“Nearly ever early childhood educator has taught a child with a disability, but often the disability has not yet been identified” (Brillante, 2017, p. 1) How do you approach families with your concerns; especially if they are in denial or unaware? How do you build a positive collaborative relationship with families? What resources would you provide? How can you advocate?
This subject is near and dear to my heart. Having close family that have children with disabilities i have seen how they have been treated as well as the frustration of the parents and how they have been treated. I think by having such a personal connection with this it has made me more sympathetic. Unfortunately i feel a lot of times parents kill the messenger and we as preschool teachers are sometimes the first to bring up deficits and concerns. I think for me patience and empathy towards the child and parents has worked for me. Sometimes i think the slow approach works well for some and others being more frank and having concrete facts works. I think what ever approach you take you need to develop a relationship with the family and let them know you are vested in their child and willing to do all that you can. This and arming the family with their options and where to go next i feel is also very helpful and parents usually appreciate the extra effort. In my previous job at head start when things came up like this we would help in any way we could that might be just listening or attending and IEP meeting with them or giving them resources or where to find the resources they may need.
ReplyDeleteRelating to parents and drawing them in can be challenging. We all provide newsletters, individual emails, documentation of the learning that’s taking place, etc., but it can be difficult to make individual connections with parents. Giving a few details of a child’s day at drop-off/pick-up and inviting parents in to volunteer for special projects or to assist in the classroom at the beginning of the year can go a long way in making connections that can be beneficial as the year progresses.
ReplyDeleteOne of our teachers noticed that a child in her class struggled socially and was often hyper-focused on engaging in repetitive behaviors. He also had some difficulty making eye contact. The behaviors were subtle, but she began taking anecdotal notes and made more of an effort to connect with this family. His mother started volunteering in the classroom and reached out, through email, to discuss behaviors that she noticed in the classroom environment that coincided with behaviors at home. After a conference, where the teacher shared her observations, the parent asked for direction. She was given contact information for a screening through the public school, to take place in a few weeks. Our teacher feels that she made a great deal of progress by allowing the parent time to see the child in the classroom environment and to develop a relationship with our staff.
I enjoyed reading your comments Veronica and Joanne. You have much experience and use best practices. After sharing concerns, listening is often the best approach and then to offer resources when the family is ready. I know I was shocked to learn my "perfect" child needed speech services. Once the initial shock wore off I was ready to get help.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with all of your comments! Having a child that needed services, I was also searching for the right format to which I could reach out. Back in the '80s there was little to no information about speech apraxia and I was made to feel like I was making it up. But, it took one teacher who "took us on" and made me feel like I was being heard. She pointed me in the right direction and even went so far as to do research and give me a sense of the team approach. We worked together to get my son services. To this day I take that approach with my families. I make sure that they know that they are not alone. There is help out there and I'm willing to navigate through the waters to find helpful and useful information for them.
ReplyDeleteYou sound supportive and helpful. Sue
ReplyDeleteOften out comes for child with disabilities is not always what a parent wants . Often they want their child cured with a pill or will Often change school hoping that it was the teachers or schools placement that was not right. Often the recommendations that are given by public schools do help that child and others in the classroom. It can difficult to care for a child who has a medical issues more than a behavioral one . They often blame themselves or each other . It can difficult for the child to make friends in the classroom often they not invited to birthday parties or other activities outside of school. Mary MacDonald
ReplyDelete