Essay Example on Parenting With Special Needs: Acceptance and Challenges

Introduction

All families are different and unique in their diverse ways. For instance, some have entirely healthy children, whereas others have young ones with various special needs. Some children may have learning problems that make it challenging for them to learn normally, like their colleagues at that age.

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Parents in Different Stages of Acceptance of a Disability

Learning problems can range from communication, behaviors, and issues with schoolwork (Allen & Cowdery 268). Other children have physical and emotional disabilities, and thus, they require extra care and attention while at school. Today, family make-ups are also different such that there are single-parent families, adopted children, and children from married partners, among others. However, teachers must learn to cope with students who require special care and engage with their parents to devise strategies to assist them in learning.

Ways Teachers can Build Relationships with Families

Teachers can build healthy and supportive relationships with parents, especially those with special needs in the classroom, using various strategies. A school's business is to provide education to children, but parents are an essential part of the process. Educators who form strong partnerships with parents are the most successful, and the children benefit the most (Allen & Cowdery 270). Collaborations between teachers and parents ensure that children receive constant messages regarding the benefit of education, and they feel encouraged. Children with special needs require a lot of attention from both parties.

Establishing strong communication between families with special needs children is the most effective strategy of building strong relationships between teachers and parents. Teachers and parents can use communication journals to track the progress of children with special needs since it is impossible for parents to show up at school physically. Teachers share their observations, behavior, events, and improvements of children with special needs every day, and the communication journal is delivered to the parents (Allen & Cowdery 270). Similarly, upon receiving the journals, parents respond by sharing their news and observations regarding a child's progress while at home. When used in such a manner, communication journals are a valuable tool that enable parents and teachers to connect and have a strong relationship between them (Allen & Cowdery 271). Consistency between home and school environments for such children with special needs is also enhanced.

How to Hold an Effective Conference with Families

Another strategy that teachers and parents can use to form strong relationships between them is by inviting families with special needs to school to talk about the matter. For example, a parent can be requested to come to the classroom and discuss their children's use of adaptive equipment. Some special needs children may be using communication devices, wheelchairs, braces, and other adaptive equipment (Allen & Cowdery 269). Families may explain to the teachers regarding the use of such equipment, thus promoting acceptance of differences. Such information is useful to teachers since they become fully aware of how to handle students with special needs, and parents feel that their children are safe with their tutors at school.

Why Assessment is Best Done as a Team with Families and Other Professionals

Assessment is done best as a team with families and other professionals. Evaluations are critical in the learning process since they determine if the learning objectives have been met or not. Early childhood programs are required to provide students with assessments to monitor their progress and growth (Allen & Cowdery 268). Teachers benefit from involving families in assessments since they acquire richer and more accurate information from the parents regarding their children's progress and development. Collaborating with parents during an evaluation to monitor a child's learning is not only beneficial to tutors but also assists families in comprehending the crucial role that assessments play in student learning and motivation (Allen & Cowdery 272). One of the most significant reasons to include families in assessments is that there is a creation of positive relationships between teachers and parents. Parents give their views regarding their children's progress based on the assignments given and from other observations. Families observe their children as they tackle their homework, and after that, they give feedback to the teachers. The feedback is critical since it assists teachers in future planning, which is significantly beneficial to students.

Secondly, involving families in assessments provides parents with an opportunity to understand and appreciate their children's efforts, how they progress, and the achievements they gain over time (Allen & Cowdery 273). Thus, parents get all the required information to help them support their children better and motivate them towards achieving more in the learning process. Therefore, children's performance is significantly improved, and parents gain insight into the roles they can play to enhance their children's success. For instance, parents are encouraged to assist their children in reading assessments to improve literacy (Allen & Cowdery 270). Teachers advise parents to support their children in promoting a basic understanding of the process. Children develop their reading skills and gain confidence, and teachers have an easier time in the classroom with such students.

Professionals should also be involved in early childhood development assessments due to various reasons. However, these professionals are most useful towards children with special needs like those who are physically disabled or those with communication and behavioral issues (Allen & Cowdery 269). Teachers must get a second opinion from professionals to determine the progress and improvements that can be made to the children who require special attention in the classroom.

Works Cited

Allen, Eileen K., and Glynnis Edwards Cowdery. The exceptional child: Inclusion in early childhood education. Nelson Education, 2014.