Communicating With The Mentally Challenged Education Essay

Communicating With The Mentally Challenged Education Essay The purpose is to make people aware that although you try to be politically correct when communicating with the mentally challenged, mild through server, there is a definite communication channel to use. My purpose is, since I do foster care and have been given a child that is severely challenged, was to learn as much as possible as how the learning habits of the child and the best or different ways to communicate to the child knowing the child will always be challenged. For the purpose of this paper I will refer to the child as he (although it could well be a she) and since Sonic the hedge hog seems to be a favorite between both sexes, the name of the child, in order to protect the childs identity will be referred to as Sonic. Thesis statement All children must mature and the responsibility to develop all children falls upon each of us to raise the child up and yet when it comes to the mentally challenged child there must be different channels of communication between the adult and that child. These conduits allows the adult to take into account the intelligence of the child, and reach the child on their level, even if it means going down to their level. The adult talk must reflect the childs level of understanding. If more people do not take a more active interest in the life of the mentally retarded then we will not have any place to go except in an institutional living and that is not fair because we are Gods creatures. Anonymous Introduction Communicating with the mentally challenged is not only a challenge to the mentally challenged, but the adult as well. Each situation must be understood before continuing in educating the child to become a productive part of society, if that is possible. Looking at the definition of mentally challenged and to what degree the child is challenged, from borderline cases to highly severe, and a true treatment plan can be formulated to mold the child to usefulness even if that usefulness is nothing more then getting oneself to the bathroom. The mentally challenge will grow and mature the question is how much? For mentally challenged kids and adults, some things can never be learned. (Emma, 2007) Defining Mentally Challenged Mentally challenged primary depends on the I.Q. of the child along with one or more of the many psychological tests available to measure the intelligence or mental functioning of the child. Therefore, when the mental age is divided by the chronological age and multiplied by a hundred, what you get is the Intelligence Quotient or the I.Q. (De la Jara, 2007) An I.Q. above 140 is the sign of a genius. An average to very intelligent child would score of 100 120 and a dull child would score 80 90. Those children classified below 85 are classified even further. An IQ of 84-70 is considered borderline mentally challenged, while those 55-69 are mild cases and consider educable. 40-54 are Moderate cases but trainable, 25-39 are severely deficient and any IQ below 24 is classified as highly severe. Mental age refers to an age at a normal level of performance on an intelligence test, and it became a popular way of referring to mental level as measured by the Binet Simon scale of 1908. The Binet Simon scale identified the academic skills typical of specific age groups. In 1912, William Stern used chronological age as a denominator to be divided into mental age, resulting in an intelligence quotient. In 1916, Lewis Terman multiplied this intelligence quotient by 100 (to eliminate the decimal places) and called the result an IQ score. Termans formula of mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100 became popularized as the formula for calculating a persons IQ. Adult intelligence does not change from year to year so the concept of mental age is less meaningful when discussing adults. Contemporary IQ tests use cumulative indexes to determine scores rather than the calculation of IQ scores based upon Termans formula. A contemporary equivalent of mental age is the Standa rd Age Score of the Stanford-Binet IQ test, which was formulated in 1987. Overview of mentally challenged Although there is no hard evidence, one of the strongest factors of the mental deficiency is hereditary. Besides this there are a number of environmental factors that contribute to mental arrest, malnutrition or infection during pregnancy or even an excessive intake of drugs and RH incompatibility whatever the cause, if the handicap is very severe, the entire development of the child gets affected physical, social and emotional along with mental. Some of these children cannot perform the simplest of tasks that we all seem to take for granted. Simple things like walking straight, eating or toilet training. A great amount of patience and tolerance is required to supervise and handle such a child. Mental retardation occurs in 2.5-3% of the general population. About 6-7.5 million mentally retarded individuals live in the United States alone. Mental retardation begins in childhood or adolescence before the age of 18. In most cases, it persists throughout adulthood. Mentally retarded children reach developmental milestones such as walking and talking much later than the general population. Approximately 85% of the mentally retarded population is in the mildly retarded category and they can often acquire academic skills up to the 6th grade level, become self-sufficient, and in some cases live independently, with community and social support. Low IQ scores and limitations in adaptive skills are the hallmarks of mental retardation. Aggression, self-in-jury, and mood disorders are sometimes associated with the disability. The severity of the symptoms and the age at which they first appear depend on the cause. Children who are mentally retarded reach developmental milestones significantly later than expected, if at all. If retardation is caused by chromosomal or other genetic disorders, it is often apparent from infancy. If retardation is caused by childhood illnesses or injuries, learning and adaptive skills that were once easy may suddenly become difficult or impossible to master. The most noticeable emotional characteristics children with mental retardation often recognize that they have difficulties with tasks that others find easy. This realization can lead to frustration, anger and depression. Some children with mental retardation may suffer from anxiety. These children may act out due to these emotions. They may have trouble expressing their feelings and may show their feelings in ways such as refusing to eat or sleeping too much. Sonic, the foster child living with me, will be calm and act like a five year old one moment, and then if you ask something of sonic, major mood change to the point of aggression. How to understand the mentally challenged Anyone who has toiled with the mentally challenged people knows, many will tell you exactly what is on their mind. When something does not go Sonics way, he will tell you and if you persist, he will tell you she will kill you, and hates you. Understanding that this is typical in a mentally challenged you let it roll off you and just stay close enough to make sure that sonic does not hurt herself. The mentally challenged know their likes and dislikes, what is going on in their lives, and even some idea of what they want their future to be. When the mentally challenged are treated as subhuman, as children, or as a menace to society, it follows that we become the ones to decide what is best for them, and what kind of life they should lead, we instead should remind ourselves that they are Gods creatures. They need to be treated as serious human beings with important things to communicate. (McLean, Brady, Mclean, Behrens, 1999) Understanding their language is likely to be much better than the ability to express it. Speech maybe very poorly articulated and difficult to understand One of the critical aspects in forming a communication is one that emphasizes skill actualization, where teachers give the mentally challenged many opportunities to use and expand on their already developed skills. Skill actualization goals are represented in the individual education plan (IEP) such as the child will use whatever skill is already developed and continue to expand to the point where the child will reach the next goal. In Sonics case, the IEP has included counting skills up to 20, understanding the valued of money, and doing simple life skills. Steps in Creating Communication The first step to communicating with a mentally challenged person is to understand the way they communicate. Mirror there patterns keeping in mind get on their level but do not be on their level. Match the way they see the world, not as a child but as a learning style. Most are visual learns where they learn in pictures, using word like see and look. Visual learners prefer to use diagrams, pictures, study notes, handouts and movies to see the information they are learning. Sometimes the mentally challenged are audio learns where they may not even look at you but put more stock into the spoken word and the voice inflection. This is a fine line where the teacher must be very calm and sure of each word other wise you could miscommunication and all the building process is for naught. The mentally challenged needs to be heard and we must allow them to hear us. The final learning style is kinesthetic learners also called tactile learners need to feel it to learn best. The more the learning experience involves moving, touching, tasting and feeling, the more it will be absorbed by this type of learner. Projects and experiments also work well with this group. Young children learn thins way by reaching out to something and feeling it, touching it, and breaking it. (OK I had to put that in) The real art is to combine learning styles to fit the child. Sonic uses Visual about 80% and verbal about 15% and kinesthetic the remaining 5%. If you show her something, she will remember and get the message quickly, by adding the verbal component he will recall the instruction the next day, demonstrating, giving verbal instruction then transferring ownership of a task, builds his self-confidence. There are small tasks she can do the give him pride in doing well, such as showing which day on the med chart we are on and then picking the proper cup to take. The second step is to incorporate the communication skills in both the education setting as well as the extra curricula activities. Opportunities exist almost constancy or as it is called teachable moments. The hardest part as a teacher is to keep on top of the moments one can take advantage of and then take advantage of them. At home with sonic, it becomes a one on one the moment Sonic comes home from school until bedtime and in turn allows many more recognizable and controlled setting. The third step is to facilitate conversation and keep them engaged as much as possible. The issue here must be keeping it simple. In studies, (McLean, Brady, Mclean, Behrens, 1999) simple yes or no question got the most response from the mentally challenged. Asking completed questions creates confusion and frustration, and can actually cause the person to regress rather then moving forward. Using the KISS (keep it simple) method more ground can be make rather creating an antagonistic climate. How to communicate with the Mentally Challenged 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maintain a calm, low volume. Speaking louder does not make you more understandable. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When determining age-appropriateness of your words, remember that you must know the mental age of your listener, not his or her calendar age. Remember, they are just mentally challenged, not a person with a limited vocabulary, such as a five-year-old. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do not cover or hide your mouth because listeners will want to watch you as you pronounce your words. This helps them figure out what you are saying in many cases. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do not mimic how the mentally challenged speaker pronounces words in a misguided presumption that he or she will understand if you speak like he or she does. This does not make you easier to understand. It will confuse your listener and may give the wrong impression about your sensitivity to his or her handicap. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Avoid running words together. For example, do not say, Do-ya wanna eat-a pizza? One of the biggest challenges for listeners knows where one word ends and the next one begins. Give them a small pause between words if they seem to be struggling. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When possible, opt for simple words instead of ones that are complex. The more basic a word is, the better the chance is that it will be understood. Big is a better choice than enormous, for example. Make is a better choice than manufacture. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Avoid speech complexity, which is beyond your listeners comprehension level. Use simple subject-verb-object statements with the significantly challenged. More mildly challenged people may be able to handle more forms that are complex. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Look them in the eye. It lets them know that you care about what you are saying. Although they may rarely make eye contact with you, behave as if you really are interested in what they are talking about. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Treat people with disabilities with respect. Do not treat them as inferior. Remember that the person you are talking to has feelings and is not stupid. Rather, he/she is challenged with something you will never understand the ability to understand, communicate, or decipher. 10.   Patience is the key. 11.   Be aware that you must listen and observe the person you are speaking to. In most cases, communicating with a person with a disability is very much like learning how to understand an accent. Be ready to adjust your communication style in a respectful way when necessary. 12.   Treat them as close as possible as you would a normal person, except use age-appropriate words. Otherwise, they may sense something is up. 13.   Smile to show them you are enjoying their company. 14.   Be aware of the tone of your voice.   Is it patronizing? Are you speaking with the tone you would use for a child? Adjust accordingly. (Challenges faced by, 2010) Conclusion The mentally challenged can become part of the community by understanding how they speak and process information. The earlier the problem is detected the better it is for the child. Sometimes the public tries to hide the fact until it becomes apparent to all, and by then it is too late to get timely help. There are plenty of child guidance centers and special schools around to provide the perfect environment to aid in the development of the child. If these facilities are not utilized, a mentally deficient child will definitely develop severe social and emotional problems as well. We all should try to accept the fact that their child is mentally challenged and help him or her grow to the full potential that he or she is capable of. Some people try for a miraculous cure and expend a lot of time and energy in search of a divine elixir. Even though such an attitude is understandable, it does not show any results. That time will be better spent in admitting the child to a special school or sheltered institution where he can get professional help. Communicating with people who have mental deficiency is a skill that you can hone over time with continuous practice. There are some tips, which will allow you to communicate in a better way with them. Words are just the tip of the communication iceberg. When conversing with a person, we send myriad signals by the way we stand the expression on our face and the tone of our voice. These form levels of communication that bypass words. When talking to anyone, remember to relax and consciously use body language in a positive manner. Even if the verbal communication is misunderstood, the body language can convey concern and interest. The person will receive the message that we are interested in them and care about their feelings. Watch what you say to the child, be very careful of the environment they are in, and make sure people treat the child as one of us, not a special child. Each Tuesday we play softball for the church and each time Sonic gets up a homerun is produced. It is not the home run that matters to us, although Sonic would tell you other wise, but the encouragement of being one of the gang that allows her to participate in an activity someone with a mentally challenged condition would never experience.

Obey Direct Orders Essay

There are more than a few reasons that lawful orders should be obeyed. These orders are given for a variety of reasons, and should be followed whether or not you understand or agree with them. Orders are sometimes given simply to keep soldiers to maintain their military bearing and display a proper image of the United States Armed Forces. Other times they are given to protect the soldier or to protect the soldiers around him/her. No matter what, an order should be carried out without question, because if you question orders that seem less important, you could get someone hurt because you were wasting time ignoring or questioning an order that you thought was unimportant. A soldier is given a great many orders that fall into the first category I discussed, maintaining military bearing. These orders range from keeping in step and swinging your arms in formation, to not moving while talking on your phone. All of these orders have reasoning behind them that has applications on the battlefield. For instance, if you are keeping in step and swinging your arms in formation, then you are paying attention to the cadence that is being given, so if you get a command by whoever is marching you, you are already paying attention and can react quickly. This can be the difference between life and death in a combat zone. The same thing can be said about talking on the phone while walking around. You need to not have any distractions when you are patrolling an area. If you are not alert, you could get yourself killed by an IED, or worse you could get others killed. So while these orders may not seem to have all that much importance in the here and now, they actually have a great deal of importance in that they train you in how you need to behave while deployed, so they should be followed with just as much care as any other order. Another type of order that is given is an order that is designed directly to protect you or those around you. Every time you are given an order to do guard duty or a cleaning detail, that order is there to protect yourself and others. When you are asked to pull guard duty, you are actively watching for threats to those that you are guarding. If an insurgent were to try to enter your AO when there was no guard, he could do a lot of damage before he was noticed, and he could kill a lot of people. If you have a guard on post, the same insurgent is likely to be killed or taken into custody with no loss of U.S. Soldiers. When here in training you are practicing the ability to stay alert while on those guard duties. If you were to fall asleep on duty, or not report, then you could be responsible for the deaths of your fellow soldiers. A less obvious threat than insurgents are the bacteria and diseases that you are helping to keep under control every time you follow an order to do a cleaning detail. If these orders are not followed then our fighting force could become crippled by sickness. So you can see even cleaning details are in place to help protect you and your fellow soldiers. In the end the point is, whether or not you understand the reason you are being given an order, or agree with that order, it needs to be followed. Failing to follow orders can cause people to get hurt, or can put you in the position of not having the focus or discipline to stay out of harms way yourself. Follow orders every time.

Explanation of the Five Themes of Geography

The five themes of geography are as follows: Location: Where are things located? A location can be absolute (for example, latitude and longitude or a street address) or relative (for example, explained by identifying landmarks, direction, or distance between places).Place: Characteristics that define a place and explains what makes it different from other places. These differences can take many forms including physical or cultural differences.Human Environment Interaction: This theme explains how humans and the environment interact with each other. Humans adapt and change the environment while depending upon it.Region: Geographers divide the earth into regions making it easier to study. Regions are defined in many ways including area, vegetation, political divisions, etc.Movement: People, items, and ideas (mass communication) move and help shape the world.After teaching these concepts to students, continue with the Five Themes of Geography assignment. The following assignment is meant to be given after the teacher has presented the definitions and examples of the five themes of geography. The following directions are given to the students: Use the newspaper, magazines, pamphlet, flyers, etc. (whatever is the most readily available) to cut out an example of each of the five themes of geography (Use your notes to help you find examples.):LocationPlaceHuman Environment InteractionRegionMovementPaste or tape the examples to a piece of paper, leave room for some writing.Next to each example you cut out, write what theme it represents and a sentence stating why it represents that theme.Ex. Location: (Picture of a car accident from a paper) This picture shows relative location because it portrays an accident by the Drive-In Theatre on Highway 52 two miles west of Everywhere, USA.HINT: If you have a question, ASK - dont wait until the homework is due!

Shopping in English Vocabulary

Use  polite questions  when shopping or helping a customer in a shop. Polite questions are asked with could, may, and would. You can also ask for advice in shops using should. Shopping for a Sweater Shop assistant: May I help you?Customer: Yes, Im looking for a sweater. Shop assistant: What size are you?Customer: Im an extra large. Shop assistant: Would you like a plain sweater or something else?​Customer: Im looking for a plain blue sweater. Shop assistant: How about this one?Customer: Yes, thats nice. Could I try it on? Shop assistant: Certainly, the changing rooms are over there.Customer: Thank you. (goes into a changing room to try on the sweater) Shop assistant: How does it fit?Customer: Its too large. Do you have a large? Shop assistant: Yes, here you are. Would you like to try it on to see if it fits?Customer: No thats Okay. Thank you. Ill take it. Im also looking for some nice slacks. Shop assistant: Great. We have some very nice wool slacks over here. Would you like to take a look?Customer: Yes, thanks for your help.   Shop assistant: What are your measurements?Customer: Im a 38 waist and a 32 inseam. Shop assistant: What do you think about these?Customer: Theyre nice, but Id prefer cotton trousers if you have them. Shop assistant: Certainly, our summer slacks collection is over here. How about these?Customer: Yes, I like those. Do you have them in grey as well? Shop assistant: Yes, heres a pair. You said you the measurements are 38 by 32, didnt you?Customer: Yes, thats correct. Ill go try them on. Shop assistant: Let me know if you need any help.​Customer: Thank you. (comes back) These are great. So, that makes one sweater and a pair of grey slacks. Shop assistant: ​OK, how would you like to pay?Customer: Do you take credit cards? Shop assistant: Yes, we do. Visa, Master Card, and American Express.Customer: OK, heres my Visa. Shop assistant: Thank you. Have a nice day!Customer: Thank you, goodbye. Key Vocabulary Phrases Could / May I help you?Could I try it (them) on?How does it fit?How would you like to pay?Im looking for...Id prefer... Words Changing roomsSize - extra small, small, medium, large, extra large - Used with standard measurementsMeasurements - used with specific measurements for trousers, suits, etc.  Shop assistant/store clerkTrousers/Slacks/PantsWaist  Inseam  Credit cards Quiz Provide the missing word to fill in the gaps to complete this conversation with a store clerk.   Store clerk: Hello, _____  I help you find anything?​Customer: Yes, Im looking _____  a blouse and some matching trousers. Store clerk: Great. What _____  would you like?Customer: Im _____  for a white blouse and black trousers. Theyre for an important job interview. Store clerk: Okay. Please follow me to the business apparel section.Customer: Thanks for your help. Store clerk:  Its my pleasure. Do you see anything you like?​Customer: Yes, that blouse looks nice. Store clerk: What _____  are you?​Customer: Im a small. Now, lets take a look at the pants. Store clerk: These are nice. Would you like to _____  them on?Customer: Do you have anything else? Store clerk: Yes, we also have these trousers.Customer: I like those, Ill try those _____  . Store clerk: What are your _____  ?Customer: I have a 26 waist and 32 inseam. Store clerk: Heres a pair. Would you like to try them on?Customer: Yes, wheres the _____  ? Store clerk: You can try them on over there.Customer: Thank you. (tries the clothing on, walks out of the changing room to show the store clerk) What do you think? Store clerk: You look fantastic! Im sure youll get that job!Customer: Thanks! Ill take them. Store clerk: Would you like to _____  by cash or by credit card?Customer: _____  , please. Heres my visa card. Store clerk: Thank you. That will be $145. Answers May/could/canForColorSizeTryOnMeasurementsChanging roomPayCredit card