Children with special needs

• Movement can improve a special child’s self concept.
• Help the child discover each body parts and fit the whole schema of a human body. Indirectly will help define his/her image.
• Improve confidence and realised that he/she is part of a group, he/she is not alone.
• Not easy for them to follow imposed rhythm.
• Doing activities that involves parents and therapists will have better effect.
• Activities such as blinking eyes, twitching the fingers

Children with Physical Challenge

• With physical disabilities such as spine bifida, celebral palsy, arthritis, deformed body parts
• Mobility is restricted
• Sample activities such as movement of arm and shoulder, move the neck

Children with Hearing Impairments

• Problem with semicircular canals
• Good in visual and kinesthetic skills
• Normally have balancing problem, refrain from balancing activities
• Place the children in front when having activity
• No background music or other distraction sounds
• Face the children when speak
• Speaking in low tone
• Make effort to learn sign language otherwise use body language or facial expression
• Activities such as place hand on record to feel the vibration, laying on the floor to feel the vibration with their body, ask the children to imitate whatever you are doing

Children with Visual Impairments

• Totally or partially blind
• Good auditorial and tactile skills
• Encourage movement to alleviate fear
• Introduce statement or feedback when doing movement such as “you are bending your arm”
• For partially blind, use big and bright colours props and equipments
• Activities such as “touching” activity(hold hand with other child moving from one place to another)

Children with Emotional Disabilities

• Hyperactive, aggressive, lack of self-control, refusal to participate in activities
• Usually lags behind physical and motor skill
• Give praise and positive encouragements to get desired behaviour
• Shun songs with lyrics with disturbing association e.g. Rock a Bye Baby
• Intorduce soothing, soft music
• Introduce balancing activities, locomotor and non-locomotor activities

Children with Learning Disabilities

• Usually posses average or above average intelligence
• Problem with writing and spoken language
• Problem with motor skill, difficulty with body and spatial awareness, coordination
• Problem in following instructions/directions
• Shorter attention span, easily discourage
• Like to be given attention, follow and immitate
• Sample activities that require multi-sensory apporach(eye, body, ear, voice, music), repeat activites

Creativity is very important in children life. A child who is given as much opportunity to be creative will have the ability to:

• Have sensitivity to problems
• Better fluency in all aspects by producing large number of ideas
• Be flexible in adapting to any situation with various ideas or variety of approaches
• Have originatlity in whatever she/she is doing by producing new, unsual, innovative ideas
• Elaborate about something by filling in details when not given
• Redefine something so that it is different from the intended way

Every childcare professionals should let children express, recognise, and nurture his/her own creativity potential especially those in the range of 3-5 years old.

Creativity in movement can be foster by:

• Emphasizing on devergent
• Problem solving
• Discovery
• Self expression

There is definitely no two movements that will be same. Their creativity need to be acknowledged as there is no right or wrong. This will ensure that there is no competition among each other and indirectly increase their confidence and imagination.

Personality traits of a creative child:

• Self-discipline about work
• Preseverance even when frustrated
• Independence
• Tolerance for unclear situation
• Nonconformity to society’s stereotypes
• Ability to wait for rewards
• Self-motivation to do excellent work
• Willingness to take risks

Physical Domain
Children automatically acquire some motoskills when their bodies develop e.g crawling but the children continue to develop the motor skills to refine their movement.

The advantages of movement:
- Promote positive self confidence
- Benefit the child socially, emotionally and physically
- Promote fitness

Movement activities must take place in both classroom and playground. They must be low-intensity but high volume(long duration).

Sample activities: Rabbit & ‘Roo, marching with the beat, Giddy-up

Social/Emotional Domain
- Social play, the ability of the children to interact with others.
- Emotional development, how children feel about others or things (empathy)
- Enable the children to adjust socially and emotionally

How?
Incorporate activities specifically emphasizing cooperation.

Learn about tolerance of other’s ideas
Learn to accept similarities and differences

Balance between child-centered and teacher-centered activity
Have creative, problem-solving approach

Sample activities: poems/songs about animals(Old McDonald has a Farm), nature activities(weather), occupation(pantomime)

Cognitive Domain
Read: 10%
Hear: 20%
See: 30%
Hear+See: 50%
Hear+See+Say: 70%
Hear+See+Say+Do: 90%

Children must play, experience, explore and discover. The 4 important modalities are:

• Auditory(Hear)
• Sight(See)
• Tactile(Touch)
• Kinesthetics(Doing & Moving)

Sample activities (more suitable for older group): up and down activities, Bridge+Tunnels, Body Parts

Locomotor skill / Travelling skill
Transport the whole body from one point to another. Children develop locomotor sckill automatically but they need encouragements and instructions to reach the mature stage of locomotor skills. It must be according to their developmental level.
E.g Crawling, walking, running
Sample activity: Hop from one hola hoop to another hola hoop that are placed on the floor.

Non locomotor skill / No travelling skill / Axial movement / Non manipultive skill
Movement perform in place that enhances stability. The axis of the body rotation around the fixed point. It is not easy to judge the progress of the child.
E.g Stand, bend, sit, squat, kneel, twist
Sample activity: Jumping up and down.

Manipulative skill
Involves locomotor skill and an entirely different object.
E.g
(category 1)Pushing, pulling, lifting
(category 2)Kicking, catching, throwing, bouncing, dribbbling
Sample activity: Pull a robe with both hands.

Educational gymnastic skill
Body management skill which teaches strength, stamina and flexibility. Done on the floor with either big or small aparatus. Transferring weight skill is required.
E.g Rolling, balancing, climbing, hanging
Sampel activity: Climb on the monkey bar.

A basic movement is basic physical education that emphasizes motorskill and spatial awareness. It also involves the implementation of “movement exploration”.

Domain of Physical Education(PE)
- Physical domain
- Social development development domain
- Cognitive domain

“Movement exploration” is actually problem solving approach.

Movement program must be:

• Consists of variety of movements such as jump, run, walk, squat, skip, hop…
• Creative and fun to extend interest, once they have interest, they like to repeat the activity
• Encourage decision making and problem solving
• Emphasize on safety and control
• Appropriate for their level(age, developmental stage), allow children to experience success as much as you can