Children with Special Needs have social problems that can affect many areas of their life:
- Self-esteem
- Academic Skills
- Social Relationships
- Family relationships
The treatment needs to be as broad as the effect and can include:
- Psycho-Education
- Medication (including herbs and homeopathic drugs)
- Behavioral therapies
- Social Skills
- Organization and/or time management
- Remedial help for academic deficits
- Neurofeedback or Biofeedback for improved concentration and stress reduction
- Family therapy
- Individual therapy
- Sensory-motor integration
- EMDR—eye movement processing and desensitization for fears and phobias
1. Psycho-Education
Parents and children need to understand the scope of the problem. Special Needs problems can affect your child socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. As a parent, seek out information. The parents' job is complex and requires that you:
- Know what the problem is and understand how it affects your child and family
- Know what your child's special gifts are
- Have realistic expectations of your child e.g. know the difference between
non-compliance and inability
- Have a working discipline strategy
- Know what remedial help your child needs and where to get it
- Know the laws that protect your child
- Know how to have fun with your family
2. Parenting class
Children with Special Needs benefit by their parents using clear and predictable methods of discipline and with known consequences. They also benefit by having consistent structure to their day.
Dr. Giler will be reviewing parenting concepts in her weekly radio show starting next fall. If you wish to order copies of her taped parenting class, contact her by email jzgiler@cox.net
3. Behavioral Therapies
The most effective treatments for Special Needs are behavioral interventions. They include:
- Organization and time management
- Family therapy focusing on structure and management strategies
How Do I Manage My Special Needs Child?
- Individual therapy focusing on changing behaviors and learning new skills
- Social Skills Training for Children—focusing on acquiring new skills
4. School based interventions:
For children with Special Needs or children who perform 1.5-2 years below their grade level are eligible for Remedial help with reading, spelling, math, organization, coordination
- Speech therapy
- Adaptive P.E. or occupational therapy
- Counseling
- Instruction in assistive technology
5. Social Skills Training
Many children with Special Needs lack social skills. Because they either have not attended to or do comprehended the more subtle rules of communication, they frequently make mistakes and are teased by the other children.
6. Medications
Medication is a complicated topic and best dealt with by physicians. Please Refer to Dr. Hallowell’s book, Driven to Distraction for a list of medications used with Special Needs.
7. Sensory-motor integration
Since many children have coordination problems, there are a few therapies that specifically work on developing coordination. Some children can get therapy in schools (adaptive p.e.) This is usually done by an Occupational Therapist.
Children can gain coordination through a variety of games. The new Nintendo Wii has a number of games from Dance Dance revolution to physical exercise that measure one’s progress.
Other sports that help improve coordination are martial arts, swimming, and gymnastics.
8. Other Resources
There are a few catalogs that specialize in books, assessment tools, informational videos, and school based interventions that are relevant. Click here to go to Resources. Also check with you local bookstore or library to see what books, audiotapes, or DVDs are available.
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