broken words and playing , Jerry is eager to do so but she is unable to do the same”. What was the reaction and response when the child’s difficulties were first realized? When Jerry’s parents first time came to realize the inefficiency in Jerry they were much tensed. They consulted a doctor. After different diagnosis when the doctor told them that Jerry was suffering from multiple disabilities they were really shocked. They felt very helpless and confused. But the doctor consoled them and said that not only Jerry, there are many babies suffering from different types of disabilities. The doctor assured them that such problems had different remedies or corrective measures. How did extended family and friends react? Generally an extended family makes a special effort to accept the child suffering from disabilities. In case of Jerry we can find that her extended family used to shun her at different family events. Moreover they used to question the parenting skill of Browne family. Hence her parents decided to cut ties with those unsupportive family members. Describe the Evaluation process and development of the child’s IFSP or IEP, including the parents’ involvement in the process. The critical opening stride in the ‘special education program’ for the youngster suffering from disability is assessment. An individual initial evaluation must be conducted before providing special education and the connected services to be acquainted with the child better. Jerry’s father provided the written consent for her evaluation. The second consent they gave was parents’ permission to provide the special education services to Jerry. IFSP means Individualized Family Service Plan and IEP means Individualized Education Program. IEP is an educational process for students in the age group of 3 to 21 but IFSP is used for children from infancy till two years of age and it involves the family more. It may also include professionals from different disciplines to plan for the child. In Jerry’s case she was evaluated through a game session for IEP and was scheduled for her IEP sessions. She started improving then (PACER, 2011; IEP, 2013). How is the parent involved in the child’s program (home based, center or school services)? Jerry’s parents are very friendly with her. They always teach how to take care of herself. They never differentiate her with her brother Jack. If the child knows how to lead a healthy and independent life then it will be set with her future. Jerry reads in a special school but now she can express in a better way than the past. She can play and interact with the normal children also. She is gaining her self confidence which proves that her parents and her school are great support to her. She is no more depressed and ready to look at her life through a bigger window. May be it sounds corny but this will help out a child to be self dependent. According to them if the parents become a great support to their handicapped child then they will be learned enough to take their condition easily and behave like a normal child . What are the challenges and rewards of working with various educators and other professionals, such as speech, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc? What are the parents’ joys, sorrows, and frustrations related to raising this child? Jerry has gone through different speech therapies. Initially Jerry found it difficult to cooperate with her educators and therapist but later with time, she responded more spontaneously. After different ups and downs, sorrows and depressions, now her parents are much stable and optimist about their child Jerry, who grown strong enough to take care of herself. How does the situation with the child with special needs affect other siblings? Jerry had a cordial relation with her brother. Relationship with siblings perhaps depends on the upbringing nature of the parents. Jerry’s brother Jack became sensitive enough to accept his sister with her disabilities. At this early age he learnt to help his elder sister Jerry. He is a very good friend of Jerry and loves her sister very much. What are the parents’ hopes and dreams for their child? Jerry’s parents have many dreams and hopes regarding their two children. But they believe that since Jerry is a good painter she will be a good artist one day. The term ‘intellectual disability’ is a improved phrase for ‘Mental retardation’. According to some people it is diagnosed on the basis of below normal intelligence. Such people are unable to take care of themselves and or learn anything. But it has been proved that most children with intellectual disabilities can learn a lot and as an adult they can lead an independent life partially. So Jerry’s parents are also very hopeful about her future as a painter. Summary The expression ‘multiple disabilities’ is universal and extensive. From the term one can deduce how many disabilities a child has, which disabilities are involved, or how severe each disability is. Many combinations of disabilities are possible. Multiple disabilities include instantaneous impairments (such as ‘intellectual disability’ – blindness, intellectual disability – orthopedic impairment, etc), the combination of which causes such rigorous educational requirements that they cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments. According to IDEA , multiple disabilities is the amalgamation of disabilities that causes the student to have serious educational needs. And those educational needs must be so severe that they cannot be addressed by providing special education services for only one of the impairments. The Federal definition of multiple disabilities generally gives two examples of possible combinations of disabilities: ‘Intellectual disability’ and blindness and ‘intellectual disability’ and ‘orthopedic impairment’. For babies and toddlers we can say that when a baby is born with multiple disabilities , their parents should ensure there is ample help available immediately. Mainly children with ‘multiple disabilities’ need aid and support all he way through their lives. The amount of the support a child needs will depend on the disabilities involved. The child suffering from mild multiple disabilities may only need support now and again, or for particular tasks. But the child with severe multiple disorders are likely to need constant support (NICHCY, 2013). Strategies According to the Burke (2008) our social model should promote the need of the individual in the community. Then only the experience of social exclusion of the disabled can be removed. It is important to collect the voices of families with children suffering from such disabilities. In order to decide a well framed strategy to work with families of children suffering from disorders, it is important first to collect a database of households with such children. Then it is important for nonprofit and government organizations to work together and visit the parents to provide appropriate suggestions through medical personnel. They can act as advisors for such families and help them carry out therapies to improve the children’s conditions. This service can be arranged free of cost for people below a certain income group and for the rest a nominal charge can be imposed. The most important part is monitoring and making pregnant women aware of the care they should take for a healthy birth. It is important to have schools or some associations where the disabled children will be getting a chance to interact with normal children and they will not be treated as special children; this will help them keel socially acceptable. Promoting workshops where such children can use their special skills can be a part of the program and this will help in boosting their confidence. It is important to generate special and positive sides of these children and encourage them to make a better future. References Burke, P. (2008), Disability and Impairment, London: Jessica Kingsley publisher CCIC (2013), Types of Childhood Disabilities and Other Special Needs, retrieved on August 10, 2013 from: http://www.ciccparenting.org/childhooddisabilities.aspx IEP (2013), Band Back Together, retrieved on August 10, 2013 from: http://www.bandbacktogether.com/individualized-education-plan-resources/ NICHCY (2013), Multiple Disabilities, retrieved on August 10, 2013 from: http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/multiple#causes PACER, (2011), What is the Difference between IFSP and IEP? Retrieved on August 10, 2013 from: http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHP-c59.pdf Read More