There may occur situations in care for children with special needs that only collaborative efforts from multiple sides may resolve. One of the instances that required me to cooperate with multiple parties was the development of individual care and educational plans for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I began by offering to meet with the parents and the counselor to discuss the student’s specific support needs. One issue I faced was the lack of shared terminology across different systems: for instance, the term ‘case management’ was not easily translated into the education realm. Together, we identified the needs pertinent to the specific case: the student struggled with anxiety and irritation caused by noisy environments and inconsistent schedules. The scheduling part was particularly challenging during the pandemic since the uncertainty of the situation put additional strain on the child’s mental health.
I then worked with the school counselor, child’s teachers, and parents to develop an information-sharing system to collect all information and guidelines in one place. Baker et al. (2017) recommend creating and sharing personalized care plans across every system level. In this case, we strived to create an optimal learning environment and therapy to improve learning and mental health outcomes. According to Aishworiya and Kang (2021), children with ASD often require additional behavioral support, literal and specific communication strategies, and visually-oriented, consistent schedules. Hence, we agreed on the appropriate individual education plan, including visual cues incorporation and more immediate teacher feedback. Additionally, we designated a ‘quiet corner’ for the student to be in when they feel overwhelmed. This situation could have been improved by having a more preventive approach to address student needs before they struggle. If the collaboration network had been in place, there may have been brochures and booklets from official sources regarding ASD management in school settings, which would allow the school staff to notice and address the issue earlier.
References
Aishworiya, R., & Kang, Y. Q. (2021). Including children with developmental disabilities in the equation during this COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(6), 2155–2158. Web.
Baker, D., Anderson, L., & Johnson, J. (2017). Building student and family-centered care coordination through ongoing delivery system design: How school nurses can implement care coordination. NASN School Nurse, 32(1), 42–49. Web.