A Child with Learning Disability - Ways and Means of Communication and Assessment - Case Study Example

A Child with Learning Disability: Ways and Means of Communication and Assessment The process of communication to, say, an autistic child is challenging. Children with learning disabilities have different perception and practice concerning social interaction in contrast to the “normal” individual; by normal, it means persons with normal neural development. (It should be noted, nevertheless, that there is difficulty in distinguishing a child with learning disabilities in contrast to the normal child.) As generally defined, learning disability is a disorder in which an individual finds it difficult to learn certain area of human knowledge. One of the many characteristics of a person with learning disorder is his or her inability to participate in spontaneous social interaction and communication. This paper examines the ways and strategies of communicating to a child with special needs. Also, this paper explores the special child’s needs assessment, the relevance of person-centered multimedia, and my perspective to these things as a future nurse. Finally, this paper tackles on the importance of simulation. Special type of communication Language, the tool of communication, is one of the many aspects of human invention that a person with learning disability finds difficult to learn, if not master. Presently, the nature of learning disability is as intricate as the human brain itself. Technical professionals, associated in studying and comprehending the human species, remain perplex to its depth and height. There are rare instances wherein a person with learning difficulty is cured from such disorder through early intervention. However, there are cases wherein an individual with learning disability lingers to be in that state or condition, despite application of intervention practices. People with normal neural development or “a system” (Kaur, Scior, and Wilson’s term) should adjust or adapt according to the abilities and needs of persons with learning disorder, since the latter has the inherent character to learn in a difficult or unconventional manner (Kaur, Scior, &Wilson, 2009). Educating the special child There are three main biosocial based problems that technical professionals, commonly called developmental psychopathologists, are continually studying or learning: autism, learning disability, and conduct disorder. Technically speaking, autism is a disorder characterized by an inability or unwillingness to interact or communicate with other people. On the other hand, conduct disorder is a behavior problem involving unrestrained or too much activity and inability to concentrate to one thing or idea. It is noteworthy though that learning disability, particularly dyslexia, is largely associated to the physiological problem of auditory function rather than visual function. Thus, it has been suggested that a dyslexic child can be taught to read by speaking to him or her in a slow-down speech. There is hope for the child with learning disability to function or act similar to the normal people’s action. What is needed for the carer in particular is to be patient. The methods of mainstreaming, resource room, and inclusions are the three major approaches practiced by the care provider or teacher in enhancing the learning-disabled child’s communicative and/or social skills. First, the mainstreaming approach is done, rather than segregating children with special needs, by putting these children in the same classroom setting characterized in the general education system. The child with special needs is educated together with other kids. The teacher is instructed to be more sensitive to the child with learning disability. Unfortunately, this type of educational approach in teaching children with special needs is a huge challenge for the mainstream teachers (Watson, 2009). Second, the method of resource room is performed inside a particular room equipped with materials essentially designed for the learning of the special child. This child would spend the day with a trained teacher to remedy his or her disability. And third, the inclusion approach is more likely a combination of the mainstreaming and resource room methods. In inclusion, the child with special needs is kept within the group of normal kids, while also providing this child with a special individualized instruction. Communication process Basically, there are four things that a person or a care provider should significantly consider prior to communicating to a child with special needs. By and large, this communication process is commonly called as Intensive Interaction approach. First, the care provider listens to, or perhaps hears, the autistic child’s story although its subject does not interest the carer. Persons with learning disorder won’t know at all if the care provider finds his or her story somewhat boring; unless the carer explicitly informs him or her of such indifference or disinterest. After listening, a care provider can subtly change the topic that is of his or her liking via subcategory. In this approach, the two involved parties in the process of communication largely gain common ground. Nevertheless, the central concern for the care provider is to listen to child’s story, attentively if possible, no matter how uninteresting it is for the carer. A child with learning disability has different level of comprehension in contrast to the normal people’s cognitive ability. But unlike the child, the adult carer can level or grapple the child’s mental ability. Also, people with special needs only speak out or even take action on issues or topics that are important to them (Johnson, 2009). Moreover, care provider must ask questions that are important to the child with special needs (Preece & Jordan, 2010). Second, the care provider secures that the environment is free from distraction, in order to smoothly interact to the special child. The autistic child’s attention can be distracted when there is a presence of, say, a flashing light or an annoying sound. This child with special needs is very sensitive to the things around him or her. A mere sound from the other room, either produced by person-to-person conversation or by playing music, could already be noise to the autistic child (Preece & Jordan, 2010). When distracted, the child could turn away from the social interaction with the carer, thereby cutting the line of communication. Third, the care provider, whenever necessary, avoids physical contact to the autistic child unless the child him- or herself initiates it. A child with special needs hardly likes being touched by others. On the other hand, the child’s tapping the carer’s shoulder is a sign that he or she likes to have physical contact. At first, the child with special needs gaze at the carer before engaging in a social communication, and turning that interaction into games (Zeedyk, et al., 2009). And fourth, the care provider knows the child with special needs. To acknowledge the worth of the child as a human individual is very important (Harnett, et al., 2009). Non-verbal autistic child, or any child with learning difficulty, has his or her own way of communicating to other people or to the world itself. Since such child possesses a small amount of vocabulary, other strategies could be used to ease the non-verbal interaction between the two. For instance, concrete object can be utilized as a means or symbol for meaningful communication. By merely presenting to the care provider an empty glass would imply that the non-verbal autistic child wants a glass of juice drink. The carer must know his or her patient’s body language, tone of voice, facial expression, and gestures (Williams, et al., 2009). Special assessment There are numerous available strategies in assessing the special child’s progress or level of cognitive ability. The assessment is performed through, among other things, a thorough evaluation of the child’s skill or level of learning to specific academic domains. The child’s ability or skill can be evaluated in three general aspects: reading, mathematics, and writing. First, the child with special needs undergoes an assessment of his or her reading skill. This sort of reading evaluation excludes the assessment of how well the child reads with fluency and comprehension. The child just reads aloud the words, without semantic meaning, that he or she sees on the pages of the book. Second, the special child’s numerical skill is objectively measured or assessed through computation and problem solving. The evaluation test usually contains basic mathematical operation and/or problem solving. It is primarily designed to examine the special child’s mathematical skill. And third, the written skill of the child with special needs is evaluated. In the writing domain, the child takes an assessment test that includes an evaluation of his or her handwriting and composition skills. Nonetheless, there are other strategies in the assessment of the special child’s skills. A child with learning difficulty possesses distinctive needs in comparison to other special children. This child’s needs actually take in many forms; it could be social, academic, emotional, or medical necessity. Assessing the needs of a special is undoubtedly a priority. Here are two examples on the ways of assessing a special child’s needs: developmental and social history (DSH), and speech and language assessment (SLA). DSH is a vital part of assessment for the special child’s diagnosis. It is generally characterized as the collection of the learning-disabled child’s background information. On the other hand, SLA is an important part of assessment in diagnosing the learning difficulty of the child. There are numerous assessment methods for the speech and language therapy. Here are three examples addressed to phonology: CLEAR, STAP, and DEAP. Evidently, the two underlying reasons for these kinds of assessment are: (1) to determine the special child’s cognitive abilities; and (2) to determine which of the skills is needed for intervention. Person-centered multimedia It is essential that a person-centered multimedia be applied to facilitate the needs assessment. In the age of technology, multimedia serves as an important tool for learning and development. By definition, multimedia is a tool that uses many and varied media to convey specific message or information. Person-centered multimedia greatly helps in evaluating the special child’s needs primarily because it serves as an effective tool for instruction or education. The uniqueness of the special child’s needs makes it necessary that different approaches be utilized in satisfying the patient’s. On the other hand, the care provider should consider the child’s physiological abilities and his or her media preferences. Sound-oriented media deems it futile for a special child with auditory problem. Person-centered multimedia, when employed properly, enhances and improves the learning environment of the child with special needs. Thus, advocating for and utilization of this kind of multimedia facilitate the needs assessment. Future nursing perspective As a future nurse, it is very important for me to comprehend the vital nature and present understanding of the children with learning disabilities. To communicate with special children is truly challenging given their inherent character of disorder. Well-tested strategies must be sought in order to effectively and efficiently serve the patient’s needs. Current findings tell us that there are plenty of rooms to discover and learn the nature of human being’s learning disabilities. Nonetheless, future nurses such as myself need to know and avail the available processes and methods in dealing with special children. In catering the patient’s needs, it is essential that nurses determine first on what these needs are. Apparently, a child with learning disorder has different and unique needs in contrast to others. For instance, a dyslexic child’s needs are not the same compared to the needs of a child with dyscalcula disorder. Assessment then must be served first prior to communicating with a special child. A nurse has to familiarize him- or herself of the many strategies in assessing or evaluating the child with special needs. On the other hand, the care provider (e.g., the child’s lone parent) requires many and varied technical professionals in teaching and enhancing the communicative and social skills of the child with learning difficulty (Kelly, et al., 2009; Tadema & Vlaskamp, 2009). Also, the nursing profession requires the aid of other medical or social professions in order to satisfactorily meet the patient’s needs. Undoubtedly, child care is a social responsibility. And the absence of complete knowledge to human learning disorder necessitates the multifarious ways and venues of ameliorating the child’s learning disability. Indeed, it is essential that I, as a future nurse, should learn and grasp the fundamental elements associated to learning disabilities. Certainly, it would be hard for nurses to perform his or her noble duty in the absence of this knowledge and its application. Vital simulators Nowadays, simulation is becoming a vital instrument of learning for the future medical or health care professionals. Basically, simulators are created and developed to be used as a means for training medical exercises. The role of simulators is for the would-be health care professionals to be familiarized with certain medical-related task or procedure; simulation includes, but not limited to, computer-programmed blood-letting and laparoscopic surgery. Undeniably, simulators are essential to the future professional in particular and the public in general. The vitality of simulation for the future medical professionals centers on the fact that their nature of work involves life and death. Once gone, life cannot be restored again. Therefore, practice via simulation plays a significant role in saving lives. Reference List Harnett, A. 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