Module AAK 403 : Collaboration among parents, professionals and paraprofessionals.

1. Module AAK 403: Collaboration among parents, professionals and paraprofessionals. 27th-29th July 2011 LECTURERS:Mrs .Mirinda Van der Merwe . : Mrs Priscilla Kershaw. : Mrs. Conny Simelane

2. Working collaboratively with parents and families • Parents are the bridge between the home and the school. • Tools parents can use for building bridges include: • Active involvement in the child’s learning process. • Monitoring child’s learning process. • Supporting the teacher

3. What do parents want their children to learn and what kind of school do they want? • Our attitude towards parents sometimes contributes to their lack of involvement in their children’s education. • Always treat parents with respect. • They are equal team members in a collaborative team. • Teachers must inform parents that their participation will have a positive effect on the child’s education.

4. Teachers should inform parents about the following: • Educational philosophy. • Approaches and practices. • Listen to their concerns about the needs of their children. • Inform them about the different professionals and their roles. • Activities going in and the around the school. • Support groups, workshops & training days.

5. What do parents want their children to learn and what kind of school do they want? Most parents want their children to learn functional skills such as domestic and vocational skills. Parents of learners with moderate intellectual disabilities find functional academic skills more important than the development of social skills and friendships. Parents of learners with severe to profound mental abilities regard the development of social skills and making friends as more important. Teachers must teach those skills that are perceived by the parents as relevant for their children. Parents want their children to experience a sense of belonging!!!!!

6. When teachers and parents work together… • The impact on the child’s life, development and learning multiplies. • Their effective partnership ensure long term and sustained impact. • Parents are valuable as they play a role in directing our teaching and intervention efforts.

7. Importance of social development during adolescent and adult years • The valued life outcomes that parents have for their children according to Giangreco et al (1998) are: • Being safe and healthy • Having a home, now and in the future • Having meaningful relationships • Having a choice and control that matches his age and culture • Participating in meaningful activities in various places • Parents want their children to be happy, to have friends, not to be teased and ridiculed or mistreated because of their disability…(Westling & Fox, 2009)

8. Importance of social development during adolescent and adult years • Attending to challenging behaviour is very important WHY? • Impact on social behaviour and making friends • Impact in the classroom • Needs during adolescent years • Parents of LSD’s find the stage of adolescence very challenging • They would like their children to become more independent and have a good social life • Parents and professionals at this stage should look at a curriculum based on valued life outcomes

9. Importance of social development during adolescent and adult years • This curriculum looks beyond splintered skills and provide curricular focus that has meaning to the family • Don’t waste time teaching the young adult skills that does not have an impact on his/her daily life • The young adult should b e equipped with skills that are valuable in society • Planning for social and vocational opportunities becomes relevant at this stage • Parents stated that they are ill-informed about transitional issues

10. Multicultural considerations Needs of poor and culturally different parents • Parents and teachers can come from different backgrounds and approach issues from different perspectives • Parents and schools need to ensure that they don’t work against each other • Develop a common vision to be successful in training LSD’s • Cultural issues can impact negatively on the learner’s progress at school • Be sensitive to children from different ethnic backgrounds

11. Multicultural considerations Needs of poor and culturally different parents • Professionals need to examine themselves to improve their communication with families from poor and/or different cultural backgrounds • Teachers should be sensitive to the fact that the way they live and what they value might not be the same for other people • Personal openness is essential when working across culture or social backgrounds • Respecting values and beliefs that are differs from one’s own is very important

12. Multicultural considerations Needs of poor and culturally different parents • Six ways to improve collaboration with parents and families of different cultural backgrounds: • Develop self-awareness about your own cultural identity and recognise your own values, beliefs and customs. • Appreciate the uniqueness of each family • Try to understand the communication styles within different cultures • Develop awareness of cultural norms • Be aware of the nature of the influence of professionals • Learn from families

13. Multicultural considerations Needs of families with multiple risks • Substitute families – Negative and/or positive • Impact it has on educators • Families with multiple risks means that the family have a child with a disability as well as other problems that can have a major effect on the day-to-day functioning of that specific family • Unemployment and illiteracy = very high in South Africa • Abuse of women and children = high • Service delivery should be multi-pronged to cater for varying problems that families have to contend with.

14. Multicultural considerations Needs of families with multiple risks • It must be understood how parents view teachers in order to know how to go about helping or assisting them in their own unique circumstances • Teacher needs to understand that people who are in distress do not always have the energy to attend school meetings or be confronted by the teacher, they can become socially detached • Collaborative efforts should focus on empowering parents

15. Collaborating with other professionals

16. Collaborating with other professionals • Special Educator: • Development of IEP (individul educational plan) =an annual written document describing long and short term goals. • Coordinates all support and related services a learner may need to benefit from special education • The special educator must have a good rapport, be enthusiastic, flexible and provide task-related supports for individual learners • 2.General Educator: • Plays an important role in including the LSD in regular classrooms • This teacher must have an open mind about the possibilities of children with disabilities…..

17. Collaborating with other professionals • Physical therapists: • Physiotherapists use various techniques to relieve pain and prevent contractures from forming • They help with the maintaining of strength and motor skill performance • A teacher can benefit from the PT’s knowledge to help the learner to participate in different daily activities, like eating, dressing and participating in recreational activities • They will help you to understand how to use walkers, braces, standing frames and other other assistive devices.

18. Collaborating with other professionals Occupational therapists: 1.Uses various methods to improve, develop or restore functions impaired or lost due to illness, injury or deprivation 2.They help the LSD to improve his/her ability to perform tasks for independent functioning when functions are impaired or lost 3.They assist with early intervention 4.One of the major functions of an OT is helping people to perform activities of daily living as independently as possible through training and adapted equipment.

19. Collaborating with other professionals • Communication disorder specialists (Speech therapists): • Assist in identifying children with speech and/or language disorders, the diagnosis and treatment of specific speech or language disorders as well as the prevention of communicative disorders • Audiologists: • They work with children who have hearing impairments • They recommend special augmentative hearing devices such as hearing aids

20. Vision therapists or Opticians: • They are trained to work with people who are visually impaired • Assist a person with a visual impairment to become as functional and independent as possible given limited visual abilities • School Administrators: • Responsible for developing policies, making decisions and implementing programmes • Their commitment to inclusion is important as they have to decide about financing, service delivery arrangements and placement of students

21. Educational Psychologists • Assist you to understand the learner’s level of functioning and cognitive behaviour • Within the classroom setting the educational psychologist can work with the teacher to analyse behaviour patterns of the learner and to relate it to environmental factors. • School nurses: • Important resource regarding the learner’s health and mental state • Diagnose and treat minor illnesses, handle medical emergencies and monitor and administer prescription medicines.

22. Social worker • They are trained professionals who can talk to people and their families about emotional and physical needs and assist them with support services • They can offer advice on practical matters such as finances, day care and accommodation • A social worker will look at the problems in the context of the family and the community. • You as a teacher is obliged to report neglect and abuse, failure to do so makes you a partner in CRIME

23. Paraprofessionals or assistants are sometimes found in a class where there is LSD’s • Effective communication with paraprofessionals is critical for designing optimal services for learners with disabilities • Teachers and paraprofessionals have more contact on a daily basis than any other team members • Teachers should know how to work with paraprofessionals, how to approach them and how to effectively work together for the benefit of a learner with a disability.

24. The difference between teachers and paraprofessionals: • Teachers were educated at a college or university • Paraprofessionals don’t need to go to a college. • Teachers and other professionals are responsible for developing educational programmes and are held accountable for the student’s learning and well-being (Westling & Fox, 2009)