Early Intervention
Pandemic’s babies and toddlers are now school-age, and behind
July 10, 2024
Mansi is a little girl who has just started school. She is happy, motivated and very eager to learn.
Soon, Mansi’s mother notices that she is struggling to master skills that other children find it easy to learn. No matter how hard she tries, she finds it difficult to complete tasks on time. Due to which her self esteem has taken a hit. She is not as confident or happy as she used to be. She is constantly frustrated and not as motivated about going to school or learning.
So the mother talks to Mansi’s teacher, but her teacher is unsure and says that she is within ‘normal range’ of abilities.
Not satisfied with the teacher’s answer, Mansi’s mother than expresses her concern to a friend, her friend things that Mansi may need some extra time to catch up.
But it doesn’t make any sense as Mansi is bright and makes good conversation for her age , yet is struggling with her basic learning skills….
She then reads on internet about all kinds of possibilities, from dyslexia to ADD/ADHD to auditory processing issues and ‘eye-tracking’ problems …
But , as with all parents, she doesn’t want to “label” Mansi with a disorder so she decides to wait and hope for the best.
She hopes that maybe things will improve in the next grade with a new teacher .
But when she moves up to grade one, things don’t improve. In fact, they get worse and Mansi becomes increasingly negative about school and learning.
Some days she doesn’t want to go to school at all and complains about vague illnesses and stomach pains ….
And worst of all, she has even started to call herself ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’.
Her parents do their best to boost her self – esteem , which definitely helps , but it isn’t enough to change her mindset. The mother feels sad and helpless. She knows something isn’t right ….
If only she could find out what is really going on with her daughter’s learning ability and get the right help and support for her…..
Surely there is something that can be done to help Mansi ?
Parents often try a “wait and see” approach in the hope that their child will somehow overcome their learning difficulties ….
And sometimes parents are even told by well- meaning teachers or other parents that their child will probably do just that …. Failing to intervene early in a child’s life when learning disabilities are present can have profound consequences, and create increased risk of negative outcomes. For example, unevaluated or disregarded learning difficulties may lead to behavioural problems, low self esteem and challenges in forming social connections. Additionally, the academic gap between children with and without disabilities can widen, increasing the risk of long term inequalities.
So what is ‘early intervention ‘ ?
Early intervention equip children with fundamental skills like communication, socialization, cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, and self help to help them build a solid foundation for later years. Such programs also serve to identify and develop your child’s emerging strengths and skills.
Early intervention refers to services and supports that can help young children with developmental delays. Early intervention helps children improve their abilities and learn new skills.
Learning disabilities in young children can pose unique challenges to their overall personal development as well as their academic success as they grow. That is why identifying - and managing these challenges through early intervention and customized support is essential.
Learning difficulties have cumulative effects – hurting academic achievement and emotional and behavioural development, year after year. This severely impacts children’s enjoyment of school and motivation to learn.
The early identification of children’s developmental delays or learning difficulties helps us understand and take the required steps to support the children and ensure their optimum development and learning.
What is the role of parents in early intervention services ?
As a parent it can be extremely distressing to acknowledge that your child has learning difficulties. Perhaps you have noticed that they’re having a hard time reading and writing and are not making progress as quickly as their peers. They may have trouble understanding speech and responding to others.
While making such observations can be not so pleasant, it is best to recognise the challenges that your child is facing and address them early. Understand that learning difficulties need not be a lifelong impairment - in many cases, seeking early intervention can help improve and manage the condition.
Parents play a critical role in early intervention as they are the primary caregivers and educators of their child. They are an essential part of their child’s development and success in therapy.
There are a number of early intervention strategies at home that can be applied by parents to achieve best possible outcome.
Some early intervention strategies parents can use at home:
1) Sitting in a chair Children can be fidgety but for those with conditions like ADHD, sitting still for even few seconds can be a major accomplishment.
Steps: Invite your child to sit with you. Praise them when they do but do not insist that they stay. Sometimes, use interesting activities to grab the child’s attention so that he or she can sit with you for longer periods of time.
2) LOOK at me Making and maintaining eye contact is often one of the skills that must be taught to children with autism.
Steps : Hold an interesting object close to your face , like maybe a pinwheel. Encourage the child to look at you. You can blow on the pinwheel to draw his attention. While the child makes eye contact, praise him for looking at you.
3) Sorting by colour Making associations and sorting are skills we use everyday. Help your child develop these skills with this activity.
Steps : Collect familiar items like ball, crayons, toy cars, cup, socks . Select one item and ask your child to find other items of the same colour. You can do the first to help the child understand what is expected. Praise him/her for each match they make.
4) Sorting familiar item This sorting game uses picture boards of different rooms in a house and cards with pictures of familiar household items . It can be used as an aid to teaching life skills . You can make your own picture board and cards or alternatively use actual concrete things.
Steps : Ask your child to match each picture card to the room where it belongs. For example, the toothpaste goes in the bathroom. Or if doing concretely than give him the toothpaste let him go and keep where it belongs. Praise the child or give high fives and / or other form of encouragement as the activity progresses.
5) Guess the emotion Identifying and understanding emotions is important for a child’s socio – emotional development. This activity uses simple emoji – type pictures to help your child build these skills.
Steps : You can use a simple story plus your own acting skills to illustrate an emotion. For example, in the story “The thirsty crow“, how does the crow feel when he can’t find water. Ask the child to find a card or draw the emotion and praise him / her for his guesses, there is no right or wrong answer because that is how the child sees it. This is just one variation. There are lot of games available online.
Learning disabilities have no cure, but early intervention can reduce their effects. People with learning disabilities can develop ways to cope with their disabilities. Getting help early increases the chance of success in school and later in life. If learning disabilities remain untreated, a child may begin to feel frustrated, which can lead to low self – esteem and other problems.
Soon, Mansi’s mother notices that she is struggling to master skills that other children find it easy to learn. No matter how hard she tries, she finds it difficult to complete tasks on time. Due to which her self esteem has taken a hit. She is not as confident or happy as she used to be. She is constantly frustrated and not as motivated about going to school or learning.
So the mother talks to Mansi’s teacher, but her teacher is unsure and says that she is within ‘normal range’ of abilities.
Not satisfied with the teacher’s answer, Mansi’s mother than expresses her concern to a friend, her friend things that Mansi may need some extra time to catch up.
But it doesn’t make any sense as Mansi is bright and makes good conversation for her age , yet is struggling with her basic learning skills….
She then reads on internet about all kinds of possibilities, from dyslexia to ADD/ADHD to auditory processing issues and ‘eye-tracking’ problems …
But , as with all parents, she doesn’t want to “label” Mansi with a disorder so she decides to wait and hope for the best.
She hopes that maybe things will improve in the next grade with a new teacher .
But when she moves up to grade one, things don’t improve. In fact, they get worse and Mansi becomes increasingly negative about school and learning.
Some days she doesn’t want to go to school at all and complains about vague illnesses and stomach pains ….
And worst of all, she has even started to call herself ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’.
Her parents do their best to boost her self – esteem , which definitely helps , but it isn’t enough to change her mindset. The mother feels sad and helpless. She knows something isn’t right ….
If only she could find out what is really going on with her daughter’s learning ability and get the right help and support for her…..
Surely there is something that can be done to help Mansi ?
Parents often try a “wait and see” approach in the hope that their child will somehow overcome their learning difficulties ….
And sometimes parents are even told by well- meaning teachers or other parents that their child will probably do just that …. Failing to intervene early in a child’s life when learning disabilities are present can have profound consequences, and create increased risk of negative outcomes. For example, unevaluated or disregarded learning difficulties may lead to behavioural problems, low self esteem and challenges in forming social connections. Additionally, the academic gap between children with and without disabilities can widen, increasing the risk of long term inequalities.
So what is ‘early intervention ‘ ?
Early intervention equip children with fundamental skills like communication, socialization, cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, and self help to help them build a solid foundation for later years. Such programs also serve to identify and develop your child’s emerging strengths and skills.
Early intervention refers to services and supports that can help young children with developmental delays. Early intervention helps children improve their abilities and learn new skills.
Learning disabilities in young children can pose unique challenges to their overall personal development as well as their academic success as they grow. That is why identifying - and managing these challenges through early intervention and customized support is essential.
Learning difficulties have cumulative effects – hurting academic achievement and emotional and behavioural development, year after year. This severely impacts children’s enjoyment of school and motivation to learn.
The early identification of children’s developmental delays or learning difficulties helps us understand and take the required steps to support the children and ensure their optimum development and learning.
What is the role of parents in early intervention services ?
As a parent it can be extremely distressing to acknowledge that your child has learning difficulties. Perhaps you have noticed that they’re having a hard time reading and writing and are not making progress as quickly as their peers. They may have trouble understanding speech and responding to others.
While making such observations can be not so pleasant, it is best to recognise the challenges that your child is facing and address them early. Understand that learning difficulties need not be a lifelong impairment - in many cases, seeking early intervention can help improve and manage the condition.
Parents play a critical role in early intervention as they are the primary caregivers and educators of their child. They are an essential part of their child’s development and success in therapy.
There are a number of early intervention strategies at home that can be applied by parents to achieve best possible outcome.
Some early intervention strategies parents can use at home:
1) Sitting in a chair Children can be fidgety but for those with conditions like ADHD, sitting still for even few seconds can be a major accomplishment.
Steps: Invite your child to sit with you. Praise them when they do but do not insist that they stay. Sometimes, use interesting activities to grab the child’s attention so that he or she can sit with you for longer periods of time.
2) LOOK at me Making and maintaining eye contact is often one of the skills that must be taught to children with autism.
Steps : Hold an interesting object close to your face , like maybe a pinwheel. Encourage the child to look at you. You can blow on the pinwheel to draw his attention. While the child makes eye contact, praise him for looking at you.
3) Sorting by colour Making associations and sorting are skills we use everyday. Help your child develop these skills with this activity.
Steps : Collect familiar items like ball, crayons, toy cars, cup, socks . Select one item and ask your child to find other items of the same colour. You can do the first to help the child understand what is expected. Praise him/her for each match they make.
4) Sorting familiar item This sorting game uses picture boards of different rooms in a house and cards with pictures of familiar household items . It can be used as an aid to teaching life skills . You can make your own picture board and cards or alternatively use actual concrete things.
Steps : Ask your child to match each picture card to the room where it belongs. For example, the toothpaste goes in the bathroom. Or if doing concretely than give him the toothpaste let him go and keep where it belongs. Praise the child or give high fives and / or other form of encouragement as the activity progresses.
5) Guess the emotion Identifying and understanding emotions is important for a child’s socio – emotional development. This activity uses simple emoji – type pictures to help your child build these skills.
Steps : You can use a simple story plus your own acting skills to illustrate an emotion. For example, in the story “The thirsty crow“, how does the crow feel when he can’t find water. Ask the child to find a card or draw the emotion and praise him / her for his guesses, there is no right or wrong answer because that is how the child sees it. This is just one variation. There are lot of games available online.
Learning disabilities have no cure, but early intervention can reduce their effects. People with learning disabilities can develop ways to cope with their disabilities. Getting help early increases the chance of success in school and later in life. If learning disabilities remain untreated, a child may begin to feel frustrated, which can lead to low self – esteem and other problems.
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Contact Alpana Saraf, Special Educator at contact@livingwithdyslexia.in
