Name: Danaleth Dinahum Subject: The Child & Adolescent

Subject: BSEd 1- English Activity No: 2

Assessment II

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Explain the following:

1. How is child’s perception different from an adult’s?

In every question asked, there is always a grey area or hesitation. Whether it be as an

adult or a child. But, there will always a thing that makes a distinction from one another. When I
was a kid, there’s absolutely no rule that tells me that I cannot ask more than five questions at a
time, or do silly and naughty things. I was proud of the things that I did and I couldn’t care who
catches me in those times. I remember, my imaginations were often mind-blowing. They are not
limited by logic and I can see that those are next to possible. Most of the time, I was excited
about adult life and that I was just a natural adventure seeker. I see the world with fresh eyes,
which means, I tend to notice small things that make my life meaningful.

Furthermore, as scary as this may sound, but I used to befriend anyone who gives me
attention and those who seem friendly. I would often happily go up to a stranger in a grocery
store to ask him why he’s buying a certain flavor of ice cream instead of my favorite chocolate.
And that I don’t care about how dirty I am as long as I enjoyed playing local games such as
“pakay”, “step-palda”, “holen”, text”, “tanzan” and the likes. In fact, I liked getting my hands and
clothes dirty.

On the other hand, I consider myself as an adult since the day I get to realized that
some things don’t go on what I expected it to happen. Technically, the day I turned seventeen. I
started to became conscious, and that I tend to get embarrassed when people catch me doing
the silliest but harmless things that make me happy. That before I act, I have to think things
thoroughly and logically in order for them to make sense. I also noticed that I became less
inquisitive and more oblivious to the wonders of the world, and just caring about my future.

In terms of socializing, I became knowledgeable and aware that not everyone has my
best interests at heart. Which means, I don’t make such efforts to interact with people around
me. Instead of striking up a conversation with a familiar person in a queue, I much more likely to
turn in my phone, pretending that I’m not minding his business. And this is the biggest I’ve
noticed about myself, that I always feel the urge to be frugal every time I’m out with friends, and
that I have “more” important things to do than to hang out with them.

So, you see, there are lots of differences of a child’s perspective compared to adult’s. I
used my experience to validate and to prove my point that children are care-free, innocent,
adorable, and the likes while adults are just the opposite of these.
 The Child & Adolescent

2. As a future teacher, what would you do if you suspect that a child has ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is thought to be neurochemical disorder that

interfere with attention. Children who have this have a difficult time paying attention to the task
at hand and are easily distracted by any stimuli around them. As a future teacher, if I suspect
that my student has this disorder, I’ll schedule a meeting first with his/her parents to discuss the
situation at length. I’ll suggest that they should visit a physician, which will be valuable to as the
doctor evaluates the situation. Second, I’ll talk with the student about what’s going on and
carefully listen to his perspective. I’ll ask him how he feels about school, his classmates, how he
feels about his surroundings, and how he feels about me as his teacher. I believe, by doing
these, I will be able to discuss the situation better with others at school and if necessary, my
student’s parents. I will also reassure the student that I am on his side and that I want to work
with him and the school to make things better.

Third, I’ll ask the school’s principal to have a meeting. I’ll discuss my concerns about the
student’s behavior as well as the concerns of the student himself and his parents. I would
suggest that the school should do a full psycho-educational assessment of the student so that I
will have all of the information that his doctor will need to make a thorough assessment. I think,
this is extremely important because during this assessment, other possible causes for the
student’s difficulties at school other than or in addition to ADHD may be discovered, such as a
learning disability, delay in language development, and anxiety issue, and more.

Finally, after the assessment that has been conducted, I’ll meet with the student’s
parents to discuss the results. At that time, I will know whether a trip to his physician is in order.
On the other hand, it may be discovered that he could benefit from services provided by the
school.

3. How can teachers and schools help a child who has developmental disabilities?

When working with children who have developmental disabilities, a good teacher can
accomplish a great deal by managing the learning environment proactively to prevent behavior
problems and promote learning. But identified students may also experience behavior or
learning problems because they lack key skills (e.g., capacity to interact with other children in
socially appropriate ways). Children with developmental disabilities should therefore have
explicit skills-training in deficit areas as a central component in their curriculum (Mayo, Begut
2014).

The following are ‘paraphrased’ ideas of Voldemort, Fill (2008) for accommodating
students with significant special needs:

Use visual cues to orient student in the classroom. Children with developmental disabilities
can be much more independent when they have strong visual cues to guide them through the
physical space of the classroom.

Post a clear and predictable daily schedule. Both typical students and those with
developmental disabilities crave structure and predictability in their school day. Special needs
children, though, can sometimes react more strongly than their non-disabled peers when faced

Danaleth P. Dinahum 2
 The Child & Adolescent

with an unexpected change in their daily schedule. When creating daily schedules be sure to
match the schedule format to the child's skill level.

Build student motivation. Motivation is the 'engine' that drives student engagement and
learning. Try these ideas to motivate identified students with whom you work with.

Use strategies to make directions and learning expectations clearly understood. Provide
directions in language that the student can understand. Use visual cues (hands-on
demonstrations and modeling, objects, pictures) as needed to help the child to better grasp the
directions. Prompt and guide the child through the performance-sequence.

Create a plan to help the student to generalize their learning across settings and
situations. Children with significant disabilities are likely to need explicit programming to
generalize skills that they have learned in a particular classroom setting to other settings or
situations.

Monitor the student's feelings. As you know, even if a child has limited speech, they are
communicating with people through actions. Increased restlessness, tantrums, or sleeping or
eating poorly may be signs of stress or worry. Give him extra hugs and positive words to show
that you understand how s/he feel.

Help him understand. Try to explain the situation using all the types and ways of
communication (such as words, pictures, music, etc.) the student can understand. This may
mean repeating it several times over several days. You can also try using stories with pictures
that help explain a situation. For example, say, “There's a germ called coronavirus." Then try to
show and explain, “We can't stand too close to other people when we are outside our home."
There are some good examples online of social stories that can be used to help explain COVID-
19.

Try to keep routines. Children are used to routines, such as going to school, therapies, coming
home, and they like this structure and knowing what comes next. Since routines are different
right now, it may make some children feel unsettled. It can be hard for families to create and
maintain schedules while caring for children at home all day while also juggling work and other
responsibilities. But trying to keep some familiar routines along with the new ones can help
reduce overall stress.

Stay connected virtually. Continue to find creative ways for the student to connect with you,
such as with video calls or texting. It's also important to stay in touch with therapists so you can
ask questions or seek advice. Many children also enjoy seeing their teachers and therapists on
video calls. This is also a good time to connect with local family led organizations that may offer
virtual social opportunities.

Model behavior & coping skills. Show and explore with the student positive ways to deal with
stress. If you feel frustrated, for example, tell them: “I am taking a deep breath to calm down," or
“I need to take a walk to unwind." (Even better, suggest a family walk when possible to help
everyone relax!)

Take care of yourself. Remember that your physical and mental health is important, too.
Taking care of yourself is key to helping you continue taking care of others during the pandemic.

Danaleth P. Dinahum 3
 The Child & Adolescent

Try to eat healthy, regular meals, exercise and get enough sleep. Finding others to talk to,
whether in person, or by phone or video can also help relieve stress and make you feel less
alone. Family support groups are a great way to connect with other parents of children with
developmental disabilities.

Prioritize what works for the student. It’s fine having student-teacher goals like having meals
together, working on life skills, and doing something fun and interesting with him. These can be
just as important as other goals to move forward during stressful times.

I paraphrased and incorporated ideas to the mentioned ways but I still credited
Voldemort, Fill (2008) for giving such ideas.

Danaleth P. Dinahum 4