This book examines the development of play skills and schemas to support children with learning differences and physical disabilities in learning to play. It highlights the need for appropriate playground equipment in all school settings that educate children with physical disabilities and sensory needs to ensure equal opportunities for outdoor play. Several play approaches for meeting sensory needs are discussed including Lego therapy, Art therapy, Sand play and Soft play. Digital play for students with physical disabilities is an important chapter in the book. Role play and the ways in which virtual reality and psychodrama support anxieties that some students have is another important chapter. There is also a chapter devoted to parents on how they can support their child at home and how the school can support them. At the end of the book there is a plethora of resources that readers can copy or adapt to suit their setting. The book provides support for those managing outdoor play for these children at peak times of the day. It shows how play-based learning can work in a classroom setting; the importance of sensory profiles and sensory play; and how play therapy can aid neuroplasticity.

Challenging the notion that young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) should be taught in a linear, target-driven way, this book presents an innovative model for creating learning opportunities to suit the needs and abilities of each individual student. Focusing on students with PMLD aged 14 and over, and addressing their unique needs as they progress towards adult life, the author explains how to create a truly personalised programme for each individual that recognises their right to autonomy whilst also acknowledging their learning difficulties. Practical strategies for dealing with common areas of difficulty such as communication and behaviour are included, and the book contains useful solutions to practical considerations such as timetabling, staffing, assessments and target-setting, and adapting the physical and sensory environment for students with PMLD. A final section looks at opportunities for students with PMLD post-secondary education. Realistic and accessible, this book is essential reading for teachers, teaching assistants and others involved in educating young people with PMLD.

Children and young people with Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (CLDD) have co-existing and overlapping conditions which can manifest in complex learning patterns, extreme behaviours and a range of socio-medical needs which are new and unfamiliar to many educators. Their combination of issues and layered needs – mental health, relationship, behavioural, physical, medical, sensory, communication and cognitive – mean they often disengage from learning and challenge even our most experienced teachers. This book provides school practitioners and leaders with an approach and resources to engage this often disenfranchized group of children in learning. The Engagement for Learning Framework has been developed and trialled by over 100 educational settings (both special and mainstream) with learners from early years to post-16. It gives practitioners from a range of disciplines a shared means of assessing, recording and developing personalized learning pathways and demonstrating progression for these children. The focus on inquiry means that however complex a young person’s needs, educators will be able to apply the approach. This practical and engaging book provides literature, tools and case study examples outlining who children and young people with CLDD are, why their engagement for learning is important and how the Engagement for Learning Framework can be used effectively by teachers and other professionals to ensure the best possible outcomes for these children.

Teaching Physical Education to Pupils with Special Needs. Practical Games Activities and Ideas John Morris Physical education is paramount to the holistic development of every young person. More so when that young person has physical, cognitive, and or emotional /behavioural difficulties to overcome also. Teaching physical education to children with special needs often requires the teacher or coach to use different methods and approaches in order to generate even the smallest improvement in learning, performance, and independence. The activities games and adaptations featured in the book have been developed within the teaching environment and enable students with special needs to have opportunities to participate and compete whilst learning and consolidating new and existing skills. Activities in the book can be used to supplement existing programs and schemes of work or they can be used as stand alone activities. They are intended and designed to be inclusive also. The contents have been organised into sections that cover: games and ball skills; gymnastics and dance; developing spatial awareness and Athletic activities; and schemes of work influenced by the national curriculum and the equals' schemes have been supplied to use with the activities so that the book provides a user with a guide for how to deliver an adapted PE program to pupils with special needs. They may also be useful to mainstream teachers who may need to supplement and adapt mainstream PE programs to accommodate pupils with moderate learning difficulties or physical disabilities. It covers A4, Wire-0-bound 98 pp.

This book challenges the very idea of "profound and multiple learning disabilities" (PMLD) itself, and what constitutes appropriate educational provision for children described as having PMLD. It considers the role of ambiguity in articulating the life-worlds of children with PMLD.

I hope that my book is used as a sort of ‘play recipe book’, which you can get down from the shelf, prop up on your kitchen table and look through with your child to decide what you’re going to do today. As you would with recipes, I’d also like you to experiment with it. If one of the activities doesn’t quite suit your child, amend it, just like you would if there’s an ingredient in a cake recipe that your child dislikes or you haven’t got in your cupboard. I’ve added suggestions for ways you can extend and adapt each activity but feel empowered that you are the expert on your child, and you will know the best way to make these activities work for your family. It may be that your child has a visual impairment, for example, and the activity is to look for coloured objects, so you could choose to adapt it to find items of different textures instead. Or if your child has colour-blindness, for this activity you could choose the colours that they can differentiate between.

This book is a practical guide to implementing the Intensive Interaction Approach in a school setting and provides essential technical support to teachers and practitioners from nursery to Post-16 who want to embed it into their classroom practice. Geared mainly towards supporting children with communication and social-communication difficulties arising from autism or learning difficulties, the principles apply equally to students of all levels of cognitive ability who struggle with social situations and emotional or sensory regulation. The Intensive Interaction Classroom Guide brings together contributions from experienced teachers, teaching assistants, and headteachers, who reflect on their practice and share practical tips to facilitate social-communication development within a nurturing classroom environment. Offering practical advice on curriculum and pedagogy and drawing on case studies, authors address key themes on a practical level, while grounding their discussions theoretically and methodologically. Filled with practical advice and techniques, this book will be essential to anyone working in classroom settings with students who experience social-communication difficulties or need a nurturing approach to emotional well-being.