Working Together To Help Children Take Steps Forward - Essay Example

Working Together To Help Children Take Steps Forward Children hold a very special place in society. Parents and advocacy groups strive hard to workfor their benefit. With the overriding belief that they are tomorrow’s leaders who will inherit and rule the earth, they are to be regarded with due care and respect. Disabled children are no exception. “A broad definition of a developmental disability is a condition or disorder—physical, cognitive, or emotional—that has the potential to significantly affect the typical progress of a child’s growth and development or substantially limits three or more major life activities including self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and/or economic self-sufficiency “ (Federal Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984). Professionals from a wide variety of fields and disciplines devote much time and energy in helping these children live comfortable and fulfilling lives with the end view of mainstreaming them into society and the real world. Educators, therapists, psychologists, speech pathologists, physicians, social workers and even government officials join hands in the care and education of these children to ensure their optimum growth and development. “When a child/adolescent with a preexisting disability is separated from the parent/family and enters the child welfare system, already established medical and educational services for the child are often put on hold until placement is secured, records are gathered, and services with new providers are initiated in the geographical area of the placement. The child’s welfare worker, therefore, has a key role in identifying and accessing appropriate services for children/adolescents with disabilities and their families (biological and foster) within the child welfare system and in the medical and educational systems. To maintain children with disabilities in family and community settings, supportive, developmental, and therapeutic services must be provided to this population of children and to their biological, foster, and adoptive families” (Hughes & Rycus, 1998). Children with disabilities often need medical attention. Hospitals offer multidisciplinary approaches to therapy. Aside from the usual pediatric consultation for the disability, a host of therapists – physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, etc. are also available to help out. For a significant number of disabled children, “hospital admissions can be frequent and prolonged. Their needs bring many additional challenges to the children, their families and the hospital team, as well as to those responsible for their continuing care in the community. It is crucial that all involved in the care of such children should work together in the best possible ways to secure the best possible outcomes for them.” (Dept. of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 2005). In the UK, passage of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), affords protection to disabled people against discrimination in certain prescribed areas, principally employment, education and the provision of goods and services. Special education schools not only concentrate on each child’s Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) wherein individual goals are set for each particular case, but a multidisciplinary approach likewise prevails. The Percy Hedley School in the UK is one perfect example of an institution that fuses the best disciplines in contemporary social care. It was set up designed especially for children with cerebral palsy. “In the intervening years the school has continued to develop in response to the needs of children and young people with cerebral palsy and also those with significant speech, language and communication difficulties. “ (from the school prospectus). The school, in collaboration with parents and professionals in various fields, provide excellent education, therapy and care for its students. “Cerebral palsy is the commonly used name for a group of conditions characterized by motor dysfunction, due to a non-progressive lesion of the brain early in life. This may result in variable impairment of the co-ordination of muscle action and the ability to control upright posture. Speech, language and communication difficulties is a term which encompasses the range of communication problems from developmental delay to acquired disorders. In some cases there may be a medical background which affects normal development of speech, language and communication (e.g. neurological damage, hearing impairment, cleft palate) or there may be severe social restrictions on the opportunities to develop language, but in the vast majority of cases there is no specific reason for the pupil’s failure to use speech, language and communication effectively. “ (School Prospectus). The school is a non-maintained special school, approved by the Secretary of State for the education of pupils with cerebral palsy and pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties. It does not belong to any local education authority and can admit pupils from anywhere from across the north of England provided their local LEA agrees. It is a non-profit institution and is part of the Percy Hedley Foundation, a registered charity. The school employs a multidisciplinary team to support the education, therapy and care of the children. It implements Conductive Education, a specialized approach that implements an integrated curriculum specifically designed for children with cerebral palsy. Conductive Education is a system of teaching and learning designed to enable children with disabilities to function more independently. “Conductive education teaches children to learn ways in which to achieve active purposeful movement that can be applied to their daily lives. They achieve success and thus increase their motivation, self-confidence and self esteem. They learn to function in spite if their disabilities and are able to interact with others and events around them. The children learn to make choices and take responsibility for becoming as independent as possible.” (school prospectus). Training for teachers, therapists and even parents is in collaboration with the Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary. All therapy disciplines (and classroom staff) ensure close liaison with parents and families to provide support and advice on the Implementation of home programmes, and to liaise with other agencies such as social services, equipment suppliers and health service and education authority representatives. (School Prospectus) Students in this school are fortunate enough to be beneficiaries of such contemporary social care. The positive and motivational atmosphere encourages the children to attend every day with enthusiasm. They perform well in their school tasks and exhibit high levels of achievement. They get to establish nurturing and fulfilling relationships with their peers and mentors. The school supports their need for independence which greatly affects the development of their positive self-esteem despite their disabilities. (School Inspection Report, 2001). The children may be part of the social care team. They have the ability to help each other in their interactions. “Students are subsequently paired in natural settings for social activities (i.e. classrooms, playgrounds and after school activities, etc.) The most direct outcome of these procedures has been an increase in positive social responses and peer acceptance. Strategies for peers to use include, soliciting the student’s attention, providing choices, modeling appropriate social behavior, reinforcing attempts at functional play, encouraging/ extending conversation, turn taking, narrating play and teaching responsiveness to multiple cues.” (Benito & Ramirez, 2000). In another part of Europe, another country provides support and services for individuals with motor impairments that parents with cerebral palsied children travel the globe just to avail of it. Budapest, Hungary is the birthplace of the aforementioned specialized support for cerebral palsied children. As mentioned earlier, the staff and even parents of students from the Percey Hedley School are sent there for training in Conductive Education. The institution is the Peto Institute. The founder of the institute was Andras Peto, a physician who took interest in helping motor-impaired patients. Who lived and worked with a group of children with cerebral palsy. His aim was to develop "orthofunction" -that is, functioning adequately in society without aids (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). “In 1945, after the end of war in Europe, he started to work with motor disabled children in a new, carefully integrated system, which was the organisation and implementation of conductive education. He concentrated on training staff to work with children with cerebral palsy, which eventually led to the development and organisation of qualifications for conductors to degree level.” (“Andras Pëto”, n.d.). His protégé, Maria Hari, took over as director of the institute when Peto died in 1967. She modified Peto’s program to adapt to the changes of the times. “She had kept Petos system alive into a world beyond his comprehension, but she recognised that educational inclusion, new attitudes to disability, the confirmation of brain science and changing economies meant that it was time to innovate and build upon the past. “ (Sutton, 2001). Each child in Hungary is examined six times in the first year of life and by decree, all children with suspected cerebral palsy are to be referred to the institute for further assessment. However, ascertainment is unlikely to be complete since of the 496 children aged under 5 years seen in 1982-87 at the institute, 159 were self referred, not being previously among those notified (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). Conductive Education is concerned with the development of the child throughout the whole day. The childs daily routine will include several series of tasks carried out in different positions, for example the lying, sitting and standing-walking positions. It is important to understand that these are all inter-linked. Skills that are learnt in these various positions will be applied in activities throughout the day. The program is not purely physical, as the conductor uses the time to develop age-appropriate cognitive, social, and emotional skills, for example learning colours numbers, directions, etc. (The Peto Institute of Conductive Education, n.d.) The Peto Institute not only helps motor-impaired Hungarian children, but opened its doors to children all from all over the world in need of their support and services. They are also responsible for training people interested in implementing the Conductive Education approach as an intervention for motor impairment. “The idea is this: If the brain is forced to try, it will find a way to connect mind and muscle.” (CBS news, 2004). The institute welcomes any motor-impaired child under the age of three and older children without severe learning disabilities. Training costs $60.00 per day for children who travel there to enroll for longer periods of time. Although the results may take years, children help each other with skills and encouragement from the people around them, most especially their “conductors” who implement the motor therapy (CBS news, 2004). Children three years and below are assisted by their parents, as guided by the trained conductors. The Peto Institute in Hungary provides motor-impaired children a learning system to help them move around despite their disability. Sessions at the Peto Institute are more intensive, with conductors spending 40 hours a week with each child, doing all kinds of interventions in Conductive Education to enable walking or moving around. They are mostly trained to be integrated into regular schools. To prepare a child for leaving, the conductor arranges visits to the new school and accompanies the child on several occasions. The conductor is also responsible for following up the childs physical progress after leaving the institute (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). Students at the Percey Hedley School are provided with quality education with their specialized needs supported by a multidisciplinary staff, specialized furniture to facilitate independent movement; ICT equipment; augmentative and alternative communication systems (including voice input communication aids) and keyboard and specialist switch systems. Much of the equipment are modified or adapted for students with minimal fine motor skills. This school in the UK seems to offer more luxurious conditions than the Peto Institute in Hungary where all the specialized needs of the child is met by just one person – the conductor, who provides education, physiotherapy, and speech and occupational therapy for the children and much in the way of social work and counseling for the parents (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). Generally, in the Britain, although much has been done to integrate child care services, therapy services are delivered in fragmented structures. Different forms of therapy are delivered at separate times, often in separate places, with or without parental involvement, to preschool children. Other methods of multidisciplinary management exist, although there is no adequate integration. (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). Indeed, the four year training of conductors at the Peto Institute cannot provide them with the combined theoretical background and skills of qualified physiotherapists and speech and occupational therapists. Specialists will always be asked to help a far greater variety of types and grades of severity of physical handicap (Robinson, McCarthy & Little, 1989). In practice, what would be ideal would be a Peto-trained conductor working with specialized professionals, which is what is offered at the Percey Hedley School. It is heartening to realize that support and services for disabled children such as Conductive Education is available, and is increasing in Europe. Embracing its mission to empower the disabled child gives off much inspiration to many to carry on with their noble pursuits to help children take further steps forward… onward to a better future! References “Andras Pëto”, retrieved on November 27, 2007 from http://www.conductive- ed.org.uk/Founder.htm) Benito, N. & Ramirez, C. (2000) Transition Strategies for teams supporting students with disabilities. University of South Florida: Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. CBS News (2004) “Mind And Muscle: Peto Institute Brings Hope To Kids With Cerebral Palsy” retrieved on November 27, 2007 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/17/60II/main636578.shtml Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (2005) CARE at its best: Overview report of the multidisciplinary regional inspection of the service for disabled children In Hospital. Available online at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/care-main-report1.pdf (accessed November 28, 2007) Federal Development Disabilities Act of 1984. Hughes, R. C., & Rycus, J. S. (1998). Developmental disabilities in child welfare. Washington, DC: CWLA Press. Robinson, R.O., McCarthy, G.T. & Little, T.M. (1989) “Conductive education at the Peto Institute, Budapest” British Medical Journal 1989;299:1145-9 Sutton, A., (2001) “Maria Hari: Advancing Petos ideas on conductive education for disabled children”, Guardian, October 24, 2001 The Office for Standards in Education. (2001) Inspection Report of the Percy Hedley School. London: Crown The Percy Hedley School Prospectus (n.d.) Available at http://www.percyhedley.org.uk/ (Accessed on November 26, 2007) The Peto Institute of Conductive Education, retrieved on November 27, 2007 from http://helpemilywalk.co.uk/Peto.htm Read More