As children grow, there is a set of expectations in the skills and knowledge that should be fulfilled for a child to be declared normal. There are instances where these expectations are not fulfilled leading to a generalized psychiatric condition referred to as developmental disorder, which a substantial risk to the overall wellness at mature stages, which include adolescence and adulthood. In recognition of this risk, several organisations including government and non-governmental, individual scientists, psychotherapists and religious bodies have developed tools of addressing these disorders at various stages in life. Outlined here below is a set of useful resources that can be used to help families deal with developmental and behavioural disorders in their preschool children aged between 3 and five years old. It includes books, online articles, community resources and best practices based on scientific approach.
Books
Priddy, R. (2004). First Words (Bright Baby) Board Book . London: Priddys Books.
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This book is developed to help children who are disinterested in reading. It provides the learners with the foundational first words that will be helpful in development of their vocabulary. In recognition of lack of interest to read among developmentally delayed children, the book has brightly coloured images on all pages with a restriction of one image per page. This book promotes literacy learning instead of interpersonal skills
DK Publishing (1998). Baby Faces Board Book . London: DK Publishing.
This is a padded board book illustrating different faces of a baby is helpful in helping the learners attempt and make the various faces detailed in the book. Such expressions as happiness, crying, laughing and silly facials can help the child relate with the different moods during a normal day. It is an ideal book for the foundational stages, when the teacher and parents are interested in building life instead of literacy skills.
Articles
Child Mind Institute. Problem Behaviour in Pre-schoolers: How to know when 3- to 5-year-olds need help with behaviour . Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/problem-behavior-in-preschoolers-2/
This article is published by Child Mind Institute and it provides the parents or care givers with the useful information regarding awareness among the parents of their children with disruptive behaviour problems. It appreciates that whereas most diagnosis of disruptive behaviour problems are done among the school going children, such problematic behaviours start manifesting way before the kids start going to school. The article outlines signs that a parent should look out for in the children which may point towards a child having the disorder. Some of the signs exhibited by preschool children indicating that they may be having the disorder and may require intervention include frequent and serious tantrums, too much strain on the family members, negative relationships with the parents and risk of hurting younger siblings. Should the parents note there characteristics, then the person who is best position to initiate effective therapy is the parent. Some of the therapies suggested in the article include Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Parent Management Training (PMT) and Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). It also provides guidance the best time to initiate therapy and way of evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions.
Kid’s mental health (n.d.). Children’s Behavioural and Emotional Disorders . Retrieved from http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/childrens-behavioral-and-emotional-disorders/
The article by Kids Mental Health is a useful resource for parents with children of ages between 0 and 5 years old because it is a reliable guide on how and when to seek professional intervention. It calls for attention to the emotional and behavioural conditions of the children while growing, appreciating that this stage in life is characterised by constant growth and changes. It implores the parents to seek professional assistance for their children if the emotional and behavioural disorders have been noted temporarily. A critical piece of advice from this article is the information that such brain disorders as depression, anxiety, and bipolar does not necessarily emerge after childhood, instead there is a possibility that the disorders can develop during childhood. According to the article, ADHD is childhood onset brain disorder that is widely researched, diagnosed and treated with approximately 5% of children suffering from the infirmity globally. Therefore, it is a resource that is not only useful to the parents but also to early childhood educators who can be of vital role in the diagnosis of the disorder.
Community Resources
Developmental Paediatrics available through http://www.pikespeakkids.com/developmentalpediatrics/
This resource offers a rehabilitation clinic for children with such special needs as supressed speech, low sensory ability, and slow physical growth alongside other services such as comprehensive developmental evaluation. It was started in 1987 with an aim of providing a peaceful environment where families can converge and offer each other with peer support amidst the challenges of their children. A great deal of activities in Developmental Paediatrics is the support advanced towards parents who get educated on the challenges their children face while developing. Its eventual mission is to help the parents appreciate how therapy of any of the developmental disorders can be of great importance in recovery.
Child Development Centre of Colorado Springs available through http://www.cdcrehab.com/
Child Development Centre boasts of a 28-years’ experience in offering treatment to disabled and developmentally delayed children. For the 28 years, Child Development Centre of Colorado Springs, Inc. has continued to offer top-notch rehabilitation services to young children drawn from Pikes Peak locality and beyond. Some of the services available in this institution include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Those kids who require comprehensive care are also accommodated in the institution. The scope is adequately wide that it is able to accommodate children with developmental delays, speech difficulties, learning problems, autism spectrum disorders, feeding problems among other child developmental challenges. Allyson and Sydney are the resident therapist with extensive experience in handling paediatrics and also abreast with the modern technologies that are necessary in rehabilitation.
Research-Based Best Practices
McIntyre, L. L. (2008). Parent Training For Young Children With Developmental Disabilities: Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal on Mental Retardation , 113 (5), 356-368.
This study was carried out among 44 families to evaluate the impact of parent training interventions among the children suffering from developmental disorders. Whereas 21 of these families were taken through a Parent Training Program for 12 weeks, the other control group comprising of 23 families the conventional care which includes ECD and other related activities. The findings from the study suggest that the experimental group which received specialized training is better than the usual care for the children with developmental delays. Thus, the training is effective in minimizing the negative interactions between children and parents.
Baker, B. L., Neece, C. L., Fenning, R. M., Crnic, K. A., & Blacher, J. (2010). Mental disorders in five-year-old children with or without Developmental Delay: Focus on ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology , 39 (4), 492-505.
This study assessed a total of 236 children aged 5 years old using structured interviews to diagnose ADHD. 95 participants in the study had developmental disorders whereas the remaining 141 had the typical development. The results of the assessment indicate there was more prevalence in each of the disorder assessed among the children with developmental delay. Those who satisfy the criteria for ADHD was differentiated the two groups significantly with the ratio of 3.21:1. In both groups, the challenge of externalizing behaviour at 3 towards ADHD diagnosis among the 5-year olds was stable. It was also established that if a parent is undergoing parenting stress for a child aged 3, and then such children were likely to get ADHD diagnosis at later stages. Further, in development delay group, maternal scaffolding is an indication of possible positive ADHD diagnosis in future.
Part II
The resources obtained in part one focused on the special needs for children between the ages of between 3 and 5 years old. These needs are declared special because the fall short of the expectation of normal growth and development. Some of these disorders are characterized by serious impairment in a number of areas such as mental and behaviour among other attributes. On the other hand, behavioural disorders refers to a section of mental disorders which manifest through more inappropriate, uncommon, and disruptive actions of a child that those of the age mates. These conditions are so serious that they can have a long lasting impact in the ability of a grown up human being to think and act normally. If these disorders are not adequately and effectively addressed during the foundational stage of a human being, then such a person stand a risk of living with mental disorder throughout his or her life.
One outstanding feature of the various resources outlined above is the recognition of the various degrees of developmental disorders and subsequent intervention that is required. On of such resources that can be of great importance to early childhood educator is the choice of books that are customized to promote learning among the children with disruptive behaviours. The books are designed in appreciation of the fact that the children with a problem of concentration and do not overburden the learners with too much content but instead provide the material that is just enough to cause learning. They have elaborate pictorial presentations instead of strict literal and numerical content.
Another resource that was identified and would have great impact in training children with developmental disorders is the community establishments. These communities provide either home-based or online solution to kids with mental disorders. They have specialized trainers and facilities to offer adequate clinical rehabilitation for children with learning disabilities. Early childhood educators will find these facilities critical in offering options for referral if they get children with developmental disorders in their classrooms. In addition, the facilities are useful in offering benchmarking because of their wide experiences and exposure to various conditions among the pre-school children. Due to the various specialization in these institutions, the early childhood education can seek on-job-training in preparation of increasing their employability and/or resourcefulness in their current posting.
Lastly, the various scientific studies highlighted in the list of useful resources above are of great importance in helping the early childhood teachers appreciate the various scientific reasoning behind the recommended interventions. For instance one of the resources identified investigated the importance of taking parents through specialized training had better care for children with developmental delays. With such and similar studies, the special education teacher is able to provide informed, relevant, and scientifically approved means of making the training for children with developmental disorders effective. The selected research-based best practices are just but a sample of several studies done on the numerous interventions. Through continuous reference to such studies special education administrators are able to realign their focus to accommodate the most effective, efficient and acceptable modes of knowledge transfer.
In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that early childhood educator has several methods of making their work more productive, especially when dealing with children with such special needs as developmental delays, disruptive behaviours and other behavioural disorders. Some of these resources offer direct application to the children, while others are part of the preparation for the instructors, parents or caregivers. Whereas kindergarten books and rehabilitation centres are for direct application, research-based best practices and online articles are meant for preparing the educators have a better understanding of the children.
References
Baker, B. L., Neece, C. L., Fenning, R. M., Crnic, K. A., & Blacher, J. (2010). Mental Disorders In Five-Year-Old Children With Or Without Developmental Delay: Focus on ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology , 39 (4), 492-505.
Child Development Centre of Colorado Springs available through http://www.cdcrehab.com/
Child Mind Institute. Problem Behaviour in Pre-schoolers: How to know when 3- to 5-year-Olds Need Help with Behaviour . Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/problem-behavior-in-preschoolers-2/
DK Publishing (1998). Baby Faces Board Book . London: DK Publishing.
Priddy, R. (2004). First Words (Bright Baby) Board Book . London: Priddys Books.
Ghuman, J., & Ghuman, H. (2014). ADHD in Preschool Children: Assessment and Treatment . Oxford University Press.
Kids mental health (n.d.). Children’s Behavioural and Emotional Disorders . Retrieved from http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/childrens-behavioral-and-emotional-disorders/
McIntyre, L. L. (2008). Parent Training for Young Children with Developmental Disabilities: Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal on Mental Retardation , 113 (5), 356-368.
Developmental Paediatrics available through http://www.pikespeakkids.com/developmentalpediatrics/
Rutter, M. J., Bishop, D., Pine, D., Scott, S., Stevenson, J. S., Taylor, E. A., & Thapar, A. (2011). Rutter's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry . John Wiley & Sons.
