Lifelong Learning Skills - Essay Example

Running head: LIFELONG LEARNING    Lifelong Learning Affiliation   Learning life skills that one will carry out through his lifetime starts early on in life. Because of this, it is important that a solid foundation is built to ensure that very young children reach the maximum of their potentials as adults. In this paper, the lifelong learning of children with special needs is the main focus. The assessment methods of diagnosing children with developmental disabilities require a comprehensive evaluation that involves the expertise of mental health professionals and assessment tools. Its strengths and weaknesses are likewise explored and suggestions for improvements are offered. Discussion about interventions in exceptional learners and young students with disabilities followed. Expected outcomes of programs are also given much emphasis on the following paragraph. In the end, an individualized program is called for when it comes to children with developmental disabilities. Introduction        There are developmental tasks and milestones indicated for each phase of a child’s life. These are benchmarks by which a child’s development can be compared to and assessed against to know whether he is on the right track or not. Parents may become worried when they see other children’s behaviors and actions and see that they are different and way advanced from that of their child. This is where assessment and early diagnosis becomes a necessity. Consequently, early diagnosis leads to early intervention, the initiation of lifelong learning. Whether a child be cognitively challenged or an exceptional learner, his education must be patterned to suit his needs and capacities.         Developmental disorders as an umbrella term encompass many conditions, such as, cognitive challenge, pervasive developmental disorders and specific developmental disorders. Motor skills and communication disorders are also included.  Developmental appraisal, which plays a salient role in the assessment, largely depends on developmental history supplied by the parent and other assessment areas will be from the observation of the child with specific criteria in mind (Pilletteri, 2007). Parents will be asked to give a description and approximate the age of which the child has performed a certain act or skill, like his first step taken or first word uttered. More than asking for the firsts, it is of equal importance to ask when the child was able to sit without support, transfer a toy form one hand to another, etc. The latter may prove to be a feat for the parents, but pictures that may remind them and other family member’s account may be elicited. The Denver II Developmental Test, which can detect delays in infancy and preschool years, is also utilized (Frankenburg, 1994, as cited in Pilletteri, 2007). These two ways will ascertain whether a child is able to achieve or has achieved a task expected of his age. If not, then a developmental delay is present. Mental ability testing is included alongside history taking, to determine if a child is cognitively challenged. A Standford-Binet Test is a standardized tool to measure mental ability in older children, while the Infant Intelligence Scale is used during infancy, as the name connotes. Results are then classified under 4 categories: mild, moderate, severe and profound ( Sadock, 2005).        Scrutiny to the assessment methods shed light to their strengths and weaknesses. History taking for one has many loopholes. Parents are just asked to recall and approximate at what age did the child accomplish a certain task, and their reports may not be that reliable. Observing the child could also be unreliable since a child may cry and become sleepy during testing and will not be able to demonstrate all the skills he is capable of doing. To address this, early education of the parents should be done. They should be instructed to keep a journal of their child’s progress with a specific list of actions they should look out for. In this way, approximation and at times, guessing, which is never conclusive, could be avoided. Results of IQ tests may also have discrepancies, too. Test anxiety and past experiences may affect a child’s performance and his result may categorize him as cognitively challenged even though he is not. Due to their nature, children may not finish parts of the test, with the accuracy also affected (Pilletteri, 2007). As with their strengths, these tests offer objective measurements that his helpful in putting students in an environment and under a curriculum that will hone their potentials. The key is to ensure that the child and the testing environment is conducive to the activity to obtain reliable results. This entails that much rationalization and deliberation should be done before a child is given an IQ classification or a diagnosis of developmental disorder. Using other test batteries to validate the results in one test can also prove to be helpful.        Early intervention priorities and educational programs for young exceptional learner include enrolling them in a school that is equipped to tap their potentials while keeping in mind their special needs. Interventions include modifying assignments, offering flexible timelines, providing alternative learning experiences and employing other strategies that are often used with students who have special needs. These adaptations provide the exceptional learner important access to the many advanced learning opportunities Young children with disabilities on the other hand, need a plan that is individualized and made to fit their own learning style and projected capacities School that is ultimately chosen for them depends on the capabilities of the child and the extent of their delay as compared to typical children their age (Pilletteri, 2007).One important detail to remember though is that these children should be included in regular classes to foster socialization. Enrolling them in preschool programs in the earliest time possible help them become comfortable with other children (Sadock, 2005). Regular classes stimulate cognitive challenged children to reach the end of their potentials because they are not secluded and isolated. Speech therapy may also be required if the language development is also delayed. Self-care activities should be taught to them so that they can be independent and self-reliant which in turn will boost their sense of control.        Enrolling them in these programs will help them know the appropriate social behavior. They will be able to get along with other children and learn measures on how to maintain this harmony with the use of the “magic words”: “please”, “thank you”, “welcome”; and “excuse me”. Learning how to brush their teeth, comb their hair and other self-activities will also be an expected outcome. Because of their condition though, the teachings taught to them will easily be forgotten. They have short-term memory, but their long-term memory is very much limited. This means that they cannot assimilate three consecutive steps which rely on the long-term memory (Pillitteri, 2007). Constant reminders and repetitions are required because they do not understand the greater reason for the performance of the task. They do not see the reason behind washing their hands, and that is to keep them clean to avoid disease and its spread, other than doing so pleases the mother or the parents.        As a compendium, children with disabilities and those considered exceptional learners have special needs, and there is no such thing as a one size fits all kind of program. Teachers and psychologists must keep in mind the limitations and capacities for them to work closely and produce desired results from these children. For these children, lifelong learning is not an option, but is the only way to go. Through the effective execution of teaching, the conditions of these children will not serve as a hindrance in their quest to become productive citizens of their communities and country.  Lifelong learning is the spectacles by which children and their families could see a home and a future filled with hope and possibilities.   References Pilletteri, A. (2007). Maternal and child health nursing: Care of the childbearing and childrearing family. Philadelphia: Lipincott, William and Wilkins. Sadock, B.& Sadock, V. (2005). Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of Psychiatry. Philadelphia: Lipincott, William and Wilkins. Horn, C. V. (2008). How We Challenge Advanced Beginners. Retrieved May 3, 2009, from http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/column/columnhowwechallenge.html.  Read More