Children_with_Additional_Needs

It is vitally important that when working with children with additional needs to ensure that the environment they are in provides them with the best outcomes and opportunities in life. Children who have additional needs have many experiences within their lives where they need support from certain services. Therefore to provide this support it is extremely important that all disciplines work together in an efficient and harmonious way, as this will be providing each individual with the best services which will benefit the child and their family. Having looked at how vital and dependant these services are for children with additional needs, it is now relevant to see how these services work together and what their role involves. P6/M5 Working in partnership is extremely important to helping children and there are many people/services available to provide this support to them, however to provide the highest standards of their services it is vital that they work together. When certain services work together this is also known as ‘multi disciplinary working.’ The term ‘multi disciplinary working’ is taken from the term ‘team work.’ Team work is essential in assessing and supporting a child’s abilities and needs, because it would be impossible for one service to provide all of the services needed for that child. Professionals from all different services come together as a team to support the changing needs of a child with special needs. Parents are also considered as valuable members to ‘multi disciplinary working’ and are usually invited to attend meetings that involve the child’s welfare. There are many different services that are involved in multi disciplinary working when supporting a child with additional needs and their families, these are: Doctors A doctor’s role is to diagnose the child and to provide medical advice to them and their families. Doctors also have an important role in assessing the child, in order to keep medical notes on the child to see if they’re making any progression. Doctors would work in partnership with most of the other services, this is because a doctor is the main service a child with special needs requires, because of this a doctor would have to inform/confirm to other services what their medical condition is and what it includes. One of the main professionals doctors would work in partnership with is a portage worker, because they are able to discuss the Having looked at the role of the doctor and how it supports a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. It is beneficial for the child because from having a clear diagnosis from the doctor the child will be provided with correct care, medical attention and recourses to help them within their lives, as a result of this the child is going to have a better lifestyle and will be provided with highest quality of care. Social Workers Social workers work closely with other professionals to support vulnerable adults and children in need, or at risk, by offering support and a range of help to enable them to live independent lives. According to a classroom handout they also, “.. offer counseling and support to parents/carers and help them understand the special needs of their child.” They are likely to work along side professionals like doctors and police, this is because the social workers would have to have knowledge of the child’s disability therefore they would have to collect this information from the doctor, and on behalf of the police the social workers would work in partnership with them if they had any worrying concerns over the child so that the police could take the correct legal action. Having looked at the role of a social worker and how they support a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. The reason for this is because a social worker provides a link between the child and their families; therefore they provide this extra support in helping the families have a closing, caring and loving bond. From having this support the child is more likely to have emotional stability and the correct care provided to them, as well as this the family members are able to establish a positive bond and feel less stressed knowing that the help from the social worker is there. Police The police are a service in place which can help families in many different ways, but one of the main ways to help them is to stop any discrimination against the disabled. Many laws and regulations have been set in order to prevent discrimination against the disabled e.g. inserting ramps, the police are able to make sure that these adoptions have been made to different settings in order to minimise discrimination. The police is a service which are likely to work in partnerships with professionals like social workers, because they are able to take the correct legal action for that child if the social worker informs them of any major concerns. Having looked at the role of the police and how they support a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. The reason for this is because the police are able to provide the legal action needed to help prevent discrimination, because of this it will provide families with the extra support and a happier environment for them to live in. This will also benefit the child because they will be able to do more things independently and will not feel isolated from the community. Teachers Teachers are there to help provide support to the families as well as providing each individual child with the learning support and the highest standards of education. Teachers will work in partnerships with many other professionals such as social workers, doctors and occupational therapists, because these services will help the childcare setting provide the correct care to that child. Having looked at the role of the teachers and how they support a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. The reason for this is because teachers are able to provide the parents/carers with the support and guidance in helping their child to progress their development to their highest potential, as well as this teachers are likely to establish positive relationships with families which will make them feel valued and will provide them with extra support. Teachers are going to be extremely beneficial to a child’s welfare and development, as they will be providing the correct recourses and support to help that child. Psychiatrists According to www.cps.co.uk, “Psychiatrists are a service which help enhance the person's quality of life by providing assessments and care treatment to people/children with psychiatric disorders.” They do this in order to prevent and reduce the symptoms and further disabilities resulting from their illness. Psychiatrists would be working in partnership with many other professionals but mainly a doctor, because psychiatrists aim to give an insight and understanding to the child’s disabilities and to do this they would need the professional help of a doctor. Having looked at the role of a psychiatrists and how they support a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. The reason for this is because psychiatrists are able to provide support to the families and the child because they have the knowledge of the child’s disability, therefore they can provide the correct support and understanding to them. Because of this it will make the child’s life easier, as the family will have the extra support so there will be less tension/stress between the child and family members. Physiotherapists Physiotherapists combine their knowledge and skills to approach and to improve a wide range of physical problems that persons suffers from. Physiotherapists will work in partnership with doctors because they would have to discuss which physical treatment would benefit the child and both professions would keep a medical note of that child’s improvement from the treatment. Having looked at the role of a physiotherapists and how they support a child with special needs it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. This service is going to be beneficial to the child because physiotherapy can be very therapeutic which will make the child feel calm and relaxed and as well as that physiotherapy will help the child’s physical area of development progress. It will also be helping the family of the child, because they will see physical improvements which may mean that the child wont be as dependant on them. Occupational Therapist Occupational therapists work with people who have a physical impairment, a medical condition, a mental health problem or a learning disability. They help people who have difficulties with practical everyday tasks. The aim of occupational therapy is to enable you to live as independently as possible - at home, in employment or in education. Occupational therapists work in health and social care and work closely with health, housing and educational services. Having looked at the role of an occupational therapist it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. This service is going to be beneficial to the child because they will feel more independent and less isolated from the community. This is going to have a pass on affect to the family because it will make their lives easier as they child won’t be as dependant on them. Portage Workers As a portage worker, you would provide a home-visiting service for pre-school children who have developmental or learning difficulties, physical disabilities or other special needs. Their role is to help parents and to encourage their children's development by suggesting activities and daily routines to make learning fun. Portage workers would work closely with other professionals, such as health visitors, social workers, physiotherapists and speech therapists – in order to provide the highest quality of care to that child. Having looked at the role of a portage worker it is clearly identified that this service is going to be extremely beneficial to both the child and their families. This service is going to be beneficial to the child because they would be provided with extra care and activities which will help their holistic development. It will also be helping the family of the child, because they will be able to have time to themselves and will learn new techniques in helping their child develop further. Having looked at the multi disciplinary team and their roles, it is now relevant to look at a situation of where these professionals would pull together as a team to help a child and their families. The situation is about a child who is born with Down Syndrome, as follows: Situation of when a child is diagnosed with Down Syndrome Below is an example of what would happen when a child is diagnosed, and how the professionals pull together as multi disciplinary working: When a baby is born with this condition a mother may recognise that the baby is physically different from other babies due to their facial deformities, however this isn’t always the case. Sometimes if a midwife suspects this, she would inform the doctor of her concerns. The doctor would then carry out blood tests on the child in order to confirm this condition. Whilst waiting to receive this information parents will require understanding and support, this could be given from the doctor, midwife or health visitor. When receiving the news that the diagnosis is positive and the child has got Down Syndrome, the parents of that child will be distraught, therefore it is important for them to receive the correct support. This can be provided from the social worker. The social worker is there to provide the support to the family, to do this they would co-ordinate their needs by advising them how to get help from others such as postage workers, educational settings, occupational therapist, physiotherapists, psychiatrists and police. From looking at the above situation it clearly shows how all different services pull together to work as part of a team, and because of this multi disciplinary working it will benefit the child and their families to have a happier and easier lifestyle. P7 Having looked at how multi disciplinary working benefits children with special needs, it is now relevant to identify the role of partnerships between professionals and parents and how these can benefit the child. It is of the utmost importance that all parents/carers establish a relationship with their child’s professionals. To do this it is important that the professionals do the following: • Sharing Data – It is important that all professionals share information with the parents/carers, because they have the right to know about their child. As well as this the parents/carers need to have the same knowledge and understanding about the child, that way the child will be treated the same way and will benefit from having the same help and care • Respect – One of the key strategies in establishing a positive relationship is by having mutual respect for one and other. Professionals need to consider what the parents/carers may be experiencing because of their child, and it is important to respect their views and opinions as it is their child that is involved. As a result of doing this the parents/carers will feel valued and will develop a trust in the professionals. • Communication – As well as this the communication skills have to be correct and professional, to do this the body language, facial expressions, language must be positive and enthusiastic. By doing this parents/carers will feel at ease whilst talking to the professionals and are more likely to consider what they may be advising them. As well as this it is extremely important that the professionals listen to their patients, by being a good listener it will extend the trust within the relationship, the parents/carer will feel valued and they will feel relieved knowing that they can talk to someone. • Honesty – It is extremely important that the professionals are honest with the parents/carers at all times, because if they aren’t the parents are going to lose their trust in them and will find it hard to establish good relationships with others. • Key Person – To work with parents/carers effectively, the parents should be provided with a key worker. Simply meaning that the parent has one person that they can go to, to talk about any of their troubles and thoughts. By having a key person the parents/carers will develop a positive trustworthy relationship with them, which will make them feel comfortable and valued for their situation. From looking at this assiagnment as a whole, the importance of professionals within children’s life’s are clearly identified, therefore in order for the child to receive the best in life its extremely important that all professionals work in partnership and establish positive relationships with the parents/carers. Bibliography Classroom handouts Www.cps.co.uk