Children with special needs PhDr. Alena Kop

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Children with special needsPhDr. Alena
Kopányiová, PhD.Slovakiawww.vudpap.sk
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• Research Institute of Child Psychology and
  Pathopsychology is direct organization of
  Ministry of Education, operates on national
  level.
• Combines research with best practice and
  methodical services delivered to all kinds of
  educational institutions in Slovakia schools,
  counseling center etc.
• We cover all main topics considering child
  development, child education, and professional
  services for educational, psychological, career
  counseling.
• One department is Methodical - Research Cabinet
  of Educational and Psychological Counseling and
  Prevention that specializes on training of
  professionals teachers, counselors and others
  professionals

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Diversity

• What does it mean
• To be different? Or to be special? Or
  exceptional?
• Find creative solution?
• Work in different way?
• To be slow but accurate?
• Or quick and lot of to do and to catch?

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From segregation to inclusion

• Over the past few decades much has changed in
  attitudes about responsibilities society has
  towards people with special needs.
• They are not regarded as being excluded from the
  society in terms of being expected to actively
  respond to education and to contribute to society.

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Inclusive approach

• In the traditional approach the centre of
  attention was a disabled student. The assessment
  of a disability, diagnosis, followed by creating
  special programme and placement, resulted in
  special class,
• special school, segregated environment.
• The inclusive approach sees the classroom as a
  supportive environment with the student
• included.

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Children with special educational needs

• According to Education Act No. 245/2008
• children and students with specific training and
  educational needs, e.g., with mental, physical,
  visual, or acoustic disabilities, with
  communication disorders, autism, developmental
  learning defects, behavioral defects, physical
  and health problems, as well as intellectually
  gifted children.
• Integration of the child with special educational
  needs into the system of special education
  requires recommendation from appropriate
  authority and parental consent.

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• In the school year 2011/12 the ratio of pupils
  with special educational needs to the total
  number of pupils in compulsory schooling (549
  019) was 9.7
• pupils educated separately (in a special
• schools and in a special classes of mainstream
  schools) was 5.7 and individually integrated
  were 4.0 .

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Research by VUDPAP 2011
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EDUCATION

• Education of children with special educational
  needs is carried out from pre-primary level up to
  the upper secondary level in special or
  mainstream schools.
• In mainstream schools the child with special
  educational needs may be integrated with its peer
  into a mainstream class (individual integration)
  or into a special class at mainstream school
  among children with the same kind of handicap
  (social integration).

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Educational counselling and prevention

• The school establishments for educational
  counseling and prevention carry out especially
  psychological, pedagogical, special-pedagogical,
  including logopaedic and therapeutic pedagogical
  activities and social activity aimed at
  optimising the educational, psychic, social and
  career development of children since their birth
  up to completing their career development.
• Special care is devoted to children with special
  education needs. The counseling services are also
  provided by the guardian and educational
  employee.

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Service for schools

• The basic units of the system of educational
  counseling and prevention are the establishments
  of educational, psychological and
  special-educational counseling and prevention
• Centre of pedagogical-psychological counseling
  and prevention
• Centre of special-pedagogical counseling.

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Service for schools

• The other elements of the system of educational
  counseling and prevention involve
• educational counselor, school psychologist,
  school special pedagogue, therapeutic pedagogue,
  social pedagogue, coordinator of prevention.

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Service for schools
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1. Assesment

• Quality of assessments tools
• Needs of early assessment?
• Outcomes of assessment
• - psychological
• - special-pedagogical
• - social
• Who reads outcomes of assessment?
• Individual recommendation/Individual study plan

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2. Intervention

• 5-steps approaches
• 1. class teacher
• intervention at classroom according to type of
  disorder, well trained teacher
• Individual program of teaching are recommended,
  i.e. to compare students results with his own
  former results and not with the results of the
  other children in the class.

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Intervention

• 2. parents
• Intervention and reeducation at home
• Parents are trained under tuition of
  professionals and doing easy exercise/approaches
  at home.
• Process is checked out and followed by
  professionals

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Intervention

• 3. out-patient services
• Provided by Centers
• individual or group intervention
• Integrative education (special classes,
  individual education)

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Intervention

• 4. daily in-patient service
• Short-term care for intensive intervention
• 5. residential care
• Long-term care for intensive interventions

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• Thank you for your attention.
• Thank you for your questions.
• Alena Kopányiová, PhD.