Children with learning disabilities needs to be grouped together so as to help them boost their intellectual capacity. Small group proposal for students is very essential in catering for the individual differences exhibited in class. Children with learning disability are not always lazy or dumb. It is not a problem with intelligence. They cannot pay close attention, try harder, or even have intrinsic motivation. It is worth noting that children with learning disabilities often have normal intelligence. Such children find problems processing sensory information. This is because they hear, understand , and see things in their own way. The increasing need for education makes every parent to ensure that their children get the best education. This is done amidst economic challenges as well as other family issues. However, despite the different backgrounds that the children come from, parents choose schools that will help them cope up with the competitive environment. Generally, students spent most hours of their day in school which is important in molding their character and future. A school environment is meant to integrate children from various backgrounds and make them feel equal, which is important to their achievement. It is however rather unfortunate that some schools don’t achieve the absolute purpose of molding their students into better persons (Peterson, 1998).
Parents take their children to school with full information that their home environment and background may not be good to make them better people. The children are also to take up the challenge of working harder especially after meeting their colleagues from different backgrounds. Even though school administration takes the background information of their students when they are admitted, this is never meant to discriminate them. It is a way of knowing how to handle them and integrate them into the school system. The challenge is however whether such details are taken into account especially in helping the children adopt. Some students still have difficulties adapting to the environment especially when they encounter their colleagues who appear to be so different from them.
Group Setting
The setting for this group would be during school hours in a classroom that is not being used.
The setting for project is aimed at initiating a group therapy that will assist student at risk to cope up with the school environment and basically change their attitude towards school. We realize that most teachers are only trained and qualified to give educational assistance to their students but not help them psychologically adapt to the environment. Most students who display queer behavior are punished and probably sent home to bring their parents. They are usually looked at as the ‘bad boys and girls’ that are likely to influence other students into bad behavior. These only worsen their situation and change their attitudes towards school (Harpine, 2010). Their parents may have nothing to do and probably keep changing schools for their kids with the hope that they will finally find a school environment that they will adjust to. The group is aimed at identifying students at risk from one stage to another. The identified at risk students will be taken through therapy sessions that will help them have a positive attitude towards school and education at large.
Objectives/Goals
The objective of the group is
1. To Know the meaning of learning disability
2. To learn how it impacts performance in school work
3. To examine the manifestation of its symptoms in a class environment
4. To improve the motivational levels of these children.
for the student, the main goal is to help them improve their academic performance as well as social interaction. This group will enable children with disabilities to learn effectively and efficiently (Jacobs, Masson & Harvill, 2009).
Introduction
To facilitate this program, the group will look out for the children that at risk through various methods. It will include reviewing their background information, their performance in academics, social life, where they stay and the financial capability of their sponsors. This will be followed by a therapy plan that will be administered according to the needs of the student (Sagor & Cox, 2004). The team will also facilitate the provision of other needs such as health, financial and the likes just as they may be required to. The project will be carried out in a way that will not make the students feel different from others but rather to grant them the moral support they require. The group will also ensure that all information gathered about the students is kept secret to minimize on any stigma that they could face. The ultimate of the program will be to design a flexible program that will ensure that the students feel loved and cared for despite the diversities that they display. This will be displayed in their academic performance as well as the attitude they display towards each other. The group will work through the support of the parents, teachers and the school administration to enhance success.
Definition of “Learning Disability”
Sagor & Cox, (2004) defines learning disability as a disorder that hinders student from learning in a usual manner. Those children are likely to drop out of school due to their ever changing attitude towards school and education. There are various reasons that are likely to make a student to change their attitude towards school. This could be because of their home background where by their parents did not have much education. It could also be because of other family issues such as poverty and domestic violence. Health complications either within the students or their close relatives may also make them to be at risk of dropping out. At risk students also comprise of those that have learning disabilities probably because of some mental problems.
Interventions for Learning Disability
To kick off with the program, the group will identify the at risk students basing on various evaluation techniques. There after, they will be made to understand why they have been selected and how the program will benefit them. Before the therapy begins, the student will have to understand everything about the program and be willing to go through the procedure (Snow & Barley, 2005). It will only be helpful to the students if they admit that they need help to adjust to the school environment, this will be the main determining factor of how successful the program will be unto them. This will however not be imposed on them but the team will use clever tactics to help the students admit some of the issues they are going through and accept the proposed help. After getting the students to accept and admit to their issues, their parents will be consulted for the purposes of receiving support from them. Their teachers and the school administration will also be included in the program for suggestions and ideas on how to assist the students.
In carrying out the project, a comfortable program for the students, teachers and the parents will be adopted. This will not however mean that the students will miss out on any of their school activities to attend the therapy unless it will be deemed vital. Class teachers will have the responsibility of monitoring the behavior trend of the students to see if there is any improvement. Their colleagues will also be interviewed to find out if there is a change in their behavior especially when they are out of class (Webb & Myrick, 2008). Their behavior and character change will also be reflected in their academic performance. Changes will also be done during the process especially if the one adopted is not working out positively for them. Any change to the program will be done after consulting with the various groups and authorities. The programs will be designed according to individual needs of the student and will keep changing according to how they respond to them. Financial, medical and other forms of assistance will also be extended to the students by coordinating with other stakeholders. Parents and teachers will also be required to offer moral support as well as provide them with an environment that will boost the project.
It should also be noted that there is no specific period through which the program will run. This will be done according to the need of the student (Page, 2006). The objective of the team is to bring change in the lives of at risk students and ensure a brighter future for them. Even though the group is hoping for success, there is no guarantee that they will achieve 100% results. This is mainly because other environmental factors that may be beyond the control of the group. Every change in attitude of the participants in the program will determine the end results. The identification of at risk students will be an ongoing process so as to ensure many students are supported. It will also require a number of awareness programs especially for the parents to understand their role in the entire procedure. They will have to provide all the required information as well as supervise their children when they are at home.
Conclusion
Learning that your child has learning disability can be very disheartening for a parent. However, the way one behaves or acts towards children with disability goes a long way in helping them improve or worsen their situation. At risk students are vulnerable to many societal issues which are likely to worsen their situation unless there is proper intervention. The risk will not only affect them but also their families, friends and even future generation. When they are expelled from school or transferred to another environment, their problems are not only solved but they are made to realize how unwanted they are in the society. This may stir up irresponsible behavior within them which will ultimately make them hate school. They may also influence other good students in their midst as well as joining dangerous gangs.
Even though they are ignored at an early stage, the consequences of their behavior comes back to haunt the society in future years (Donmoyer & Kos, 1993). These are the same students that will develop into murders, drug dealers, serial killers, rapists and prostitutes. We are found to be so quick at blaming the government for insecurity issues we face in our nation forgetting that we have a responsibility in bringing up morally upright children. By realizing that the very children we discriminate against and expel from school could be assisted, then we could do all we can to grant them the necessary support. The group desires that such a program will be transferred to other schools where the teachers will have a passion to improve the academic and social lives of their students.
