Social Emotional Development in Special Needs Children 0-5 years

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And Children With Special Needs (0-5 years) Michelle Fitzpatrick, MA June 4, 2014 SOCIAL~EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Special Topics in Early Childhood Series HappyPaleoKids.com With Parents Helping Parents

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Presentation by Michelle Fitzpatrick from HappyPaleoKids.com. Understand 1) What social-emotional development is 2) What typical stages of social-emotional development in 0-5 year old kids 3) How to promote social-emotional development and 4) How to address social-emotional needs of children with developmental delays (cognitive, communication/language, motor) and developmental disabilities (autism, ADHD, Downs Syndrome, etc.).

Transcript of Social Emotional Development in Special Needs Children 0-5 years

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About Me - Michelle• Education• BA, Mills College, Psychology• MA, Mills College, Infant Mental Health

•Work History• Infant Developmental Specialist, Baby Builders, Oakland• Early Start Service Coordinator, SARC, Campbell• Mental Health Counselor, Pre-to-Three, San Mateo County• …more!

• Currently• Stay at home mom (Annie, 4; Rosie, 2; Elizabeth, 1)• Blog: HappyPaleoKids.com examines the intersection of

child development and nutrition

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WHAT IS SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT?

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We develop in the context of

RELATIONSHIPS

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What is Social-Emotional Development?

• Social development – learning the values, skills, and knowledge to effectively relate to others and participate in the world around us• Emotions serve a social purpose: they allow us to have insight into another’s internal state• Primary emotions: anger, fear, surprise, disgust, joy, interest, sadness• Secondary emotions (self-conscious emotions): embarrassed, shame, jealousy, pride, guilt Foley (1999)

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS

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Emotion Regulation• What is emotion?• A physiological response to the

environment • What is emotion regulation?• The ability to monitor and adjust an

emotional response to the environment in order to reach a goal

• Infants are born with a few strategies for regulating emotions• Sucking, gaze aversion, crossing

legs, arms to midline• Strategies to self-regulate increase

as we mature

(Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2000; Siegel, 1999)

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Emotion Regulation

“Zone of Optimal Arousal” (Perez, 2007)

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Emotion Regulation•Mutual Regulation/ Emotional Attunement• Caregiver is aware of and responds in a way that matches the

child’s emotional state and demonstrates she understands the child’s internal state

• Social Referencing• Looking toward a caregiver to determine how to respond

(Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2000; Siegel, 1999)

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Child-Parent Attachment• Infants form relationships with people

“stronger and wiser” in their environment in order to be protected• Overtime, they develop mental

representations of those relationships based on experiences• They use those mental representations to

make predictions about future interactions, as well as about the world in general

• Children use their caregivers as a Secure Base/ Safe Haven from which to explore

Attachment to parents isthe model infants/toddlers use

to understand all other relationships.

(Bowlby, 1969/1982; Ainsowrth et. al, 1978)

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Of Social-Emotional Development

STAGES

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 1: (0-3 months)

• Explore their own bodies (suck fingers, etc.)• Look at their hands• Begin to social smile• Prefer familiar caregivers• Demonstrate pleasure in

social situations• Vocal turn taking begins to

occur

• Respond promptly and sensitively to their cues (cries, vocalizations, gazes)• Engage in short, frequent

interactions• Smile and make over-

exaggerated facial expressions• Talk, and read to them• Massage and touch them• Describe emotions to them

(for example: “You are feeling happy!” or “You don’t like when mommy wipes your nose.”)

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 2 (3-6 months)

• Begin to initiate interactions with smiles and vocalizations• Begin to laugh• Smile spontaneously to show

enjoyment• Pay attention to their name• Enjoy turn-taking games

• Continue to do as you were for the first 3 months• Play games such as peek-a-

boo, pat-a-cake, and this little piggy• Create routines – bedtime,

naptime, other• Sing and do “fingerplays”

(twinkle twinkle, the itsy bitsy spider, etc.)• If possible, allow them to

play with other children of varying ages

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 3 (6-9 months)

• Clearly express several emotions (fear, anger, joy)• Clearly prefer familiar

caregivers and friends• Respond to language and

gestures• Use gestures and

vocalizations to communicate

• Continue as you have been doing for months 0-6, especially:• Respond promptly and

sensitively to their cues• Smile, talk, and read to them• Massage/touch them• Play games & sing• Describe emotional

experiences to them • Have routines• Expose them to other

children & extended family

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 4 (9-12 months)

• Understanding themselves as separate from others• Becoming more independent

(feeding themselves, perhaps becoming mobile)• Assist in getting dressed• Cry when separated from

caregivers• Show happiness upon

reuniting with caregivers

• Offer them opportunities to explore their environment and come back to you when scared (“secure base”)• Create separation and

reunion routines• Continue as you have been

doing, with longer stretches of play, as their attention span increases

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 5 (1-2 years)

• Demonstrate a wider arrange of emotions, including some “social” emotions (empathy, compassion, etc.)• Recognize themselves in a

mirror• Show affection for familiar

people• Play by themselves• Imitate adult behavior• Become assertive (“no!”)

• Respond promptly and sensitively to their cues• Talk, sing, and read with your

child• Describe emotional

experiences• Create routines• Offer opportunity to play with

other children

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 6 (2-3 years)

• Engage in independent and parallel play• Begin to engage in social play• Begin symbolic play games

such as “house”• Rapid mood shifts• Increased fearfulness• Continued assertiveness

(“no”) as they explore self-identity• Form a gender identity• Become more independent

(toilet training, dressing self)• Have preferred friends and

understand friendship

• Talk, sing, and read with your child• Describe emotional

experiences• Create routines• Offer opportunity to play with

other children• Set clear limits and

boundaries• Offer opportunities to

practice new independent skills• Offer options for child to

choose from (red shirt or blue shirt, standing or sitting, etc.)• Acknowledge fears

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 7 (3-4 years)

• Become more independent and participate in self-care• Follow directions• Share and take turns with

assistance • Greater understanding of

“self” and “other”• Increased expression of

social emotions• Initiate or join play with other

children• More elaborate dramatic play

• Continue as you have been• Engage in dramatic play with

your child• Allow child to explore and be

independent• Act as a “secure base” when

child is upset• Provide social stimulation

(via playdates, preschool, etc.)

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 8 (4-5 years)

• Have some understanding of moral reasoning (things being fair/unfair, good/bad behavior)• Compares self with others• Develops friendships• Shows awareness of others’

feelings• Enjoys dramatic play with

other children• Demonstrates a wide range

of emotions, sometimes over-exaggerating emotions• Pays attention to details in

dramatic play

• Continue as you have been• Apologize when you make

mistakes• Explain reasons for rules and

behaviors• Label behavior as “good” or

“bad” – do not label the child as “good” or “bad”

Typical Milestones What you can do:

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THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL PLAY

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“Play is often talked aboutas if it were a relief fromserious learning. But for

children

PLAY IS SERIOUS LEARNING”

- Mr. Rogers

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The Importance of Social Play • Provides children with an opportunity to:• Practice social skills• Make sense of cultural norms and values• Process experiences • Prepare for future responsibilities• Practice communication skills• Practice negotiation with peers• Socialize each other (teach each other what is acceptable/unacceptable behavior) (Brown, 1999)

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SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

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Children with Special Needs• Special Needs complicate the development of emotion regulation and social skills• Think of development as occurring along a

trajectory instead of as a static set of stages• Delays in other areas of development

influence social-emotional development• Cognitive delays • Motor delays • Sensory processing delays • Communication

• A note about autism: By definition, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are disorders of social interaction, although social delays may have roots in sensory processing and motor planning. Meet your child where they are.

Meet your child

where they are.

Greenspan & Weider (1998)

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Children with Special Needs

• What to do:• Use your child’s diagnosis to understand challenges to

learning and not as a label for limitations• Begin with “Sensory Processing” – emotional processing is

taking sensory processing to an abstract level• Change the environment to your child’s sensitivities in order

to reach the “zone of optimal arousal” (turn on/off lights, remove noises, play “white noise,” remove toys, etc.)

Greenspan & Weider (1998)

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Children with Special Needs• What to do (continued)• Engage frequently with your child, with

shorter periods during the first year, growing to 15-20 minutes/day of individual “floor time” after the first year• Monitor your own level or emotional

arousal during interactions• Empathize with your child through gesture,

vocalization, and language – start at their level• Follow your child’s lead, making sure that

he/she directs the play• “But my child isn’t doing anything!!” –

your child is always doing something, it just may not seem “purposeful” to you• Give your child’s actions emotional

meaning (esp. children with ASD)

Greenspan & Weider (1998)

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Questions?

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Special thanks to Denny de Harne and Parents Helping Parents!

THANK YOU!!!