02 Jul Why parents should at least consider Special Education for their autistic or developmentally challenged child

The transition from a mainstream pre-school or school environment to a specialized educational or special needs schooling environment is one many a parent struggles with.

From my experience the biggest challenge lies in the fact that most people have a “perception” of what special education is.

Many people seem to think that specialized education is the end of the child’s educational future opposed to thinking about specialized education or early intervention as a means to brightening the child’s educational future.

Finding the right special needs school, autism school, early intervention centre or therapy centre can help your child develop the crucial skills they need to cope in a more pressurized learning environment later on in life.

Kids and teens with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, or anxiety issues need more support than typically developing children.

Most autism schools and special need schools in South Africa run on very low teacher to child ratios. They employ behaviour therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and Physio therapists and their teaching teams are trained specifically to educate and assist children that are lagging behind in their development.

Placing your child in an environment with a low teacher to child ratio gives your child the opportunity to be helped with a hand-on-approach. No child with a development delay can be expected to get special attention when a class has 20 or in some instances a 30 to 1 teacher to child ratio.

I often get told by new parents: “this is not what I expected it to be …” this leaves me with the conclusion that parents that are dealing with speech delays, development delays or a diagnosis of Autism should take the time to visit centres before they decide on a way forward for their child.

Amazing K is a registered ECD and Partial Care Facility in Johannesburg. We are a private day school and therapy centre for children from age 2 years. Our learners receive the best of both the schooling and therapy world. We offer Individualized Education Programs, ABA, Speech- and Augmentive Alternative Communication (AAC) therapy as well as a full and adapted Academic Curriculum. Read more about us.