Clinical Therapies

Therapists base their Therapy on developing the child in the areas where the child is under performing. Clinical intervention is based on remediation of clearly defined areas of difficulty using established treatment protocols and ensuring that there is an effective measurement of the factors influencing natural development.

It is important that the child has had a comprehensive medical examination if the parents are looking at a Therapeutic Intervention for their child. The clinical Director will do the initial interview and will want to have any documentation relating to their medical difficulties. Assessments by the Educational psychologist, the Speech Pathologist, or the Occupational therapist sometimes is initiated prior to the commencement of Therapy or Therapy may commence where there are clear signs of a difficulty, there is recent documentation and where the child has had a thorough medical screening.

If the child is experiencing even mild difficulties in one or a number of areas of their development then this can affect how they cope with School. The Therapist will inform the parent from the outset what their goals for the child will be and the therapeutic intervention plan. Schools often request this information because it helps provide a broader understanding of the difficulties and how they might affect performance in the classroom.

The treatment protocols used are based on years of research and using established treatment programmes that give effective outcomes. For this reason we do not use alternative therapies at ATOC. The Clinical Director overseas and coordinates the multiple programmes happening daily.

Although our therapies are used for children with known disabilities, the large majority of children have undefined needs and sometimes ‘sub clinical’ differences in the way they can manage their learning environment. There is usually an element of minimal neurological dysfunction which is not always evident. The formal testing process does with its standardized tests highlight the areas of weakness and strength that help us to understand the child’s needs. The definition of Learning Difficulties is defined below and details on other conditions are found in the tool bar. ATOC has numerous resources however if more information is required.

LEARNING Difficulties (LD)

It is a disorder of the basic psychological processes that affect the way a child/adolescent learns. Many children/adolescents with learning difficulties have average or above average intelligence. Learning disabilities may cause difficulties in listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, spelling, or arithmetic. Included are perceptual handicaps, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and developmental aphasia.

 

‘The parents often seek a definite label because they want acknowledgement of the child’s needs and an opportunity to understand the difficulties.’

 

At ATOC we appreciate information that will support us to target specifically the areas of need rather than provide a general service however we will look beyond the label to the child who very often displays strengths in specific areas despite weakness in others. We do support the parents to get in touch with the right specialists to establish a diagnosis where this is appropriate.

Some children have specific delays in only one area of their development while other children may exhibit across the board difficulties. While considering the effects on the child’s academic performance it is important to also understand emotional development and the range of skills that go towards making up intelligence and making young children into the people they will become in later life.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI)

Daniel Goleman defines EI as 'the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions'. This relatively new idea is a departure from the traditional attitude, still prevalent in many school settings, that intelligence can be divided into the verbal and non-verbal (performance) types. In fact, these are the abilities that the traditional school based IQ tests assess. Looking at how the child functions within the family and within the learning environment is important if they are going to develop their interpersonal skills, be motivated to learn and cope with the everyday success and failure found in school life.

It is important to develop an understanding of the many components that work together to enable the child to perform well in certain areas of their development and contribute to their unique intellectual profile which is comprised of differing types of intelligence.

Howard Gardner (1983) is still used today to define the different types of intelligence. This has been abused however by some authorities to indicate that children can all develop according to their own individual strengths. It does not take into account that the child needs instrumental teaching in all the areas so that while they may have a specific talent in one area which makes them perform well they also need to develop their general intelligence to their full potential so that a weak spatial intelligence for example does not impact on their mathematical strength.

The therapists ensure that innate difficulties which are treatable are progressively improved so that the child can then demonstrate their potential intelligence and be able to interact successfully with others and cope in today’s complex world.