On the journey of professional learning, as schools and teachers prepare to implement Engagement more fully as assessment, this article may offer some useful insights.
Click to download and view.
Category: Articles
“Earlybird” Book – The Experience of Premature Birth
“Earlybird” – the first book worldwide for parents and children to explore together the experience of premature birth.
Written by Dr Patricia Champion, MBE , Founder of the Champion Early Intervention Centre , in Christchurch , New Zealand , and an international expert in the field of prematurity.
“All the joys and worries of a prematurely born baby are tenderly and openly addressed in this lovely story as Mum, Dad and Pip welcome little Peri into their nest. This book will be calming and centering resource for families to read with their children following their time in NICU and long after as they continue to embrace their newest family member”.
Professor Linda Gilkerson, PhD. Erikson Institute USA.
The book is available internationally and can be purchased online at: http://www.championfoundation.co.nz
Click the below to download and view the Earlybird information sheet.
Guardian Interview with Baroness Sheila Holllins discussing the use of wordless books for people with Learning Disabilities
Useful Factsheet on FASD
NOFAS Factsheet, click the cover image below to open and view in full.
Supporting Girls with Autism through PE and Sport
A new article by Victoria Wells. National Manager, Youth Sports Trust, identifies some useful strategies for enabling participation in PE and Sport by Girls with Autism, with many benefits.
This work is being further extended by the YST.
Click the thumbnail cover below to open, and read the article in full.
Girls and Autism book is launched in London
On 2nd April, to a packed audience this groundbreaking new book was launched in London. The pages of the book came to life with workshops from each of the contributors, gathered together in the photograph below.
Sheila, the Baroness Hollins, welcomed the book, saying it held promise and opportunity for so many girls and their families.
Girls from Limpsfield Grange School spoke of their experiences of the education system.
The Hollyoaks actress, Talia Grant, and Drama and Art student Grace Dolan , both talked openly of their struggles with mental health, and the lack of acknowledgement of their female presentation of Autism. Both were accompanied to the stage by their Mothers, Carrie Grant ( Broadcaster and Vocal Coach), and Sophie Walker, (Co Founder of the Women’s Equality Party)
From London the book will travel over the coming months for Launch Events in Belfast, Oslo, Barcelona, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland , New Zealand, New York and Dubai.
You can purchase the book via Routledge, the publishers website.
Link Below:
How do children born prematurely learn?
This is question I am often asked. My key thought in responding is that these children are often ‘wired differently’ – their brains are not configured as those of a full term infant might be. This does not automatically imply that they will have a learning disability or special educational need, but teachers need to be prepared that that these children may not perceive and deduct from information given, in the ways we usually expect from children.
Indeed, to repeat again the phrase given to me by the mother of a boy born at 24 weeks gestation after observing his first term in school, he is ‘wired differently’ . As a as a Teacher I then have so ask , “so of he is wired differently , in what ways does he learn differently ? And when I know how he learns differently, in what ways do I teach differently?”
Many teachers find the Engagement Profile (http://engagement4learning.com), a useful observational tool to profile neurodiversity in children, particularly as we start a new academic year.
This article may guide and refresh thinking around how we engage children whose learning pathways are different due to prematurity of birth.
Professor Barry Carpenter CBE,OBE,PhD.
September, 2018
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. – Refreshing the debate
Of late there has been a renewed interest in FASD, and the consequences for both Children’s Services and Schools.
The article below may make a helpful contribution to those discussions. Click the article thumbnail to view.
Updates on Autism Research
Teachers often need and appreciate brief, teacher-friendly summaries of relevant research in the field of Autism. The University of Portsmouth autism network posts helpful newsletters on different topics, covering research that can inform evidence based practice and interventions that are systematically trialled.
Take a look through the below weblink.
http://www.port.ac.uk/department-of-psychology/community-collaboration/autism-research-network/
Encouraging literacy in children with SEN
After all the debate and politically driven ideology about teaching reading only via Phonics , this article reminds us powerfully why we teach reading , and how holistic approaches are probably more successful with children with SEND.
A child’s first experiences with books and stories, paper and crayons build the foundation for language, reading and writing.
“Teaching language and literacy via the use of books demands the highest quality teaching. This in turn requires knowledge, insight and curiosity about how children learn and develop alongside their unique interests and needs,” writes Kathryn Solly. Kathryn explains how children with SEN can become inspired about books and reading.
https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/inspiring-reading?source=pal178
