Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs - Case Study Example

Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs (CCN) Name University Introduction In the early years of childhood, speech and language acquisition takes place. This period ranges from the 1st to 5th year of childhood (Sanhueza et al, n.d.). The children usually acquire the speech and the language skills to allow them have capacity to express their feelings, interact with the adults and their peers so that they explain what they want. They too utilize the use of speech at schools to acquire education which vital to the prosperity of their lives. It`s through education that the personal and national economic development can be realized in any nation. Even students with complex communication needs need acquire a basic education for them to lead proper and prosperous lives (Johnson et al, 2008). CCN students should be introduced to normal classrooms so that they observe what their peers do rather than segregate them in special classrooms all the period of their study. Acquisition of language skills is very important since it prepares everybody for the life experiences and mostly the learning at the schools (Hanser, 2008). Speech is arguably one of the most important aspects of language since it enables communication to take place between different persons of the society. It`s through communication that we can exchange ideas, feelings, knowledge and every other important communication aspect. Therefore, children with complex communication needs find a great difficulty to interact with the rest of the society especially those who cannot communicate through speech. Indeed, communication is very important since it the only method we can be able to pass on skills and knowledge to other people (Blackstone, 2008). School Environment Description Our environment of interest is a mainstream school with a special unit in which a five-year old girl called Emily has been booked to study. Emily is a student at an early learning center that cares for students with complex communication needs. In her class there are forty pupils. Out of the forty pupils, four of them are students with complex communication needs. The four pupils cannot communicate with speech. Emily on her part she is a young who at her stage is trying to learn new things. She is faced by the problem that she cannot communicate with speech but uses vocalization, facial expressions and body movements to communicate. This means that her class session must be conducted by a professional tutor. Professional tutors take into consideration her status of communication and, therefore, practice the class sessions in a manner that she can understand and get engaged fully and actively. Subject and topic of study Therefore a tutor who accurately understands the needs of students with complex communication needs (CNN) can include a student with CCN like Emily in a normal classroom and teach both parties to satisfaction levels. In the early learning center, a tutor can undertake a drawing and painting lesson. During the painting lesson, crayons of different colours are to be used to color different objects we have come across in life especially the fruits which are common among the young children. To ensure that both parties learn well during the lesson, it will be very important for the tutor to come to the class with at least eight different types of fruits with different colours. Learning outcomes In Australia, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) plays a vital role in the early childhood curriculum framework. This particular framework has been established to precisely describe all the principles and outcomes to support, enhance young children's learning. The learning period considered in from 0 to 5th year and the pupils transition to formal school. It should be noted that this learning frame work pays a strong emphasize on the play-based learning. This is so because it recognizes the importance of communication and language at the school (Sally et al, 2013) Therefore, the learning outcomes of Emily and rest of the pupils in the classroom is the same. The learning outcomes are that every pupil in the classroom should undergo social and emotional development. The pupils should be able to successfully meet the objectives of the lesson which was drawing and coloring. And finally the pupils should have enormous knowledge of numeracy so that they can be deemed to have successfully achieved the early literacy education. Teaching strategies CCN students require educational programs that are rigorous and relevant to enhancement of their communication. These kinds of programs promote communication between them and their peers as well as the rest members of the society. CCN pupils, tutors and other relevant parties play important roles in successful communication. Several teaching strategies have been employed by the tutors to teach the CCN students. The first strategy is to provide CCN pupils with access to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Providing CCN pupils with access to AAC ensures that they learn effective communication skills and stand a chance to participate in the classroom learning activities. The second strategy is to develop motivating learning activities in the classroom. This strategy is important since motivating activities encourage CCN pupils to participate. The third teaching strategy is to respond to pupil’s communication attempts so that they can learn that communication is an important tool of relaying knowledge. The final teaching strategy is to wait for a response from the CCN students. CCN students take time to compose an answer hence it is always good to give them time to compose answers (Collier, McGhie-Richmond & Self, 2010). Teaching activities The tutor will start by showing the pupils the banana; later draw the shape of the banana on the blackboard. Every pupil will draw the shape on the exercise book, more attention will be paid to Emily where the tutor will proceed to Emily`s desk to check on her progress. The tutor will fish out a yellow chalk and color the drawn shape of the banana. The tutor will ask the pupils to fish out their yellow crayons and color their shape. At this moment the teacher will look at every pupils work and assist those lagging behind. The pupils will proceed to draw the same shape on their own now-, and then color it. The tutor will move around the classroom of the forty pupils checking on their progress and still assisting those lagging behind. From that step, the tutor will show other fruits to the pupils and drawing their shapes on the blackboard followed by coloring. The same step will apply to the student where they will draw the shapes of the fruits they are shown by their tutor and then coloring them according to the tutors instructions. It is only through the identification of methods of communication of Emily that the tutor can only be able to disseminate knowledge to her. Emily learns very well through observation. She, therefore, could observe the shapes and the colors very well. The tutor was only tasked with only guiding her on few basics like start drawing now, color the shape every time you draw it. Therefore, the learning outcomes of the both parties had been me, and it is only through such activities that children with complex communication needs can be educated to like their peers in the society. How to create learning and communication opportunities Creating multiple opportunities in the classroom that promote communication and learning is very vital towards ensuring that Emily and her peers understand what they are being taught at the classroom. Indeed, the pupils’ participation in the classroom is the single way to enhance communication between them and with the teacher. For when we focus at the previous lesson that was drawing and coloring, it would be very important that the pupils come forward in-front of the others and try to draw the shapes on the blackboard in turns. The pupils can also be allowed to draw the shapes of the objects they see in their homes. By doing this, the students will exchange ideas and through this type of learning, the key points of the lesson will stick in their minds. The tutor should ask the students names of various colors, the names of the shapes they have drawn or come across in the classroom. Academic participation Every young pupil attends school to be equipped with knowledge. When a young pupil is faced any disability, it becomes a challenge to acquire education. Therefore, CCN students need special care so that they can attain same educational levels like their peers. Taking into consideration the case of Emily, a well trained special and language therapist was regularly allowed to tutor Emily to improve on her communication efficacy. Her tutors were also well trained on how to tutor students will disabilities even worse than that of Emily. Emily`s school which is a mainstream school is staffed with well trained personnel that cares for the academic and social needs of CCN students. The staffs who include the speech and language personnel and the sign language tutors have created and inclusive study environment for Emily and her peers. Also to note is that the psychological tutors at the school have well tutored the students on the need to accept the CCN students at the school rather than segregating or avoiding them at the school. The tutors also availed the right and adequate study material to the CCN students so that they could perform in their studies well (Watson, 2009). Social participation Social participation is important for every young pupil at the school and in the class. In this particular case of Emily, the teaching professional was well trained on how to meet the needs of CCN pupils like Emily. The tutor was established to have proper disability awareness and understanding of the capabilities of CCN pupils. Therefore, the tutor was well equipped at creating an effective inclusive study environment for Emily at the school and class. The good inclusive learning environment at the school was achieving by; availing the right and proper learning resources, ensuring that there was a proper understanding and acceptance of Emily by her peers in the classroom and at the school. Her peers were well informed that disability is not inability and that CCN students can socially perform just like them (Carol, Christensen & Carolyn, 2002). Student’s evaluation In every learning activity, it is crucial to gauge the progress of the pupils such as Emily through the use of scaffolding and modeling techniques. It is through the use of scaffolding strategies that the teacher will learn the errors the students are likely to make and will stand a chance of helping the students rectify them (Blackstone, 2008). Since the lesson involved the use of visual aids hence tapping into their knowledge was an easy task. The students were asked questions relevant to drawing of shapes and coloring. If the students give correct answers to the questions, then they had fully understood the topic of study.It by through this method we can establish their level of understanding of the topic and how far they have understood it. Conclusion and reflection It is very certain that by practicing this kind of teaching method, then normal students and the CCN students will benefit equal from the lesson taught. More attention should be paid to the CCN students since in many times they lag slightly behind the others during the learning because most such students cannot communicate by use of speech. I think CCN students learn best through the acts of observation, imitation, signs and their parents should be informed of that so that they continue developing the learning capabilities of their dear children even there in their homes and during holidays and most essentially important provide them with vast visual easy to understand learning materials that will essentially teach them to communicate with their peers. We have established how important communication is and how education is important. We can only realize personal and national development only if we acquire basic levels of education. We have also noted the various activities the CCN students can get engaged in and fully get engaged like the rest of the pupils in the class during the study lessons. We therefore in the modern society, we should always promote and avail education necessities to every child regardless of their status. In the modern day setting, education has established itself as one of the drivers to better life and personal freedom. It is only by doing this that the students with complex communication needs will feel comfortable to study. The CCN students have personally established that they are like the rest of the students at the school and can academically perform well like their counterparts who do not have complex communication needs. References Beukelman, D. R., Mirenda, P., & Beukelman, D. R. (2013). Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub. ScopeVic, 'Home - Scopevic'. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 May 2015. Sally Lindsay, Meghann Proulx, Nicole Thomson & Helen Scott (2013) Educators’ Challenges of Including Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Classrooms, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 60:4, 347-362, DOI:10.1080/1034912X.2013.846470 Communication Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC), www.cdacanada.com Carol A. Chrestensen & Carolyn D. Baker (2002) Pedagogy, observation and the construction of learning disabilities, Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 10:1, 73-93, DOI: 10.1080/14681360200200128 Blackstone, S., (2008). Communication Access for people who use AAC. Augmentative Communication News, 20(3). http://www.augcominc.com/newsletters/index.cfm/newsletter_49.pdf Collier, B., McGhie-Richmond, D., & Self, H. (2010). Exploring communication assistants as an option for increasing communication access to communities for people who use augmentative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 26, 48-59. Hanser, G. (2008). Investigating the effects of integrated systematic decoding, spelling and communication instruction for students with complex communication needs. Glynn, T., Wearmouth, J., & Berryman, M. (2006). Supporting students with literacy difficulties: A responsive approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Johnson, Hilary, Bloomberg, Karen, & Iacono, Teresa. (2008). Student and professional attitudes and interests in working with people with complex communication needs. (Informa Healthcare.) Informa Healthcare. Bailey, R. L., Angell, M. E., & Stoner, J. B. (September 01, 2011). Improving Literacy Skills in Students with Complex Communication Needs Who Use Augmentative/Alternative Communication Systems. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 46, 3, 352-368. Grupo de Investigación Interdisciplinar en Docencia Universitaria (GIDU), Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Sanhueza Henríquez, Susan Valeria, Cardona Moltó, María Cristina, & Friz Carrillo, Miguel. (n.d.). Understanding elementary and secondary students' representation of cultural differences as reflected in the process of intercultural communication in school contexts. (Nordic Psychology. 2015, 67(1): 65-86. doi:10.1080/19012276.2014.997785.) Routledge. Watson, S. (2009). Barriers to inclusive education in Ireland: The case for pupils with a diagnosis of intellectual and/or pervasive developmental disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 277-284. Read More