Disabilities
About children perceptions of disabilities
A childs need to understand those with less ability than themselves
About each disability and phrases target audience can read / understand
Source: http://www.care.com/special-needs-teaching-your-child-about-peers-with-special-needs-p1017-q598.html
Basic ideas to share with your child
- No two people are the same -- some differences are just more noticeable.
- A disability is only one characteristic of a person. People have many facets: likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges.
- Children with disabilities are like all children in that they want friends, respect and to be included.
- Children can be born disabled or become disabled from an accident or illness. You can't "catch" a disability from someone else.
- Just because someone has a physical disability (when a part or parts of the body do not work well) does not mean they necessarily have a cognitive (or thinking) disability.
- Children with disabilities can do many of the things your child does, but it might take them longer. They may need assistance or adaptive equipment to help them.
Source: http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-disabilities_3657045.bc
How to talk to your child about people with disabilities
Address your child's curiosity. If you notice your child staring, take the lead. You might say, "I noticed you saw that little girl has a harder time walking than you do. She has cerebral palsy, which makes her muscles work a little differently. But I bet she loves the Disney princesses just like you — did you see her purse?"
Ask if your child has questions. If you know the person with the disability, ask her yourself or let your child ask. Laura Pope of San Francisco, whose 7-year-old son, Jake, has Down syndrome, says, "Kids and parents can totally ask anything they want — it's preferable to blank stares."
Answer questions matter-of-factly. Susan Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker Children's Center at Harvard Medical School, suggests that you avoid layering on emotion or going into detail. She offers this response to a question about a person in a wheelchair: "I imagine he may be having problems with his legs. He can't walk."
Watch your words. Take care in how you describe people with disabilities — your child is listening. Avoid outdated, derogatory terms like "crippled," "retarded," and "handicapped." Put the emphasis on the person and not the disability. Say "the child who is autistic" versus "that autistic child." Also avoid referring to nondisabled kids as "normal," since it implies abnormality or a defect in others.
When you and your child encounter someone with a disability, there's no need to say things like "Don't stare" or "Let's keep moving." People with disabilities may feel stigmatized by those who avoid them, and your child might get the impression that he can't ask you questions. Instead, when your child stares and says, "What's wrong with that lady?" simply explain that the person walks or communicates in a different way.
Emphasize what's the same. A kid may be disabled, but he's still a kid. Talk to your child about what a classmate or neighbor with a disability has in common with others — the same age, school, neighborhood, a favorite hobby or sport.
Take advantage of teaching moments. If your child starts asking detailed questions, offer to help him find answers at home. Go online together to learn more about Asperger's syndrome or Down syndrome. Every time your child asks a question, it's a chance to teach awareness and sensitivity.
Be sure to not only point out what people with disabilities can't do but what they can. "Children need to learn that just because a child may be physically impaired does not mean he's mentally impaired," says Jacqueline Lambert-Kupstas, mom of a boy with kyphosis, a spinal deformity. "These children understand what's going on around them."
Don't allow jokes or bullying. Kids with special needs are more likely to be bullied and abused in every way — they're just easier targets. If you hear your child or her friends referring to another kid or adult as "dumb" or "retarded," explain just how much those words hurt. Teach her to apologize when she has hurt another child's feelings.
Ask if your child has questions. If you know the person with the disability, ask her yourself or let your child ask. Laura Pope of San Francisco, whose 7-year-old son, Jake, has Down syndrome, says, "Kids and parents can totally ask anything they want — it's preferable to blank stares."
Answer questions matter-of-factly. Susan Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker Children's Center at Harvard Medical School, suggests that you avoid layering on emotion or going into detail. She offers this response to a question about a person in a wheelchair: "I imagine he may be having problems with his legs. He can't walk."
Watch your words. Take care in how you describe people with disabilities — your child is listening. Avoid outdated, derogatory terms like "crippled," "retarded," and "handicapped." Put the emphasis on the person and not the disability. Say "the child who is autistic" versus "that autistic child." Also avoid referring to nondisabled kids as "normal," since it implies abnormality or a defect in others.
When you and your child encounter someone with a disability, there's no need to say things like "Don't stare" or "Let's keep moving." People with disabilities may feel stigmatized by those who avoid them, and your child might get the impression that he can't ask you questions. Instead, when your child stares and says, "What's wrong with that lady?" simply explain that the person walks or communicates in a different way.
Emphasize what's the same. A kid may be disabled, but he's still a kid. Talk to your child about what a classmate or neighbor with a disability has in common with others — the same age, school, neighborhood, a favorite hobby or sport.
Take advantage of teaching moments. If your child starts asking detailed questions, offer to help him find answers at home. Go online together to learn more about Asperger's syndrome or Down syndrome. Every time your child asks a question, it's a chance to teach awareness and sensitivity.
Be sure to not only point out what people with disabilities can't do but what they can. "Children need to learn that just because a child may be physically impaired does not mean he's mentally impaired," says Jacqueline Lambert-Kupstas, mom of a boy with kyphosis, a spinal deformity. "These children understand what's going on around them."
Don't allow jokes or bullying. Kids with special needs are more likely to be bullied and abused in every way — they're just easier targets. If you hear your child or her friends referring to another kid or adult as "dumb" or "retarded," explain just how much those words hurt. Teach her to apologize when she has hurt another child's feelings.
Content:
No two people are the same -- some differences are just more noticeable. Children are curious and will ask questions when it comes to disabilities, whether it's someone at school, or a child living on the same street, they will encounter someone of a less ability to themselves. It's important that they grasp a understanding of what it means to be disabled. That children with disabilities can do many of the things your child does, but it might take them longer.
Product:
This set of postcards will allow you a visual aid to help get your child to understand what it means to be disabled. Allowing you to read through the scenarios on the postcards, and your child the chance to ask questions.
Down syndrome
Source: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/down_syndrome.html
Down syndrome (DS), also called Trisomy 21, is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops, both mentally and physically. It affects about 1 in every 800 babies born in the United States.
Kids with Down syndrome tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears, and a protruding tongue.
Low muscle tone (called hypotonia) is also characteristic of children with DS, and babies in particular may seem especially "floppy." Though this can and often does improve over time, most children with DS typically reach developmental milestones — like sitting up, crawling, and walking — later than other kids.
At birth, kids with DS are usually of average size, but they tend to grow at a slower rate and remain smaller than their peers
Toddlers and older kids may have delays in speech and self-care skills like feeding, dressing, and toilet teaching.
Content:
'It makes me sad that other children don't play with me'
When someone has Down Syndrome it can make them look a little bit different to other children, but they like to have lots of friends just like you
Wheelchair:
'I find it difficult to get around but I still like to play'
If someone is in a wheel chair it means their legs don't move properly, so they may need help getting around, but they are just like you, they like to play and have fun.
Behavioural Problems:
Source:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/what-is-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder.shtml
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity).
' I find it hard to pay attention and get angry when people don't listen to me'
Some children find it hard to keep their temper and behave, but are still the same as you or me. They can find it difficult to concentrate so may wander off and get told off.
Speech and language - Speech Impediment:
'I get frustrated when other children can't understand what I'm saying'
Some children can find it hard to speak, some words aren't clear. They can't learn to speak as quick as other children, but it doesn't mean they are not clever.
Cerebal Palsy:
'I look different to other children and find it hard to get around'
Sometimes children with cerebal palsy need help walking, their brain has made them different when they were in Mummys belly. Even though they look different they like all the same things as other children.
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