I find during SENCO training, and conversations with colleagues, that there is still a lack of recognition of the significance of prematurity , as an underlying cause of the changing pattern of childhood disability in the 21st Century.
For those wishing to either revisit, or update on this fact, attached is a position statement I wrote a few years ago, which, combined with the new Report posted on this website on Prematurely Born Children, from Dr Patricia Champion in New Zealand , will give and overview of the developments we have seen in the last quarter of a century .
As teachers in all sectors begin to get to know their classes for this Academic year, many are realising that several children were born prematurely, and this can impact on their learning .
It is important as more children born prematurely enter our school system, (and that is some 50,000 per annum) that their story can be shared with their peers.
The Champion Centre in New Zealand has been a pioneer in developing evidence based interventions to enhance and enrich the development of children born prematurely.
Now their Founder Dr Patricia Champion , MBE , has collaborated in developing this beautiful and poignant story for all children, ‘Earlybird’.
As she says:
“As a children’s story about premature birth, it is unique internationally. Parents of premature babies frequently told me that they did not have a good, or a special story to share with their growing children about their early birth. So, we decided to create a beautiful picture book that would help parents support children born as ‘earlybirds’ to make sense of their early experience,”
Champion Centre Founder and book co-editor, Dr. Patricia Champion, MBE.
“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.
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
Prematurity and the challenge for educators, SEND Magazine Article 2015
On Friday 14 July 2017, an interdisciplinary conference was held at Birmingham City University to raise awareness and highlight current research on this topic.
Fri 14 July 2017 09:00 – 15:30 BST The University Events Team, Birmingham City University
Teachers in particular know so little about this group of children who have transformed SEND registers in this 21st Century. With the World authority, Dr Susan Foster-Cohen speaking this is an essential Conference for SENCOs and special school staff.
Barry Carpenter Education 