Feelings of sadness, emotion and pride mixed in the minds of our companions when Joglo released the children to continue to elementary school. Some of them are specially accompanied children. It was hard to part with them, but there were also proud events for us, where they were at the stage of being able to adjust to studying in public schools, especially for children who had to be specially assisted, they would be faced with different systems and patterns of mentoring, faced with competitive situations with normal children. Can’t imagine a few years back when at the beginning they joined Joglo with their limitations.
I say they were our little teachers who taught us patience, generosity and who developed creative ways of acting and thinking. Every action shown is a form of communication. This observation is very necessary in the process of learning activities with them. There are three things to note, namely to be able to learn, you need to feel comfortable, move and drink water. One thing we say is that to feel comfortable we need to know, through greetings, smiles, eye contact, touch. Although not all children with special needs like eye contact or touch. Understanding the special needs of each child greatly assists the process in supporting its development.
Thinking positively and letting go of assumptions enables us to accept its existence as a creation of the Almighty God who is not underestimated. They have the same need to be loved, appreciated and humanized
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Of course, it’s not easy these days to reconcile them with their limitations. Activities that have been planned are not always used the way we imagined. Group dynamics are not always the same. Full of challenges! Our inner voice calls for affectionately and louder confirming that all children are good and capable although at different speeds.
If the changes that are seen today are they behave politely such as saying thank you, sorry, excuse me, caring, loving, willing to share and even being able to work together, not just conveying these values in their spare time, but making it a habit in their behavior. Instilling these life values means changing most of the actions of adults in their environment, especially families. Therefore, parental education programs are very important to establish cooperation in supporting children’s development.
Many parents ask how they can better support their children. And rarely worry about how much children will observe and imitate the behavior of their parents. That’s why supporting children means supporting and challenging ourselves as adults to be role models that children can imitate in their lives.