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THINKING CHRISTIANL Y AND SPECIAL (EDUCATIONAL) NEEDS. Session 1 – NTC 19 th February 2013 Francine Brower. Defining Terms. Broadest terms - Can be just about anyone! The elderly The poor The abused Minority groups The unemployed People with special needs
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THINKING CHRISTIANLY AND SPECIAL (EDUCATIONAL) NEEDS Session 1 – NTC 19th February 2013 Francine Brower
Defining Terms Broadest terms - • Can be just about anyone! • The elderly • The poor • The abused • Minority groups • The unemployed • People with special needs • People with mental health issues
What is inclusion? Special Needs - principles of inclusion can be applied to all who cross our paths – to all the marginalised with whom we come in contact It is our responsibility as Christians to reach out, to accept, to include and to love as Christ has loved us.
What are special needs? People first!! – not just a ‘disability’ Learning Disability – • Moderate --------- Severe • IQ of less than 70. • Find most areas of learning a challenge and require additional support to succeed. • Strict criteria for support within ‘the system’
What are special needs? Emotional, Social, Behaviour Difficulties • Often response to life circumstances, trauma, low self-esteem and lack of confidence. • Frequently in trouble with authority figures. Communication Difficulties • Speech and language difficulties, articulation, conveying meaning, lack of understanding of what is said, word finding difficulties, some memory problems, processing time may be slow, poor conversational skills.
What are special needs? Dys…… Dyslexia – • Difficulties in reading and writing in spite of average or above average IQ. Dyscalculia - • Lack of understanding of maths, concepts and calculations in spite of average or above average IQ. Dyspraxia – • Motor difficulties caused by perception problems, especially visual-motor and kinaesthetic motor difficulties.
What are special needs? ADD/ADHD • A range of problem behaviours associated with poor attention span often preventing learning and socialisation. Impulsive, inattentive, restless. • May be treated by medication
What are special needs? Physical Disabilities • Cerebral palsy • Hearing impairment • Visual impairment • Medical conditions, etc.
What are special needs? Autism SpectrumDisorder • Unique Individuals • From learning Difficulties to high IQ • From passive to highly anxious • From anxious to please to oblivious to praise COMMUNICATION SOCIAL AWARENESS INFLEXIBILITY SENSORY ISSUES Recognising the spectrum Co-morbidity
What are special needs? Syndromes In medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs (observed by someone other than the patient),symptoms (reported by the patient), phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the healthcare provider to the possible presence of the others. For example: • Asperger syndrome • Chronic pain syndromes • Culture-bound syndromes • Down syndrome • Paraneoplasticsyndromes • Tourette syndrome • Withdrawal syndromes
How are these needs presented? What do we see/experience? • Behaviour? Why? • Withdrawal? Why? • Frustration? Why? • Physical restriction? Why? • Vulnerability? Why?
What are special needs? Back to our starting point: • Can be just about anyone! • The elderly • The poor • The abused • Minority groups • The unemployed • People with special needs • People with mental health issues
How do we respond within the church community? Too often through: Fear discomfort avoidanceignorance assumptions intolerance exclusioninsensitivity embarrassment Lack of creativity
What is the impact of our response? • On the individual? • On the family? • On the church community?
How shouldwe respond within the church community? Tune in on Tuesday 5th March and share your vision of how the church can respond to the Special Educational Needs within it.