Managing special needs Trying to manage my class of 30 special needs children can be quite a challenge. Jenny is excitable and finds it hard to sit still. Matthew finds that difficult to deal with so he hides under a windowsill ledge. Paul and Sam need extra support to get themselves organized. Jenny also has a sensory integration disorder, finds the noise of the aircon and the lingering smell of lunch distracting. Jill, who finds it hard to concentrate, gets lost on the way to class. Tommy, diagnosed as autistic and less likely to engage with other students, listens from the back of the classroom, waiting for story time. The class then hears the harmonious “dong” of the teacher’s gong. They stop. The room is silent. You could hear a pin drop. A couple of the kids move to more comfortable spaces and sit with their eyes closed. Matthew is still hiding and Paul and Sam are sprawled on the floor fidgeting, but they are all quiet. For one minute the classroom is at a standstill. A visitor might wonder what was going on. It looks like no learning is taking place. After exactly one minute, as suddenly as it all began, with another strike of the gong the room is back in motion, the buzz of learning is in the air and happy, productive students are engaged. What happened? Everyone was engaged in the present moment and refocused their attention. Jill could remember what she was supposed to be doing. Paul and Sam could find some peace to replenish their batteries. Matthew could retrace steps in his mind to find a different solution to a problem
by Sarah O'Connor he was working on. Jenny could take charge of the sensory information she chose to focus on. Mindfulness, which teaches children that brains can let in too much information and sometimes we need to tune it out, had taken place. My role as an advocate for families and children with special needs is not to teach mindfulness. I use it when identifying strategies that help children with learning. A new educational landscape has evolved and teaching mindfulness to whole classes like these is not uncommon today. Although mindfulness is not on the curriculum and there are no examinations, a few minutes a day has been shown to enable learners to stop and take stock of the present moment and enhance their learning. Mindfulness has helped them become aware of their senses and exist in the present. In my view, mindfulness is a first step in becoming conscious about your own learning, recognizing how you work and how to work competently and patiently with others. When a child has the ability to stop and reflect, she or he also discovers a process through which they can employ other strategies for learning. Their education and wellbeing benefit as a result.
Sarah O’Connor, the writer of this piece, uses mindfulness as a strategy with special needs children. More on her work at www.acorncare.com.hk
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