Special Needs Education

In Svábhegyi Children’s Clinic identification, assessment and check-up of children with hyperactivity and attention deficit are accomplished with the highest possible care. Function of the phychiatrist is completed by the assistance of a professional special needs educator and a psychopedagogy teacher who participate in the practical part of the therapy recommended by the doctor. Our clinic’s special needs educator, Ms. Ildikó Herczeg, helps the parents to find solution for their questions relating to school readiness or learning disabilities. She also participates in the development of children having specific ability disorders.

Starting of school is a major event both for the child and the family. It is very important to have a decision about our child’s school readiness since first school experiences will affect his or her later attitude to learning. To avoid school setbacks we need to have a clear picture about our child’s abilities, physical, mental, emotional and social maturity. Development of these fields is not always simultaneous, so maturities do not reach the level needed for school readiness at the same time and of course it varies by individual as well.

Disorder or imperfection in one specific ability does not mean a school immaturity and does not make learning impossible. But if the child has a disability in more than one field the suspicion of immaturity for school may be aroused and in this case it is better to consult with a specialist.

Immaturity for school

Checking the school readiness is primarily the task of kindergarten teachers who see the children’s achievements day-by-day. However in many cases the kindergarten teachers’ expert opinion by itself is insufficient so a school readiness test may be necessary.

Important advice for parents:

• we have to choose approach and teachers, not simply a school
• principally we need to finalize our decision on the basis of the aspects of our child
• there is better chance to have the best decision if the kindergarten teacher, parents and the child attending specialists in cooperation and collaboration look for the answers for the questions that arose

In a word it is very important to think over whether our child is ready for school or not. A complex screening could give us a full picture about the child’s maturity and on the basis of these results making the final decision could be much easier.

Course of the special needs educational examination

1./ Assessment of the case history (anamnesis) prepared by the doctor. (Interpretation of the first interview, discussion with the doctor.) Processing of questionnaires.

2./ Examinations. A complex examination is required since the whole personality is the starting point to draw conclusions.

– IQ test (with the assistance of a psychologist)

– tests to measure specific abilities

3./ Evaluation of test results.

4./ Discussion with the parents.

5./ Preparation of the expert opinion and the relevant recommendations.

• somatic appearance, behavior attributes, attitude to the conditions of the examination (hyperactivity, discomfort, approach to challenges)
• condition of motor skills (gross and fine motor skills)
• information on communication skills
• sociability
• check-up of intelligence
• tests of specific abilities
• pedagogical monitoring

Course of the psychodiagnostic examination of special needs education:

1./ Scheme of the examination

– documents’ analysis, anamnesis, questionnaire

2./ Observation with concrete examination methods

– monitoring the understanding

– testing of specific abilities

– analyzing personality

3./ Supplementary medical examinations

4./ Overview, discussion with the parents

– expert opinion, recommendations

– communication with the school and its teachers

5./ Follow-up examinations

Sections of the examination with the time needed for their completion:

(Time needed for the completion of the examination is serve informatory purpose only, as the exact duration always depends on the condition of the child and on his or her specific complaints.)

1./ Consultation with the psychopedagogy teacher

– recording of complaints

– anamnesis

– evaluation of the questionnaire

– interpretation of the recent status

– requests

(20 minutes)

2./ Starting communication, monitoring of attention functions, checking the behavior

(20 minutes)

3./ Monitoring of specific abilities

– fine motoric and visual-motoric skills

– nonverbal understanding (intelligence)

– general knowledge

(2×20 minutes)

4./ Checking the reading and the listening comprehension

(40 minutes)

5./ Monitoring learning disabilities

– reading, writing, mathematics (screening of dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia)

(3x20minutes)

6./ Tests for school readiness (monitoring intellective, emotional and social maturities)

(3×20 minutes)

7./ Follow-up examination

(20 minutes)

8./ Consultation with the parents

– discussion about the results of the examination

– recommendations

(20 minutes)