Being invested in a child’s social and emotional experiences is a fundamental aspect of early years practice. Practitioners understand that good mental health forms strong foundations for development, and Mojdeh Bayat (2020) suggests that when children have a good sense of well-being, this also translates into ‘well-doing’, meaning that children can access play and learning in a stress-free state. Worryingly, however, research suggests that children with special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND) are at a higher risk of experiencing social, emotional, and mental health difficulties (SEMH).
While the possible reasons for SEMH needs are vast, it is important that early years practitioners prioritise children’s well-being so that the risks can be mitigated.
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
Our belief in children’s capabilities plays a significant role in ensuring that we plan holistically for all children’s strengths and needs. When I deliver training, I always begin with a group task about mindset. I ask practitioners to think of everything that springs to mind when they think of a child with autism or ADHD. More often than not, practitioners will list impairments, symptoms and difficulties, and very little is said about strengths or the celebratory aspects of SEND.
The purpose of this task is not to shame or catch educators out, but to illustrate how conditioned we have become to view SEND through a deficit lens. Much of what practitioners do in SEN support revolves around highlighting concerns to secure early intervention, but too much focus on the deficits can dominate our mindset and practice. And this experience extends to parents as well.
Inclusion advocate and parent of an autistic child Sarah Doyle explained to me, ‘I feel that my life has become a process of only ever talking about my child on his worst days, and I wonder what impact this deficit thinking has on his own self-belief, self-esteem and well-being.’
Sarah described how she has been the advocate for her child while he is learning to communicate, and she very much intends for him to inherit a strong sense of identity from how she speaks about him, especially as he comes to find his own ‘voice’. The way we talk about SEND children and how we centre their experiences is an important starting point for good levels of well-being.
THE DEFICIT MINDSET
Increasingly, early years practitioners play an intrinsic role in supporting children and families on the pathway to a formal diagnosis. A diagnosis indicates that a child is likely to have lifelong learning differences. Suppose we refer to every characteristic of that diagnosis as a delay or impairment within our practice, we might come to assume that the child will live their entire lives thinking they are delayed or behind their peers. This could significantly impact a child’s long-term mental health outcomes, yet the reality is that many types of diagnosis describe children who learn differently rather than being less abled.
In 2019, Silky Sharma and Carol Hamilton carried out a study exploring how our negative assumptions about disabilities can undermine a child’s physical, psychological and emotional well-being. They found that when we focus on how a child does not meet our normative expectations, we run the risk of focusing too much on trying to ‘fix’ their behaviour, a concept known as ableism.
Instead, we must distinguish between differences and difficulties so that our support actively contributes to the child’s self-esteem. This is often referred to as a strengths-based approach and helps us address cognitive, physical and emotional needs more holistically.
I discussed the impact of ableism on well-being with SEND teacher Melissa Blignaut, who shared her own experience. She received a diagnosis of dyslexia and ADHD in childhood and sharply felt the repercussions of her SEND being viewed as a problem to fix.
In school, she was keen to fit in, and put a 100 per cent effort into her work, and yet she was continually told that her best effort was not good enough. She felt her well-being was frequently impeded by ableist attitudes and reminded me that children hear and feel what we think about them in our everyday behaviours.
This is not to suggest that difficulties and challenges do not exist within SEND, but they do not always offer the full story. Flipping the deficit narrative can help us connect with children as we come to understand them more deeply.
AREAS OF NEED
Along with strengths and differences, we must also understand areas of need. These are outlined in the DfE’s 2014 SEND code of practice:
- Communication and interaction.
- Cognition and learning.
- Physical and/or sensory.
- Social, emotional and/or mental health.
It is not unusual for children to have a range of needs across the areas. According to Norbury et al (2016), more than 10 per cent of children have communication needs in the UK, and this type of SEN is highly associated with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.
According to the Early Intervention Foundation website, communication development should be viewed as a well-being indicator because delays in this area can pose a risk to a child’s overall mental health. When we address the main area of need, there are often benefits to the other areas.
For example, one early years practitioner shared with me that he supported a child who was predominately non-verbal. He was unable to vocalise his needs, so would work hard to be understood through non-verbal actions. However, when these were not responded to, he would become frustrated and hit out. The key person began to tune in to the non-verbal cues and underlying need, and through the use of a personal communication dictionary, the child’s unique ways of communicating became understood, thus reducing his frustrations.
SPRINGBOARDS FOR LEARNING
The above example emphasises that ‘no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship’ (Dr James Comer), and in the early years, the parent and key person are crucial advocates for the child’s well-being.
Geddes (2006) suggests that while the parent is the primary secure base, the key person provides the back-up system. From the safety of these relationships, children begin to take safe risks, explore and learn.
Our role as practitioners is to equip children with the skills to be independent, but often within SEND, this journey to independence can develop at a slower pace. It can be easy to fall into the habit of doing things for children, but we must remember that we are springboards for learning, and the process of scaffolding is invaluable in helping children achieve success in tasks and feel a sense of accomplishment. The following case study highlights what this might look like in practice:
Case study
Hattie is four and loves dance and music. She is an active child despite having physical development needs. More recently, Hattie has become upset because she isn’t always able to complete tasks at the same pace as her peers. For example, fastening up the buttons on her coat can be difficult as she struggles with fine motor control. She is noticing her differences and is aware that an adult often has to do things for her.
The setting is keen to develop strategies that give Hattie a sense of accomplishment. Her key person decided to use the ‘backwards chaining’ strategy during everyday tasks. This involves the adult supporting the first set of steps in a task, and Hattie completes the last step in the sequence so that she is engaged in accomplishing a task and is building the occupational skills. The key person fastens the first four buttons on the jacket, and Hattie fastens the last.
Using this strategy instead of merely doing these tasks on behalf of Hattie provides opportunities for feedback, praise and encouragement. It also makes the task less daunting. Her key person has noticed that Hattie shows pride in fastening the buttons and is building up her confidence.
CONCLUSION
Well-being is a heavily featured topic of contemporary early childhood, and despite increased discussions about how this impacts children with SEND, there seem to be fewer supports for equipping practitioners with the knowledge to succeed.
In her book on empathy in the early years, Helen Garnett (2017)informs us that for children to flourish, they need emotional and empathetic ‘toolkits’ that empower and support them to develop lifelong mentally healthy habits. For this to occur, practitioners need ‘toolkits’ of their own, and there is a definite need for more training beyond universal approaches.
As a sector, we must continue to prioritise the right to well-being and well-doing for all children, leading to more equitable and inclusive approaches.
REFERENCES AND USEFUL WEBSITES
- Bayat M (2019) Addressing Challenging Behaviours and Mental Health Issues in Early Childhood. Routledge
- Comer JP (ed) (1999) Child by Child: The Comer Process for Change in Education. Teachers College Press
- DfE (2014) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years, https://bit.ly/3p93iAG
- Garnett H (2017) Developing Empathy in the Early Years: A guide for practitioners. Jessica Kingsley
- Norbury CF et al (2016) ‘Younger children experience lower levels of language competence and academic progress in the first year of school: evidence from a population study’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(1), pp65-73
- Sharma S and Hamilton C (2019) ‘Understanding Ableism: A teaching and learning tool for early childhood practitioners’, Early ChildhoodFolio, 23(2), pp9-13
- www.eif.org.uk
- www.understood.org
- Early Years in Mind, www.annafreud.org
Kerry Payne is a lecturer in early years and education at the University of West London
