Hope Rays Special Education Services

I visited a client to familiarize myself with the family and also identify the appropriate program that will be suitable for the special needs child I was to handle. As I got talking with the mother, she told me how she took her child to be enrolled in a regular school but was rejected despite her pleading. The proprietor told her that he only accept children whom he can work with to attain their full potential. I was angry at the school owner and felt sorry for the mother of my clients. She felt hopeless at that point because all she wanted was for her child to experience the joy of going to school and mingling with other children instead of being locked up at home. She wasn't expecting the school to do much but accept her child.

In Special Education, we advocate inclusive education for all children. This is a situation where learners of different abilities and disabilities are put together to learn in thesame environment but provision are made for the special learners to meet their unique learning needs. This system of education is beneficial as it enables the special child interact and socialize with others, also it helps people to understand and know how to relate with them.

As a parent of a special needs child, don't take your child to a place where you have to beg for your child to be accepted or a place where your child will be tolerated. The school should accept the child with his or her uniqueness and be ready to care, protect and meet the learning needs of the child. I work in a regular school where we have a couple of special needs children. Every staff (both the teaching and non teaching ) are always on the lookout for them because we have come to understand how caring for them especially the hyperactive ones can be. It's not a job to be left alone for the class teacher or their care giver all hands must be on deck.

"Inclusive education means that every child is valued, respected and supported regardless of their ability. It's about changing the way we think about education."

The sooner a problem is discovered, the sooner it can be solved. Most special needs condition in children becomes apparent in their infancy. But some learning problems are not discovered until a child is older.
It is very crucial that children with development issues are given essential services that will enable them live a normal life as much as possible at a very early age. This is the idea behind early intervention.
Early intervention program refers to services and support that can help a child with developmental delays. It focusses on the following areas:
- Physical skills: ( reaching, crawling, walking, drawing, building)
- Cognitive skills: ( thinking, learning, solving problems)
-Communication: (talking, listening, understanding others)
-Self help or adaptive skills ( eating, dressing, toileting)
-Social or emotional skills ( Playing, interacting with others)

At Hope Rays we provide these early intervention programs for special needs children and their parents in the comfort of their homes. These services are very important because it has the potential to change the path of a special needs child's journey in learning and living.