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PA3563
ANALYSIS OF FAMILIES OF DISABLED
CHILDREN

GROUP ASSIGNMENT
(Chapter 11)

TITLE:

“EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL NEEDS”

PREPARED BY:
EMMYE SHERLLA BT BENJAMIN HR2004 – 3204
LIMA KEN JULIAN HR2004 – 3518
LYDIA BINTI SIBUN HR2004 – 3537

PREPARED FOR:
MOHD. SHARANI AHMAD

SEMESTER II, 2006/2007

SEKOLAH PSIKOLOGI DAN KERJA SOSIAL

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
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INTRODUCTION

This chapter examines the everyday emotional and social needs of all young children,

with particular attention to those whose atypical development makes them especially

vulnerable to difficulties. After the need for physical survival, children’s other emotional

needs can be categorized as the needs for :

a) Security – an assurance of protection and safety

b) Self-esteem – the need to value oneself

c) Autonomy – the need to be self-determining, to have some freedom

d) Belonging – the need to love and be loved and accepted

Two additional needs have been suggested. The first is the need of all creatures – and the

young in particular – to have fun, which Glasser (1998:30) defines as the ‘intangible joy’

that arises from satisfaction of the above needs. The second was posited by Maslow :

namely, the need for self-actualisation, which refers to the drive to develop our abilities

fully (Peterson 1996).

THE NEED FOR PROTECTION AND SAFETY

A) Require considerate behavior

Supervision of children is essential to oversee their physical and emotional

safety. In addition, some of the following measures could prove useful.

i. Prohibit discriminatory comments and actions – establish a general rule that

children cannot use words that hurt other people or unfairly exclude others

from their play (Derman-Sparks 1992).

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ii. Encourage assertiveness – can cue children when to be assertive and perhaps

teach them diplomatic strategies for rejecting domineering commands of their

peers.

iii. Follow up – a) your might return with them to the other child and solve the

problem collaboratively.

b) Tell the victim of hurt physically and emotionally that you

understand that it hurt and that the perpetrator might remember

next time to use words to solve problems or to speak more

kindly.

c) If particular children are repeatedly aggressive or unkind to

their playmates, social skills interventions could be useful.

B) Respond to and prevent child abuse

Child maltreatment takes a number of forms: neglect of children’s

physical or emotional needs, and physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

The cause of child abuse are family who are isolated, lack of support, use

of elicit drugs, dysfunction of family relationship and economic problems. Abuse

produces developmental and social-emotional impairments, with children under

the age of 5 years being at more serious risk than older children of injury from

physical abuse (Bonner et. al. 1992).

The result of such behaviours is that the children tend to be ignored in care

and preschool settings – unless behaving disruptively, when their interactions

with caregivers often comprise disciplinary measure (Hoffman-Plotkin &

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Twentyman 1984). This emotional neglect compounds the problems these

children experience at home and leads to worsening social difficulties through-out

childhood (Cole-Detke & Kobak 1998; George & Main 1979; Trickett 1998).

Litanies of serious effects of abuse make it essential to report any signs

that children might be being abused. Instead it will be the welfare agency’s job to

investigate your suspicions.

You will to need to advice on whether you should tell the parents that you

have reported your concerns and about how to support the family during the

investigation process. Meanwhile, you will need to support he children by

respecting their feelings but also requiring them to use prosocial means for

dealing with their anger and regaining some power (Gootman 1993). And then,

they need emphatic responses from educator and they need to know that they will

be safe if they make mistake (Gootman 1993).

After that, predictable reactions and a safe emotional climate will help

children who are hypervigilant to signs of danger to know what is required of

them and to realize that they will be safe. Beside that, personal safety programs

are often recommended for preventing children from becoming victims of abuse.
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SELF ESTEEM

Self-esteem has the following three parts (Burns 1982; Pope et. al. 1988):

i. The self-concept – this is our picture or description of ourselves. Young

children’s self concept is fairly basic and becomes more comprehensive as

they get older and learn more about themselves.

ii. The ideal self – this is our beliefs about how we should be. This set of

beliefs comes about from actual or implied critical judgments by

significant people in our lives or by a process called social comparison, in

which we compare ourselves to other people and set our ideals

accordingly (Adler et. al. 2001)

iii. Our self-esteem – this is how much we value our characteristic. It is a

judgment about whether our abilities and qualities meet or fall short of the

standards we believe are ideal. In other words, self-esteem is a comparison

between the self-concept and ideal self (Burns 1982).

1) Signs of low self-esteem

Children who have low self-esteem can display a wide range of less adaptive

behaviors. Emotionally, they might seek constant reassurance about your, they

might be overly helpful as if they must earn approval, might be devastated if

chastised, and could be highly reliant on parents as seen with separation

difficulties.

Socially, they might not be able to have any fun, might be withdrawn, or

not be able to enter a group without becoming either too self-conscious (‘shy’) or
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too boisterous. Finding and keeping friends can be problem and negotiating

conflict can be difficult because they do not have enough confidence to assert

themselves.

Their development can be compromised as they avoid trying something

new, refuse to take risks or be adventurous, or give up easily. Instead, they might

play the same game over and over such as playing only in the sandpit because

they are afraid to fail at other activities.

2) Routes to low self-esteem

These pathways suggest three routes for improving their self-esteem:

a) Promote competence

The first route to a healthier self-esteem is to help children become

competent at skills they value, because success breeds confidence.

Coaching children to learn skills that they value could entail the following

measures:

i. Break tasks down into achievable steps and then teach each step

until the children can successfully complete the task

independently. It might help to keep a record of the children’s

improvement, using audiotapes, videotapes, photographs or ither

natural means so that in the course of learning a skill the children

can appreciate their progress.

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ii. Give positive instructions we might accidentally set children up

to fail by telling them what not to do instead of what they could do:

‘Take small steps on the wet floor.’

iii. Encourage children to be independent about performing age-

appropriate skills, to give them something to feel proud of.

iv. Teach self-instruction skills success at tasks involves not only

being able to perform the skill but also being able to organize

oneself to do it proficiently. Therefore, teach children how to

concentrate, plan each step of a task, check that their approach is

working, persist, change approaches if necessary and so on.

v. Provide authentic and specific feedback so that children know

precisely what they have to do to de successful.

b) Embellish children’s self- concept

i. Use acknowledgment- children need information about their

attainments but not judgmental feedback in the form of praise or

other rewards, as they imply ideal standards and might threaten

children’s faith in their ability to continue to meet adults’

expectations.

ii. Focus on processes- you will need to acknowledge effort rather than

cleverness, personality rather than appearance, learning style rather

than outcome to children who had no control over those

characteristics.
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iii. Introduce activities that acquaint children with their attributes -

help the children make a list of all the many things they can do.

iv. Do not use – and do not permit surroundings children to use put-

downs or nicknames that demean individual children.

c) Encourage realistic ideals

Important for children to have realistic standards for themselves, they can

develop a dysfunctional form of protectionism in which they are dissatisfied

with their achievements, no matter how well they perform.

Confidence that they can reach their ideals:

i. Accept yourself- show children how to talk positively about

themselves by occasionally doing so about yourself in their hearing

and treat your own mistakes kindly so that children will learn to

handle their own errors similarly.

ii. Respect children and their feelings- respect also requires you to

value children’s diverse cultural backgrounds.

iii. Encourage risk taking- give children permission to be adventurous

and risk getting things wrong.

iv. Teach children to evaluate negative feedback- your first response

must be to listen and accept what they feel when children were

disappointed in themselves. If they are expecting too much of

themselves, you might gently question whether they are being

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realistic, without giving advice or telling them off for feeling what

they feel.

AUTONOMY

1) Give children control - Asking for children suggestions and listening to their

ideas tell them that you value them and believe in their abilities to take

responsibility for themselves. Then, involve them in making decisions that affect

them.

2) Provide attribution training - Teach children to connect an outcome with their

own actions (Seligman 1975), so that they realize they are in command of their

decisions and actions.

3) Minimize stress – stress is a physical reaction to feeling out of control,

particularly of negative events in life. Support stressed children by:

i. Noticing the signs such as behavioral acting out or withdrawal an allowing

children to discuss their feelings.

ii. Assist the children to solve challenges in a way that enhances their self-

confidence, promotes mastery and encourages them to take appropriate

responsibility for themselves (Rutter 1985).

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To prevent provoking stress in reaction to your program, that important to give

children activities that they feel able to master.

SOCIAL NEEDS

Children need warm relationships with their adult carers and peers.

i. Educators’ relationships with children:

Your relationship with children needs to involve the five as of attention,

acceptance, appreciation, affirmation and affection (Albert 1989, in Rodd 1996).

With respect the first of these qualities, it has been found that although educators

spend the vast majority of their time interacting with children, nearly one third of

the children actually receive no individual attention on a given day (Kontos &

Wilcox-Herzog 1997).

ii. Children’s relationships with each other :

It usually requires that the children are at a similar developmental level and

behave predictably so that others feel safe in their company. Peers can make

unique contributions to children’s development in many domains (Hartup 1989;

Hartup & Moore 1990). Three groups of children are more likely than most to be

socially isolated in early childhood centres:

a) First : children with significant intellectual delays – around 30% are actively

rejected, which is often related to their behavioural difficulties, while a greater

number still are ignored or neglected by peers, which is often related to their

social reticence (Odom et. al. 1999).

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b) Second : group of potentially isolated children are those with advanced

development – they might develop deep attachments to a best friend at a

similar developmental level to themselves or to their parents, but lack a

breadth of attachments, making them vulnerable to separation problem and

loneliness within groups of age mates.

c) Third: group of children commonly experiencing social isolation are those

who often behave aggressively – these children initially approach others often,

their overtures are commonly rejected because their approaches are boisterous

or aggressive, and they disrupt other’s play and are less cooperative.

SOCIAL SKILL INTERVENTIONS

a) Promote acceptance

This can allow you to dispel some of their myths about disabilities, such as that a

peer’s disability in one domain affects all his or her developmental skills

simultaneously, or that it is contagious:

i. Ensure that children know each other – children are more willing to play with

someone they know so you need to maintain a stable group membership and

on a daily basis incorporate the likes of names songs in your group story and

song sessions so that the children become familiar with each other.
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ii. Consider placement – because children choose playmates who are at their

own developmental level, it behoves us to provide individual children with

potential matches by, where possible, playing children with disabilities with a

least one older playmates.

iii. Use toys that invite social play – ensure that the activities on offer invite

social play and are more attractive than being alone (toy that tend to invite
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isolated or parallel play are small building blocks and many more; promote

social cooperative play include doss-up clothes and many more.

iv. Initiate cooperative activities – you can actively foster cooperative play

between children by instigating activities and games that require joint effort

and cooperation. Cooperative games aim to involve isolated children and to

pair up children who ordinarily do not play with each other. (Example for

cooperative play; non-elimination musical chairs and many more). At the

same time you must curb competitive activities (taunting or teasing), as these

increase aggressive behaviours and reduce cooperation (Bay-Hinitz et. al.

1994).
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b) Mediate children’s use of social skills

When you observe that particular children have no stable friendship, are rejected

because of their aggressive behaviour, have disabilities that impair their social

skillfulness, or play predominantly alone or in parallel beyond the usual age, you

can take active steps to support their social engagement.

i. Mediate social play – when children are often isolated, you can be more

directive by a) selecting socially competent children to play alongside the

reticent child b) introducing and activity that will attract that child and

others c) if necessary, prompting their play until the children can direct it

themselves (Odom et. al 1999).

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ii. Teach specific behaviours that make up social skillfulness – the first social

skill is surveillance : to enter a group, children need to take time to survey

the group’s activities and members’ non verbal behaviours. This allows

hopeful entrants to make their behaviour relevant to the group’s, which in

turn makes it more likely that their bids to gain entry will be positively

received (Asher 1983; Brown et. al. 2000).

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iii. Assist children’s development – children need to be competent at talking so

that they understand the play themes of others and can sustain elaborate on

their social play (Rose 1983; Robin 1980; Trawick-Smith 1988).

Similarly, they need the requisite motor skills to participate in peers’

physical play and to move about centre, seeking activities and peers to

engage them.

iv. Ensure access for children with disabilities – if children are to play together,

you will need to ensure that those with disabilities have access to the same

activities as their peers.

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v. Assist peers to engage excluded children – when children are neglected or

ignored by their peers, you might deliberately structure an activity that you

know will appeal to two children who do not ordinarily plat together, or

you could await a natural opportunity to point out to a competent child

that an isolated child appears interested in what he or she is doing and

might want to take part.

Educators must continue to structure activities and materials and

seek opportunities to facilitate the children’s natural social exchanges

(Kohler & Strain 1999). A support individual child is when they are

refused entry to other children’s play, which is common even when

children request entry in socially graceful ways.

vi. Assist aggressive children – troubled and isolated children have troubled and

isolated families (Hartup & Moore 1990; Kelly 1996). Instead, you will

need to : a) build a close relationship with these children b) teach the

children how to enter a group without disrupting its ongoing activity

(Kelly 1996) c) guide them to make more accurate interpretations of

others’ intent and to overlook occasional mistakes by playmates (Asher

1983; Kasturada & Sugawara 1998) d) teach recipients of aggression how

to negotiate with rather than to reject the aggressor, so that rejection does

not provoke further instances of aggression (Arnold et. al. 1999) e) allow

recipients of aggression some time to be assertive independently to

establish their own place in the group hierarchy (Farver 1996) f) if safety

becomes an issue or resolution is not speedy, step in to protect recipients

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from intimidation (Arnold et. al. 1999) g) give aggressors alternative

opportunities to lead and exercise autonomy h) consider social skills

coaching for all members of an aggressive child’s clique i) foster cohesion

within the peer group j) support parents to improve their bond with their

children without using controlling disciplinary methods k) encourage

parents to provide additional opportunities for the children to practice

prosocial skills in relationships with family or other children (Hartup &

Moore 1990).

CONCLUSION

A crucial part of any early childhood program is safeguarding the emotional needs that

deserve consideration, while children with atypical development can experience

additional emotional and social challenges.

If young children are having difficulty learning social skills naturally, early

childhood is an ideal time to intervene: children of this age are motivated to play socially

so they are willing to be guided by adults, and there are many natural opportunities every

day to be taught social skill. Nevertheless, antisocial behavior might arise not because

children do not know the pro-social alternative but because their aggression works for

them.
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