THE FUTURE OF THE SPECIAL CHILD

SPECIAL CHILDREN


The special children? who are they? what makes them special? why special?

These are children who because of their uniqueness and special needs we have pushed them to the background, instead we will prefer to substitute their names with stigma.

They are those wonderful children we refer to as ABNORMAL, but, come to think of it, research has shown that no human being is completely "normal". This is because we have one disability or the other. If it doesnt have to ddo with our health it may be with our phyisque.

Examine yourself, how big or small are your ears, eyes,nose,how tall or short are you,how well do all these part of your bodies function? 100%?

Anyway, inother not to deviate from our focus, the Special child simply put, is that child that has been diagnosed to have learning difficulties or physical or behavioural challenges which could be as result of some medical or developmental issues, because of which they lack the skill and confidence they need to be successful in the society at large, and, to foster positive peer and family relationships.

These children therefore need a special programm to meet these needs as early as possible and build good self esteem.

The parents of these children are also always left out, in most cases we discover that their parents are flexible ,compassionate,and stubborn than other parents, but of course we dont blame them, we should also realise that their parents need to be empowered,so they will be able to assist their children in reaching their potentials and becoming independent.

These children are termed special because of their NEEDS, naturally there are things THEY CANT DO, which of course is a minus in the child's natural abilities, these may be in the areas of education,safety ,health,economic security,arts, recreation and culture.

Although in very few cases you see them DOING BETTER THAN "NORMAL",if given the proper placement these children become achievers.

Parents are therefor adviced to after diagnosis ,accept the child's challenge area, take the child to a specialist and try to cope with these challenges, concentrate on today not tomorrow,and remember that every child has the right to reach their potential.

In the next edition we shall discuss the different special needs.