Series: Cubbies and Special Needs – Part 1

Enfolding All Preschoolers Into Your Cubbies Club

The following is an excerpt from a longer article, “Can I Come Too?” available as part of the Cubbies Teaching Plans. We wanted to share it with you on the blog as well, as this issue continues to be an important one for preschool ministry leaders and volunteers. The following is the first in a series.

Awana ministry is a good entry point for all children, including our children who have special needs. The church has volunteers, and with training, a big impact can be made on all families for God. Unfortunately, while desiring to reach out, we also realize that a local Awana club cannot meet the needs of every individual child. However, the club can still benefit the child as 
he or she feels the love of the leader and socially interacts with other children. Churches will need to decide the scope of their ministry to children with special needs.

Special needs have been defined by what a child cannot do without help that a typical peer can do. It may be delays in reaching expected educational, physical or emotional milestones, or in doing activities. The range can 
be from mild learning disabilities to severe mental retardation, to physical disabilities, terminal illness, and/or food allergies, to name a few.

Let’s get to know, love and serve all children, especially our extra-special preschoolers. They are special to us and even more so to Jesus! Let’s get to know their diverse abilities, basic needs, and challenges so we can serve them better.
 Let’s show them love through our godly attitude and actions. Finally, may we serve them through accommodating and modifying our activities to reach and include them as well as communicate and involve their parents. So what does it mean to enfold all preschoolers into your Awana ministry? Let’s explore that together.

To explore this topic together, we’ll break this down into three sections: Know, Love, and Serve.

This time we’ll focus on “Know.”

Know — build a personal relationship with the child.

There are already such diverse abilities among preschoolers as a group. They all need lots 
of practice and repetition. Although specific disabilities may be starting to show up during this age, there usually is not a striking difference unless it is a behavioral issue. Get to know each of your preschoolers as an individual. Who are they and what do they like to do? Encourage the child to move from “No, I can’t” to “I will do my best.”

Let’s become familiar with the basics of working with our specially-designed preschoolers. According to the Center for Disease Control, 
one in six children will be born with a disability of some kind. By arming yourself with information you can better minister to them and their families.

Getting to know the individual Cubbie will help you identify the area involved in their delays 
or weaknesses. Take this insight and institute things to strengthen their areas of weakness. Accommodate for these areas or modify activities to allow for greater success. As a leader, help the child to be as independent as possible. Let them try to accomplish whatever task they have been given on their own first. Step in to help before they get frustrated.

In getting to know the child you must also get to know the parent. Parents are the ones responsible for raising their child, and we are their partners!

Parents usually have a relentless commitment and dedication to their child. Draw them in so the child has the best environment for success. They can
 let you know if their child gets stressed in certain situations or conditions. One such example is how a child with autism may respond negatively to subtle sensory issues such as sights, sounds, lights, and smells. This will give you a heads up so you can be prepared with how to avoid it if possible or how to handle it if it arises.

Areas of Challenge

Listed below are some of the major areas where challenges may occur. Keep in mind that some preschoolers may have deficits in more than one area.

Fine motor covers movements involving the smaller muscles of the body like fingers, toes, wrists, hands, tongue and lips. Take this into account during table activities in Handbook Time and Snacks. Also, if you collect an offering, this can be a challenge for them. If a child 
is unable to place the offering in the slot, allow another child or leader to do it for them. Thank them for bringing the offering. Keep in mind that improvements in fine motor skills often follow improvements in gross motor skills.

Gross motor is all about controlling the larger muscles of the body used for walking, running, sitting, crawling, and other physical movements. Balance, posture, body awareness in space, and left and right side awareness can be affected. Quite often their minds are alert and functioning properly while their bodies are uncooperative. Remember that proficiency in gross motor skills comes before fine motor skills proficiency. Play Time would show these delays or deficits. The resulting physical disabilities may prevent the child from participating in a typical way. Children with spina bifida, muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy are examples. These children may have braces or even be in wheelchairs. Find safe and fun ways to include them whenever possible. Look at the game idea and see how it can be tailored to include a specific child with their individual physical disabilities.

Speech and language covers communication, which is a critical way we express ourselves. Therefore, this can become a source of frustration when a child cannot communicate his needs or wants. Pronunciation of words can be delayed or difficult if a speech impediment or hearing loss is present. Learn to watch the child’s lips and ask the child to repeat her words if you did not understand them. Also, a lack of vocabulary can hinder a child from communicating his needs. Ask children to show you or take you to what they want. Try to make it your problem as much as possible. You could say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Please tell me again.” Stuttering is often seen at this stage and most children outgrow it. Be calm and patient while you seek to understand them. It is up to us to slow down and listen.

Auditory challenges can express themselves in different ways. Deaf children depend mostly on their eyes when learning, so be sure to include more visual experiences in your learning strategies. Those with limited hearing may face challenges from certain pitches in people’s voices making the sound garbled or even painful. Being aware of this will help you as you communicate with the child. Also be aware that other children may have a right or left ear advantage. This would be important to know so that you are speaking to them on the correct side. An auditory delay or difficulty will affect all times of club meeting but especially Handbook Time.

Visual impairment covers visual disabilities that range from children who have 20/200 vision (legally blind) to those who can only distinguish light from darkness to those who are completely blind. It may also include those with visual perception issues such as lazy eye or depth perception deficits. Be available to help the child navigate the chosen activity.

Intellectual disability, like the other impairments discussed above, also has a wide range of severity levels. It can range from mild, where children are capable of learning, to profoundly impaired, where direct supervision
is always needed. An example would be children with Down syndrome who range from mild challenges to severe disabilities. You would need to tailor your support depending on the level of impairment. As with all disabilities, communication with parents is critical.

Sensory integration problems result in delay or difficulty in responding to the overwhelming amount of sensory information that needs to 
be processed continually. It can also involve the interpretation of this information as well
 as the response, which can lead to chaos with 
daily activities becoming mountains to climb. The entire club meeting could be a source of sensory overload so steps need to be taken to downscale the overload. The child may also exhibit unusual behaviors such as avoiding or seeking out touch, movement, sounds and sights. Usually when we think of sensory overload we think of children with autism or attention deficit disorder. These children experience sights, sounds, smells, colors and lights to an unusually intense degree. Simply put, it is overwhelming. You could also minimize the sensory overload by having the sensitive child in a smaller sized group and having him sit at the end of the table where it is less likely that he would be touched. Also check out the rooms you use. Can you lower the noise and lighting level? Can you lower the visual stimulation by limiting the use of hanging objects, colors and pictures on the walls?

Challenges require intentionality

Be prepared to answer when asked why a child is getting extra help. Remember this rule of thumb: Do not do for a child what he can do for himself. Always encourage and expect great things. Be a ministry that teaches each child to do their best, which is different for each child.

One of the major areas you need to know about is discipline. This is one of the major ways children communicate their needs to us and you can learn a lot about a child by watching their behavior. Behavior is communication! When chatter is on the rise in the room, interpret what is happening and stay on guard. Learn to identify possible drivers or triggers of behavior — good or bad. Be equipped to respond appropriately with congratulations for good behavior or correction for bad behavior.

Boundaries and clear expectations in regards to rules and behavior are key for safety and security. It is helpful to have clearly defined spaces for Lesson Time, such as using carpet squares or painter’s tape lines or shapes. The child will sit on or behind the defined space. Also consider using placemats to define an individual’s space during table times.

In addition, give structure, parameters and choices on how they can participate. For example, tell Cubbies to stand on this colored dot, square or letter during singing time or while waiting for a turn during Play Time. Teach them to stop, look and listen by using the Cubbie Bear Buddy Levels. The Cubbie Bear Buddy Levels use the familiar concept of traffic light colors to teach the behavior expectations. Connecting your discipline rules to something Cubbies are familiar with will help them to understand and therefore to obey. The use of a green traffic light poster (Level Three) means 
go and play. A yellow traffic light poster (Level Two) means caution, so Cubbies should be careful and courteous. A red traffic light (Level One) means stop moving and talking but not listening or looking. A red traffic light is used during Lesson Time when leaders want Cubbies to stop moving and talking but not listening or looking.

As a rule of thumb it is good to use various resources that target as many of their senses as possible. In addition to saying the rules, consider having fewer words and more visual cues. Look
 for downloadable pictures to supplement words 
in verses, rules and commands. For example, have an open Bible to show when it is Lesson Time, children singing when it is time to sing and children sharing when sharing is not being done. Look for pictures in the Puggles® Coloring and Activity Book as well as online sources to show the children what you desire. Picture cues also work great during transition times or activity change times. You can also use a signal such as tapping a drum, ringing a bell, or playing some music. This helps give everyone a heads up for the change of activity.

Just as show and tell works great in teaching appropriate discipline and classroom expectations, it can be used in other ways as well. Imitation
 of peers has shown to be helpful in learning appropriate behavior. Use peers to help with verbal and physical prompts that reinforce rules such 
as a red traffic light for stop. Their peers show them the correct behavior while also telling them through words. For Lesson Time, you could show them a picture of a child sitting with their hands in their lap then tell them it is time to sit and place their hands in their lap. For preschoolers who are unsettled, consider allowing them to have a favorite toy or item with them to hold during this time.

Another way leaders could use show-and-tell is through establishing play themes and assigning roles such as acting out the biblical account of David and Goliath instead of just saying go play. Leaders can give suggestions or gestures that signal the correct way for a child to respond or initiate interaction with a peer or toy. Model or show how to use toys such as a car while also telling them this is how we play. It is not thrown or banged, it is pushed along the table or floor. Be direct and closely monitor the Cubbies during club activities.

Challenges to Triumphs

Challenges come with the territory of welcoming specially-designed preschoolers, but keep in mind that any time a child is involved, challenges come along! Examine your attitude — can you see challenges as opportunities for growth and even joy? One of the biggest overall challenges will be that each preschooler truly is unique. An identical diagnosis does not equate to identical needs or goals. Get to know each child as a unique creation of God. Typically their weaknesses are paralleled by amazing strengths — find them! Come up with a way to turn a challenge into a triumph. Accommodate and match their abilities to the task at hand, implementing strategies for success. Then stand back and watch God do His amazing work!

Remember Our Motivation

Let’s get to know, love and serve these extra-special preschoolers God sends our way so that one day they can know, love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ!

Interested in this topic? Stay tuned to the rest of the series!

Read part 2 and part 3 of this news.