I Am A Special Child (Phase 1) – Parental Forum for the parents of the differently-abled from Chitra Lane School for Special Education was held on November 28, 2019 from 8am onwards. Approximately 90 parents participated in this session. This forum was organized with the help of CAFS (The Child, Adolescent and Family Services) - a non-profit oriented organization which aims on promoting mental health awareness in Sri Lanka, conducts necessary assessments and provides tailor-made interventions, organizes specialized workshops for communities and schools/institutions and also initiates support forums. The forum was conducted by Amandhi Caldera – a Clinical Psychologist from Ragama Hospital who is also a committed volunteer from CAFS. This session was conducted with the aim of addressing topics such as identification of the syndrome, common issues faced by the parents during the course and how to handle the situation in an effective and positive manner.
The session started by the facilitator introducing herself and also by explaining the purpose behind this forum. First of all, the parents were requested to share the challenges faced by the children in the society. Most of the parents highlighted the point that their children being bullied. Even though their children have been taught on specific skills, they are scared to send them out to the society as they might be ill-treated. It was mentioned by the parents that certain government school teachers do not pay much attention or do not teach the children with special needs. Hence, it was suggested by the parents that the society should be educated on how to treat a differently-abled person and be included as a normal person rather than sympathizing for them. The next point of discussion was held on what kind of job they could be involved in or the areas where they can excel in once they finish schooling. The parents shared their ideas for example: making envelops, knitting, making candles and other vocational training activities. The facilitator suggested the parents to involve their children in some kind of an extracurricular activity such as Drawing, Dancing, Cookery etc.
The facilitator also carried out a discussion on how to talk to them in a clear and concise manner rather than talking in long sentences which they will not be able to understand. As the final session the parents were divided into groups and was asked to discuss on what they more they could do for the betterment of their children and the same was then discussed in an open forum. It was mentioned that to not be too harsh with the children which might make them more aggressive, talk to the children in very small sentences which will make them to understand easily, do not discuss anything bad about the child while the child is present and always try to turn their attention towards the parents if they try to do anything inappropriate. Finally the session was concluded by thanking the facilitator, the school management and also the parents who were present. The parents were very much happy about the forum conducted and requested us to organize more in the near future which educates them on how to tackle their child and how to identify the talents and provide them the best.
The session started by the facilitator introducing herself and also by explaining the purpose behind this forum. First of all, the parents were requested to share the challenges faced by the children in the society. Most of the parents highlighted the point that their children being bullied. Even though their children have been taught on specific skills, they are scared to send them out to the society as they might be ill-treated. It was mentioned by the parents that certain government school teachers do not pay much attention or do not teach the children with special needs. Hence, it was suggested by the parents that the society should be educated on how to treat a differently-abled person and be included as a normal person rather than sympathizing for them. The next point of discussion was held on what kind of job they could be involved in or the areas where they can excel in once they finish schooling. The parents shared their ideas for example: making envelops, knitting, making candles and other vocational training activities. The facilitator suggested the parents to involve their children in some kind of an extracurricular activity such as Drawing, Dancing, Cookery etc.
The facilitator also carried out a discussion on how to talk to them in a clear and concise manner rather than talking in long sentences which they will not be able to understand. As the final session the parents were divided into groups and was asked to discuss on what they more they could do for the betterment of their children and the same was then discussed in an open forum. It was mentioned that to not be too harsh with the children which might make them more aggressive, talk to the children in very small sentences which will make them to understand easily, do not discuss anything bad about the child while the child is present and always try to turn their attention towards the parents if they try to do anything inappropriate. Finally the session was concluded by thanking the facilitator, the school management and also the parents who were present. The parents were very much happy about the forum conducted and requested us to organize more in the near future which educates them on how to tackle their child and how to identify the talents and provide them the best.
