Students learn a lot in their Pre-K stage, and therefore, introducing awareness on their counterparts with special needs come with a lot of positive gains. Discrimination against the learner s with special needs has increased due to little sensitization of the society about their rights. Establishing separate learning institutions for the disabled increases not only educational costs but also enhances discrimination tendencies. Special needs learners find it difficult to function optimally due to the difficulty in the environment and lack of support from both teachers, parents and other students. Overall, this essay analyzes the advantages of special needs awareness sensitization on the Pre-K students.
Positive Attitude towards Disability for Co-existence
Introducing social awareness programs regarding students with special needs to Pre-K learners has immense benefits on the disabled lot. Social awareness concerning the disabled enables the young learners to develop a positive attitude towards them. When children at the Pre-K learn of their environment and understand as well as appreciate that their environment has students who have various disabilities, they will learn to relate with them positively and even offer them assistance when they require. Positive attitudes towards the disabled by the Pre-K students make co-existence easier. Developing a positive attitude in students towards their counterparts with disabilities at the Pre-K stage makes it easy for them to co-exist with them in the later years without difficulties. Clark, Dyson, and Millward (2018) aver that minors learn socialization skills at their tender age, particularly at the Pre-K stage. When Pre-K children develop a positive attitude towards the disabled, they feel obligated to offer assistance to them in their later years. Social attitudes develop at the Pre-K stage and therefore seizing the opportunity to create social awareness of special needs learners has positive gains. Hence, Pre-K awareness equips learners with the positive attitude towards their disabled counterparts which helps to stem discrimination.
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Skills for Handling Students with Special Needs
Creating awareness to Pre-K students regarding students with special needs has a beneficial outcome in that it equips them with skills to handle those with disabilities. Disability awareness programmes encompass training on specific skills on how to manage persons with disabilities. The training makes interaction with their disabled peers easier in their later years. People with no skills on how to handle the disabled often cause injuries to them unknowingly. Persons with skills on how to handle the disabled make life easier for the latter and also makes them feel accommodated. Equipping Pre-K students with the skills help to establish an enabling environment for the disabled. The environment allows the disabled to operate optimally and exploit their potential without feelings of inadequacy ( Cook, Klein & Chen, 2015). Overall, equipping Pre-K learners with skills on how to handle their challenged counterparts establishes an enabling environment for the latter to feel accommodated in the learning environment thus enhancing their productivity.
Disability Awareness Enables Pre-K students to Adopt Advocacy Roles
Creating awareness for the Pre-K students on matters relating to disabilities enable them to take up advocacy roles for their challenged counterparts in the future. When Pre-K students learn about issues to do with their peers with special needs, they stand a good chance of playing advocacy roles. Advocacy on matters regarding disability will help enlighten the society on the importance of respecting the rights of the disabled. Advocacy roles will also help establish policies that will protect the disabled and offer them equal opportunities in the society without discriminating against them. Hanko (2018) contends that t he modern society has neglected the disabled due to lack of adequate sensitization on the matter. Pre-K students will learn the importance of remaining sensitive to the needs of the disabled through the awareness programs. In the same light, in situations where they cannot offer the required assistance, they will mobilize the entire society to provide support towards the same.
Enhance Co-existence and Reduce Educational Costs
Creating social awareness to Pre-K students on special needs students also enhances co-existence among the students with their disabled counterpart. Co-existence in the same educational institutions reduces the running costs of education. In situations where students cannot live together in harmony, authorities are compelled to set up separate schools for both the disabled students and the others. However, training the Pre-K students on how to co-exist will make it easier for them to learn in the same institutions and use shared facilities. The funds that would have gone into establishing separate schools for the disabled can go towards equipping the existing learning institutions with facilities that improve the learning experience. Lewis, Wheeler, and Carter (2017) postulate that h armonious living between the disabled and the other students also enhance social integration and reduce feelings of discrimination. Establishing separate learning institutions for the disabled increases discriminatory practices as well as increases stereotyping. In general, students ought to learn together irrespective of their physical conditions as it enables them to create positive bonds, reduces stereotypes and improves social integration.
Conclusion
Creating awareness for Pre-K students about their counterparts with special needs have tremendous positive gains on both parties. The knowledge enables the Pre-K students to master skills that will allow them to interact with their special needs counterparts in the learning environment. The awareness also allows the Pre-K students to play advocacy roles on matters concerning persons with disability in their later years. Notably, the awareness initiative in the Pre-K students enables them to live together in harmony with their disabled counterparts, thus, reducing the educational costs of establishing separate learning institutions for the two groups, as they can use the same learning facilities. Pre-K students also develop positive attitudes towards the disabled therefore reducing stereotypes and discrimination towards students with special needs.
References
Clark, C., Dyson, A., & Millward, A. (2018). Towards inclusive schools? . Routledge.
Cook, R. E., Klein, M. D., & Chen, D. (2015). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs . Pearson.
Hanko, G. (2018). Special needs in ordinary classrooms: From staff support to staff development . Routledge.
Lewis, R. B., Wheeler, J. J., & Carter, S. L. (2017). Teaching students with special needs in general education classrooms . Pearson.
