My experience teaching young people with sensory and/or auditory processing needs;
I have worked with children with varied sensory needs including sensory seekers and those who have sensory aversions and restrictions. I have also worked with children who have proprioceptive and vestibular needs. Some strategies that I have implemented to support children have included sensory stories, sensory circuits, food play and sensory activities following the hierarchy of messy play. I have used the backward chaining method to support children to access activities or materials that may be particularly challenging to them. As described previously, I use TEACCH approaches to support children to understand what is happening and when, and to make clear beginnings and endings to activities.
My experience teaching young people with speech and language needs;
All of the children that I have supported for the past four years have had speech and language needs to varying degrees. Some of these children used some spoken words, and benefitted from strategies such as Colourful Semantics and Aided Language Displays to further support their expressive language development. I have supported pre-verbal children’s understanding and expressive communication using visual aids including PECS, Makaton, choosing boards and many other types of symbols. I have worked closely with Speech and Language Therapists (SLT), and I always aim to incorporate their strategies/target work into my teaching (where appropriate) to provide consistency for the child.
My experience teaching young people with complex medical needs;
I have worked with children who have complex medical needs. One child that I supported had sustained a brain injury during routine surgery. This injury impacted the child’s use of one side of their body, and part of my work involved encouraging the child to use both of their arms, and to cross the midline of their body during playful activities. I also supported this pre-verbal child’s communication using a variety of augmentative approaches. I also looked for communicative signs from the child to understand which activity they preferred from a choice of two, and I noticed how they were showing that they wanted something to stop, or to continue. Another child that I have taught had cerebral palsy and spina bifida, alongside additional complex medical needs. Although it took some time, this child developed trust in me and joined in with activities, whereas other adults caused the child anxiety. This anxiety was likely due to the ongoing medical procedures that this child experienced from adults. It is a real privilege to work in a profession which delivers fun and positive experiences that enable children to learn and to make progress.
My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem;
There is nothing more rewarding than supporting a child to reach a new milestone in their learning and development. The seemingly smallest of steps are often a huge cause for celebration. I find that it is useful to break longer term goals down into smaller steps, and to work towards achieving each step in a logical order using the backward chaining approach. Reaching a small step provides motivation and self-confidence to any learner, and it encourages them to persevere and to take safe risks in order to develop a new skill.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning;
Along with developing a meaningful and trusting relationship, my other priority when I work with a child is to ensure that they enjoy their learning experiences and have fun! When a child is enjoying something and having a good experience, they learn in that moment, and are also likely to build upon that positive learning experience by partaking in future learning too. As mentioned previously, I love to celebrate the smallest steps of new learning, and I enjoy offering praise where it is welcomed by the child. The most satisfying aspect of teaching is supporting others to achieve something that they previously could not, and the ensuing self-confidence and self-achievement boost that this gives the child.
My skills and experience supporting students to develop their independence;
It is so important for all children to develop independence and to gain a strong sense of self as these are traits that are useful throughout their lives. I have used a variety of approaches to support the development of independence skills including teaching through demonstration during play, using visuals to support the steps within a task and using the backward chaining approach. I have also supported children to recognise, understand and to express their emotions using physical actions, picture symbols, Makaton and personal stories. Learning independence skills are as important, if not more important than attaining academic goals because independence promotes a positive can-do attitude and approach to life and to learning, and boosts self-esteem.
