BASIC FACTS ABOUT PRIMARY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIOR DISORDERS In Prague
In the Czech Republic the education of children and youth with disabilities and handicap follows the principle: To educate people with handicap normally, if possible, or specially, if necessary. The main goal of the educational process in special schools is to ensure the possibility of individual and all-round development to each child through the special attitudes, forms and working methods. We tend to enable children to go forward and reach their personal goals. Nowadays, the mainstream integrated education of children with SEN (special education needs) belongs among the basic trends of Czech Education. Special schools are preferably meant for pupils with handicap, who are not able to be integrated to mainstream school and this kind of education is not suitable for them. The main principle of education line determination is the parents wish. Only parents can co-participate together with specialist in the suited school or other institution selection. Without their signed agreement there cannot be done any manipulating step in the field of education. The current Czech school legislation is also based on such principles. Diagnostic process and consultancy, essential for the right pupils insertion, are done by the counseling centers. The special pedagogical diagnostics of children with health handicap is carried out by the team of SPC (special pedagogical center) workers. In the territory of the Prague capital city there are 57 schools which are separately founded for the pupils with SEN. Their distinction is assigned by the lawful orders subsequently: Schools for children with visual handicap Schools for children with auditory handicap Schools for deaf and blind children (there is no in Prague) Schools for children with physical handicap Speech schools Schools for children with mental impairment Schools for pupils with learning difficulties Schools for pupils with behavioral disorders Schools at hospitals The topical problem in the field of Prague special education is the rise and development of specialized workplace, which will educate pupils with behavioral disorders based on ADHD/ADD. This area has been discussed recently within the context of increase to problems that spring from integrating of such disordered pupils to mainstream schools. The basis of new workplace functioning is Primary school for pupils with behavior disorder. This place, or more precisely its activities and the system functioning are described in following text. It does not deliver a picture of the care system within this field in the Czech Republic, it rather document one out of many possible and also successful educational forms to educate such disordered pupils. About the school Primary School for Children with Behavior Disorders was established in 1998, January 1 st and became the first legal subject of The Ministry of Education, its founder. Following the changes, in progress from 2001, January 1 st, the school is now founded by the Prague Municipality.
The services provided by school cover the whole capital city. This school is the only fully organized educational institution within the Czech Republic, abided by the valid education act and edicts of the Czech Republic. Today, there are 160 pupils divided into 19 classes, according the edict there can be a maximum of 6-14 pupils in each class. Children will become the clients if a behavioral disorder is diagnosed. Dominant diagnosis is Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, high tension and disorder of social interaction, adaptation and communication. Generally we can say the children s common sign is the fact they were not accepted by their wider social environment (family, school, peers ). Then, in consequence of their handicap, they have serious problems or they even fail to make and maintain new social relationships, they may also have problems with figures of authority. Their surrounding renders their outward behavior troublesome and unacceptable. Most frequent types of disorders ADHD with impulse behavior According to the DSM IV manual, this syndrome involves 3 5 % out of pupilage children. In our school there are 80% of such pupils. Manifestation of the disorder: agitation, bad concentration, impatience, supporting gestures, constant talking, bad spatio-temporal orientation ADD Children have very slow pace of work, they tire easily, falling into a day dream. Autistic spectra disorders, mainly Asperger syndrome Children have serious problems to gain new social contacts not only with adults but also with peers. Due to their very specialized, unusual and hardly understandable interests they go into social seclusion, that can lead to depression development. Emotional insufficiency causing behavioral problems Neurotic difficulties (such as pressure, anxiety, fear) change a child s behavior and life experience. Then they react crossly, over sensitively and have problems with social adaptation. At school they act uncertainly, panic often saying I cannot, I cannot make it, I do not want to ). Learning difficulties combined to behavioral disorders LD is never a separate category; its symptoms permeate all groups mentioned above. Some behavior manifestations (such as verbal aggression, refusing things ) occur as secondary manifestations of learning difficulties. It especially involves children whose disorder was diagnosed too late or was not diagnosed at all. Behavioral disorders bases on non-stimulative social (family) background In this category you meet children from low social and cultural level families, socalled children from the street. Alcoholic or psychopathological parents are not able to give their children emotional stability and reasonable stimulation. The problems arise as a result of defective self-esteem and relationship to the surrounding.
Long-term hospitalized children (or somatic or mental illness) This group involves children who spend most of the time in hospital or other medical institutions. They often change children groups, come there later or will not ever get into a peer group just because of their illness or disability. Then it occurs small personality changes. Provided service SPC ( = Special Pedagogical Center) It was established at school and it is its component part. The center supports and guides families of children with behavioral disorder. It provides professional information about special educational methods to parents, specialists and to all concerned people. Main goals of SPC: o to gather specialists (psychologists, SEN teachers, social workers, therapist) o the possibility to approach the problem treatment in the moment of its occurrence and thus return the child to his natural background in the shortest possible time o to build up extended workplace, that would provide consult, tutorial, methodical, therapeutical, reeducational, corrective, support and interventional activities to both parental and also professional community o the possibility to work out the comprehensive expert report/statement o the system solution of reciprocally linked care for all clients Parents Meeting The meeting is regularly held once a month and it is led by the class teacher. The parents are informed about child s behavior and standing. Next, the meeting is set to share pupils successes, to consult, to search and find suitable forms of work and finally to solve past difficulties and problems. Extra Classes If necessary and with parental approval, teachers are willing to complete pupils knowledge of subjects they have missed or did not get under control. Lessons are taken in the afternoon sessions. Individual Therapy The goal is to practice relaxing techniques and to handle passion and aggression. Selfunderstanding, self-esteem, personal quality support help to solve personal difficulties related to school and classmates. Forms of therapy are: personal interview, non-verbal techniques and relaxing exercises. Group Therapy It is aimed to support the rise of self-confidence and self-evaluation within a group, to improve mutual communication ability, cooperation and tolerance. The therapy helps to learn how to socialize and handle critical or problematic situations.
Family Therapy It is mainly oriented to support the communication in the family and strengthen the ability to solve problems within the family. Family Group It is set for parents to orientate themselves better in contemporary situations, above all to perceive and understand the situation in which the child is found upon entering the school, to share their experience and give them support. The pupil s success is definitely influenced by parents ability to lead him/her and by the help to get over his/her problems. From this point of view, the parents presence is necessary, especially within the run of diagnostic period. After expiry of the period it all depends on parents interest and decisions or special recommendation. Weekend Activity According to a class group and its needs, we organize the weekend stays with pupils and their parents. Consultancy Parents can use the professional school service for consultancy on both child and family matters: Consultation with the headmistress Education advisor service School psychologist School head SEN teacher Special teacher improving learning difficulties Psychiatrist Various consulting services are drafted with overlap to another professional service the school cooperates with. Diagnosis When it is required the school psychologist or special teachers ensure pupils entrance and running diagnosis. Learning difficulties and its Reeducation We dedicate the attention to children with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia and others ) and keep on finding new working methods. During the school day the child is taken out from regular lessons and works with special teacher face to face", then follows at home. The child comes regularly with his/her parents to school in the afternoon to have special individual re-educational lessons. The child works on his own mostly at home and only occasionally comes for a consultation (with parents). This type of work is only for older and independent. Parents must guarantee the work will be done under their control. Special teacher works with the particular child directly in the regular lesson, (only if the child is not able to work without help and follow the subjects properly) There are many more methods we can use, so it is always necessary to think over the child s individual special educational needs and outward conditions.
After school nursery Pupils from the first stage can attend the school club. It opens at 6,30am till the regular lesson starts and then again after lunch time. It closes every day at 5,30pm. The nursery runs from Monday till Friday. Leisure Time Activities Our school provides many leisure time activities. For example computing, sport, photo, acting, handicraft, cycling, chess, pottery clubs, etc. Pupils can participate in these activities in their spare time in the afternoon. A numbers of pupils from the second stage are members of the Youth theatre spectator club and attend performances together. Curative Stay, Outdoor Schooling During the school year our school sets up sport, tourist and other activities related to nature and outdoor activity. Each class has the possibility to visit at least one school outside of Prague. The upper school classes go skiing every year. Diagnostic stay It is a special six month period when a new pupil is given the comprehensive special care that aims to adapt to a new foreign surrounding and new conditions. It completes and works up psychological and special educational diagnosis. It is also aimed to establish contacts with the class teacher and other specialists, as well as the relationship among classmates and relations to teachers. It is the time to establish close communication with pupil s family. After this stay, the collective evaluation is carried out and the further care is set. The school decides whether the pupil stays under the care of the school according to his/her diagnosis, or the school recommends another, more preferable educational institution. Special methods of educational process To provide education at the highest level, we place emphasis on special methods, mainly: individual approach function structuring (clear instruction, feedback, etc.) positive motivation comfortable atmosphere advanced tolerance to behavioral manifestation abidance by rules communication skills development social skills development different structure of the day and lessons
Staff Our staff members are enthusiastic, experienced, proper qualified and dedicated to help pupils succeed academically and personally. The staff consists of 52 employees, 44 out of them are pedagogical and 8 out of them are non-pedagogical employees (administration workers, school keepers, kitchen staff and so on). There are 3 educators in the after school nursery. There is also a close cooperation with external fellow workers - experts in diagnosis, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, etc. 85% of teachers have university education. 15% of teachers have secondary education or completed education at college; some of them are currently studying. The school organization School attendance in the Czech Republic is mandatory from the age of 6 till 16. The school is coeducational and it is divided into 2 stages: 1-5, 6-9 grades, according the age. In our school the lessons take 40 minutes and are followed by a 15 minute break. The school year usually starts on September 1st (or the first Monday in September, in a case 1st is Saturday or Sunday) and ends on June 31st (or the last Friday in June). There are approximately 10 pupils in each class. On the first stage of our school (1st - 5th grade) there are 2 teachers in the classroom. On the second stage (6th - 9th grade) there are two teachers only for the main subjects, for other subjects there is only 1 teacher in the classroom. The Goal, Trends and Development All education institutions influence children, its educational and therapeutical approaches, methods and forms of work, that are specific and usual for the institution. Even though each of these institutions spend much energy and special potential on getting pupils unfavourable behavioral manifestation under control, with the goal to bring them back to normal life that is common for their peer group, in most cases they are not successful. Following our experience and particular case analysis, we conclude the main reason for bad success of our work is the isolated subject influence of each institution. The isolation consists of distance between institutions, lack of internal communication, high work load of each team, little opportunity to meet, difficult coordination of common working procedure, time constraints for parents, unrealistic possibility of common parent tutorial, unrealistic possibility to work out a comprehensive pupil s report, reciprocal lack of coordination of both sides activities, leading to care initiation delay in the end the system treatment of linked care does not happen Following the reasons above, it appears a need for founding/establishing such a working place, providing comprehensive care. This would lead to elimination of all unfavourable elements that complicate and disable effective work with pupils.
School Boardinghouse The next step we have been preparing improving the quality of educational care is the rise of the School boardinghouse for children who cannot daily go out to school and of course for children being in extreme situations in crisis. This workplace would provide continuous running/service.