Teaching a Child With Special Needs

Teaching a child with special needs is something plenty of parents are still working out. A good deal about the method has to be adjusted, and it needs balancing against whatever therapy is required. Together those two give a child the best chance of developing well.

Here are ten approaches worth applying so the learning actually lands.

1. Keep the Learning Space Ordered

Children with special needs often find it hard to focus on one activity, so an ordered space matters. Everything should have its place, with books on a shelf, building blocks in the toy box and work on the desk. A room arranged that way makes it easier for a child to move between activities.

An ordered room also simply works better as a place to learn. Whether the teaching happens in a class or one to one depends on the child.

2. Use Music

Music generally makes teaching a child with special needs easier and more enjoyable. A range of sounds is thought to stimulate a child's brain. As always, the medium has to suit the particular child in front of you.

3. Keep Instructions Simple

Make every instruction easy to follow. Break it into small parts, stage by stage, so a child can take it in. Don't aim at the end result yet, since the focus is on a child working through each step.

Done that way, their ability to concentrate on a single activity improves steadily.

4. Teach Visually

Children with special needs generally take things in more easily through what they can see. Use flashcards or picture cards for simple objects, whether that's numbers, letters, animals or things around the house.

Visual material also makes it easier for a parent or teacher to communicate with the child at all.

5. Limit Distractions

Limiting distraction matters a great deal here. Keep anything likely to distract away from the learning. Alongside an ordered room, it takes some effort from you to hold the distractions off.

Setting rules for the session and managing the area around the learning space both help. Neither takes much once it becomes routine.

6. Keep the Atmosphere Comfortable

Be a friendly presence so a child is comfortable with you. That starts with you rather than them. Make sure you aren't doing something else important at the same time, since a child notices and it leaves them feeling valued.

Focus on the child and stay with them through each stage. Difficulties will come up, and that's exactly where a parent needs to be present.

7. Build a Schedule

A schedule makes it easier to prepare a theme for each day. A school or class for children with special needs handles that for you, but you can build one at home around your child's attention and interests.

Over time you start to understand what genuinely holds their interest. That understanding is what the schedule is really for.

8. Teach Social Skills

Get your child socialising, slowly enough that it doesn't produce resistance. Playing together is a reasonable starting point, whether that's stacking blocks, blowing bubbles or something similar.

9. Build In Breaks

Leave gaps between activities and make sure the rest is enough, so a child returns with the mood and energy to carry on. There's no value in pushing a long session without a break, since that only produces frustration.

10. Try a Stimulation Class

Finally, a stimulation class is worth considering. A counsellor or psychologist usually prepares a range of sensory play for it, and you can learn alongside your child.

A class also gives a child a new environment to learn in, which stops them losing interest so quickly. Happy Kamper lists stimulation classes with locations and current prices shown.