"Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories"

What is autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

I have a nephew diagnosed with autism at an early age.  The child was very hyper; his parents were constantly running after him day to day.  He would scream whenever he become upset and could not have his way.  The parents made an important chose to build a partnership with a professional child care center and gain knowledge to work together improving the child’s behavior. 

It is important for children to be in a pleasant setting to learn and develop a sense of being for themselves.  The parents did not understand much about an autistic child; therefore, they explored the internet about autism to get a better understanding.  “There is no known single cause for autism spectrum disorder, but it is believed to be caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function (Autism Society, 2014).  If the organization does not care cultural competence, the specialist will be limited in what a child can do. 

It is essential for professionals to work together parents for an autistic child’s benefit.  Parents and teachers must learn knowledge about the child’s needs and abilities to help with their needs.  In this diverse society, various biases exist. If we don’t fight them, then we support them with our silence. 

   

                             

Reference

Autism Fact Sheet: National Institute of Neurological ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

Causes - Autism Society. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.autism-society.org/about-autism/causes/ Chicago: Causes - Autism Society, http://www.autism-society.org/about-autism/causes/

"Your Personal Research Journey”

A study of early childhood can make a significant benefit of how children learn.  The research should conduct of goals of early childhood education and their learning related to school policies, such as testing children.  A teacher-child good relationship will help support young children with their adjustment to the school setting.  In addition to, teacher-child relationship become resilient and enhances a child’s academic performance in a good school environment.  As a result, early experiences can and do influence the physical architecture of the brain, literally shaping the neural connections in an infant’s developing brain.

Reference

http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/helping_young_children_succeed_final.pdf?docID=1725&AddInterest=1157

Partnering with the Business Community & Economists - Convio. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://zttcfn.convio.net/site/DocServer/Partnering_with_the_Business_Community_final.pdf?docID=4361  

“Daily Supports”

Positive relationships on a daily basis; people can provide the loving support needed to get throughout the day.  Having a positive relationship is necessary to encourage a young child social-emotional development wellness.  It is through positive relationships young children develop learning and overcoming challenging skills.  In addition, nurturing relationships are vital to promoting children's healthy social-emotional development.  The first three years of a child’s life is very beneficial of a baby’s development, such as brain, social and emotional skills, in fact, it can support language and literacy development starting from birth. 

Emotional wellness involves being attentive to your thoughts, feelings and actions.  It also includes the ability to have an optimistic attitude toward life despite daily disappointments.  Just as positive emotions can create a sense of well-being, negative emotions can be stressful (http://kidshealth.org/).  As professionals, it is vital to create an emotional safe learning environment where children and their families develop confidence and grow emotionally.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”

Thomas Merton

Reference

About Stressful Feelings - Information about health, growth ... (n.d.). Retrieved from            http://teenshealth.org/teen/stress_coping_center/stressful_feelings/stressful_feelings.html

"My Connections to Play"

"Play is the beginning of knowledge” & “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” are two quotes that I feel summarized what play represented in my childhood. 

We played these games as a child growing up, and there was a lot of support from family and friends.  Families in the neighbors developed good relationships among each other, therefore, children were able to communicate effectively and play well together. 

There is a big different today how children play.  They have games, television, and computers, instead of reading books, writing or use their imaginations. Children now days say that they’re bored.  As a child found things to do to keep us engaged learning, playing and solving problems. Most children aren’t able to engage into combined activities.   Therefore, professionals must have a curriculum for young children to play together and assist each other in collaborative activities.  Developing language and literacy skills begins at birth through everyday loving interactions, sharing books, telling stories, singing songs, and talking to one another (ZERO TO THREE, 2012)

 ZERO TO THREE: Early Language and Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-language-literacy/

"Relationship Reflection"

A positive parent-child relationship helps a child feel good about them and become successful in life.  Communicating with your children is a crucial factor for making a connection active.  A child-teacher relationship is necessary as well, seeing that this will be one of the first relationships a child will have outside their family. 

It is essential to me to have a positive relationship with my children.  Trust is another factor to having a respectable relationship.  In fact, parent-teacher relationship can provide children with the support to strengthen their learning.  Parents and teachers communicating help build the foundation for children education.  As a result, this creates a positive atmosphere for parents to become involved in their child’s education.  Parent involvement ensures growth for both parent and child to learn how to help their child’s overcome any problems that may occur. 

The way professionals interact with families and their child create a balance and provides a realistic view of a positive way building trusting.  The more parent involvement benefits children, increase learning, and a positive attitude toward education.  As professional, it is without a doubt their responsibility to improve a child’s academic achievement in developing and maintaining each relationship.  Therefore, it is important for teachers to use developmentally and individually appropriate strategies that take into consideration children’s differing needs, interests, styles, and abilities.

Reference

CSEFEL: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for ... (n.d.). Retrieved from             http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/wwb/wwb12.html

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Early childhood is properly for children learning.  Early childhood learning helps the developmental process of the brain.  Children learn to become secure with their caregivers and explore the world around them.  A child needs a positive person in their lives that care and respond with sensitivity to their needs.  As well as, children becoming comfortable with interacting with children, also support each other’s needs with a warm response. 

  

The early childhood education programs are planned to prepare young children for a diversity of occupations in adulthood.  Learning skills and develop opportunities to advance as well as gain the overall competencies necessary for adulthood.  Early childhood educations compromise a child the opportunity start with a solid beginning in their developmental stages of life.  

I have gained several insights from this week reading and websites.   We must learn more about how children develop and grow in order to provide the correct stages of physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.  UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programmes that attend to health, nutrition, security and learning and which provide for children’s holistic development.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Reference

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/ 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

The knowledge of a child’s development shows that the foundation of their mental health which is assembled early in life, as early experiences including the child’s relationships with parents, caregivers, teachers, and peers help form the structural design of developing the brain.  Being able to focus and work with information in a child’s mind, distractions can control coordination to manage information as they grow.  In the brain self-regulation of a group of skills and experiences, begin to advance in early childhood and continue to progress through the early adult years.  Acquiring the early building blocks of these skills is one of the most important and challenging tasks of the early childhood years, and having the right support and experiences through middle childhood, adolescence, and into early adult life is essential for the successful development of these capacities.

Reference

“Building the Brain’s ‘Air Traffic Control’ System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function” and the Working Paper series from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

www.developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/