Salvatore Sasso

Headmaster 138° Circolo “G.B. Basile”

Rome, november 3-5 2010

No single country, by it self, hasthe right solution or the experienceto find it.

SWEDEN

BULGARIA

ROMANIA

CYPRUS

SLOVENIA

TURKEY

ITALY

IndividualSupport

Plan

ChildObservation

Strategies ofimplementation

Risk factors in learning, reading and writing in pre-primary school Difficulties in language development:

- confusion about sound perception- incomplete sentences- inadequate syntax.

Risk factors in learning, reading and writing in pre-primary school Inadequate phonological control:

- substitution of letters such as s/z - r/l - p/b- omission of letters and parts of words- inadequate use of words in a specific context- lack of ability in linguistic games- lack of ability in inventing simple stories- lack of ability in finding out rhymes or inventing them- lack of ability in isolating the first or last sound in a word

Difficulty in making metaphonological exercises:i.e. – “Sunday": if I take off “ day“ what will remain?

Risk factors in learning, reading and writing in pre-primary school

Difficulty in copyng from a model and disorder on the sheet space

Risk factors in learning, reading and writing in pre-primary school Disturbance in short-term memory

- difficulty in learning rhymes

Difficulty in attention

Difficulty in fine manuality

- stressed clumsiness in dressing, lacing up shoes, rearranging

Inadequate recognition of right/ left - difficulty in repeating rythmical sequences and in keeping time

Difficulty in reading and writing in primary school Disturbance in reading (decodifying): • deficit in visual abilities• deficit in phonological abilities • deficit in spelling abilities • mixed deficit

Disturbance in text comprehention • difficulty in cognitive – linguistics abilities (lessical, semantic...) • difficulty in controlling the comprehention process (low metacognitive level, problems

in short-term memory...)

Disturbance in writing• deficit in phonological abilities • deficit in spelling abilities • deficit in composition • difficulties in prassie ( the set of voluntary praxis movements made in order to achieve a

result or a goal)

Difficulty in making calculations in primary school• lessical deficit of number

• deficit in storing and recovering numerical facts

• deficit in the acquisition of number syntax (positional value)

• secondary deficit and visuo-spatial disorders

• deficit in problem solving

Nonverbal or visuo-spatialsyndrome of learning in primaryschool• significant discrepancy between linguistic abilities

(preserved) and visuo – spatial abilities(compromised), valued through the administration ofWISC-R.

• deficit in visuo-spatial work memory

• alteration in speedy and exactness of the visualstimulus elaboration

• alteration in visual attention processes combined withlearning difficulties in calculation and/or problemsolving

emotions

relationships

Cognitive development

Strategies and methods ofcognition

(metacognition)

Target ofobservation

ChildObservationto identifylearning

difficulties

Templatesof

observation

ChildDevelopoment

Checklist

(Sasso, 2007)

International Classification of

functioning disability and

health for Children and Youth

(WHO, 2007)

Questionnaires of selected codes from the draft version of the ICF-CY for use in the field trial:- Version 1.B, 3-6 years (for field trial purpose only);- Version 1.C, 6-12 years (for research purpose only)

Questionnaire of selected codes from the draft version of the C.D.C.- Version 3-6 years (for field trial purpose only);.

A common language for the healthof children and youth

The choice of ICF-CY It’s a means allowing to classify each individual’s

problems in the light of different factors which couldstop or help his development

Child development strategy

Learningdifficulty

FACILITATOR

BARRIERS

The individual body functions and structuresactivity/partecipation

Interaction between the child and the closeenvironment –activity/partecipation, environment

Interaction betweenpersons in the closeenvironment -environment

The indirect environment– service providers, environment

Macro-level: society, economy, laws, environment

Probematic family, different culture, difficult social situation,hostile attitudes, lack in services and resources…

A multidimensional model

Physical conditions

Contextual factors

Ambient Personal

Body functions

Body structures

Personal activities Social participation

Various diseases, acute or chronic

Difficulties in holding social roles , in takingpart in different social situations of varioussettings and environments

Scarce self-esteem, excessive emotionalreactions, poor motivation

Poor abilities in learning, in usingknowledge, in planning actions, in communicating

Visual, motory, attention deficits

Lack of a limb, of a part of the cortex…

ICF-CY: A multidimensional modelcombination of multiple vectors offunctioning

Self Care

Cognition

Education

Social activitiesOverall

Mobility

Hearing

Vision

Necessity for a version ofICF for children & youth

Nature and form of functioning,in children are different than in adult individuals.

Child is a “moving target” in the classification offunctioning.

Indicators of functional risk factors is crucial forprevention and early intervention.

Conventions, laws and acts for the rightsof children

1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: article 23

Standard Rules forEqualization ofOpportunities

Salamanca Statement on the Right to Education

Education for All-WorldEducation Forum

Different national Acts foreducation and health forperson with disabilities

Child development in transactionalprocesses

The interactive ICF-model hasthe potential to cover criticalaspects of child development

From dependency on others for all activities in infancy towardphysical, social and psychological maturity and indipendence in adolescence

The child’s functioning is dependent on continuoustransactions with the proximalenvironment

The crucial role of the physicaland social environment

Use of ICF-CY in intervention Profile of functioning, activities and partecipation to

complement/clarify diagnoses

Inclusion of environmental factors

Biopsychosocial framework of person- environmentinteraction as basis for individualized treatment planning

Clarification of partecipants roles in intervention

Psychological point of view The ICF teaches us to observe each situation in a global,

interconnected way, relating all the different factors.

Building and development of

identity

Actions

Targets

Motivations

Competences

Locus ofcontrol Self-esteem

Self-efficacy

Organizing individualizationPupil’s characteristics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1

011 12 13 14 15 16

Physical conditions

Body structures

Body functions

Personal activities

Social participation

Ambient contextualfactors

Personal contextualfactors

0= no problems, the situation can remain the same

1= low need of individualization

2= medium need of individualization

3= strong need of individualization

4= very strong need of individualization

Resources categories for individualization

1. School organization (times, routines, activities, classes formation...)

2. Spaces management and architectural aspects

3. Partnership and extra-school relations (with social services andtown council agents, with families, with community associations)

4. Forming ad specific updating needs about important competences

5. Needs for documentation, for experiences exchange, for contactingother schools having already experienced similar situations

6. Ordinary didactic methods (modifications)

7. Ordinary didactic matherial (modifications)

8. Individual didactics (in addition to the previous one and nototherwise)

9. Specific individual didactic matherial

Resources categories for individualization

10. Ordinary forming educational interventions (that is, activitiesregarding the autonomy of all pupils)

11. Individual forming educational interventions (that is, a teaching-learning course about the use of public transport, only for thedisabled pupil)

12. Ordinary relational educational interventions (that is, activities ofsocial-emotional familiarization, or of elaboration of formativecontract, or of development of the interpersonal competences for allpupils)

13. Individual relational educational interventions (that is, a course foremotions recognition, or about the teaching-learning of the abilityof controlling anger, only for the disabled pupil)

14. Supporting tools and technologies

15. Rehabilitative treatments

16. Health therapeutic interventions

Child development Checklist- CDC (Sasso, 2007) Observation is a kind of strategic model allowing to

point out the connections among experiences,possibilities, abilities and competences which form,are structured, develop and change all life long. In thecase of a child in pre-primary and primary school, thisforming period can be said life short (long) learning(short=childood)

So observation is not only a mean but also an aim, thatis, the necessity to highlight in daily routine allinformation consenting to go on the dynamic buildingof an individual planning for educational activities.

What is to observe: the contents to detect

Each moment in a school day offers importantobservation situations which consent to create achild profile, in the light of his/her experience athome or at school.

The main contents, consent to work out anindividual map for each child.

Observation areasSelf care

Mobility

General tasksand demands

Main life areasInterpersonal

interactions and relations

Communication

Learning and knowledge

applications

Personal autonomy area

Self care

Mobility

General tasksand demands

Main lfeareas

Relational area

Interpersonal interactionsand relations

ComplexSimple

Communication area

Communication VerbalNot-verbal

Learning area

Learningand

knowledgeapplication

Basiclearning

Knowledgeapplication

Intentionalsensory

experiences

Template for an Individual Support Plan

WebsiteParents guide

Teachersguide

Strategies of implementationproject to prevent learningdifficulties

1. Information about pupil

2. Observationchecklist

3. Behaviour, situations, context in whichthe pupilexpresses his/herbest abilities(strong points) and mostimportantdifficulties(weak points)

4. Strategies usedby the school toface the problemand alreadyactivatedresources

Collaborationbetween pre-prymaryand primary school

teachers

Knowledge ofindividual difficulties

by teachers

Reorientation ofpupils to new learning

processes

Overcome the lack ofunderstanding

between PP and P school teachers

Overcome fear and uncertainty in the

new learning process

Overcome anyprejudice in the peer

group

The strategies of the project

To sharedindividual

support plan

Fromfocus on

ourpractices

And ourprotocols

Salvatore Sasso

Headmaster 138° Circolo “G.B. Basile”

Rome, november 3-5 2010

IS IT POSSIBLE TO AVOID LEARNING

DIFFICULTIES TO THE LITTLE PUPILS?

AND IF SO…HOW?

Specific Disorders oflearning

Reading

CalculationOrthography

DYSLEXIA

DYSORTHOGRAPHY

COMBINED DISORDER

ORTHOGRAPHY + CALCOLATION

Nonspecific Disorders

of learning:Cognitive baggage borderline

Mental retardation

or any other

framework within which

are compromised

all Learning areas

(Personality Disorder)

DYSCALCULIA

Nonverbal disorder

or visuo-spatial

syndrome?

Attention-

Deficit/Hy

peractivity

Disorder

(ADHD)

DSA The DSA are generally characterized as slow elaboration of the stimulus, for a

slow pace of learning.

These are disorders whose diagnosis requires the exclusion of neurological causes underlying the problem (Children’s Cerebral Palsy, or a physical impediment), a hearing disability, an emotional problem;

It is also necessary to exclude a general development retardation as in the case of mental insufficiency.

These disorders are also characterized by significant changes in the manifestation of symptoms in relation to age (expression of the disorder, eg. hephonological control in specific language disturbance of phonetic-phonological type; the typical errors in reading disorders, etc.. ).

Learning Difficulties

Neuropsychological/neurolinguistics

rating

Intellective testReading/ writing testLanguage testVisual-spatial-praxic test

Anamnestic Interview

Affective-relationalCognitive

Metacognitivecompetences

Compences:Reading/writingMetaphonologic

LinguisticVisuo-SpatialMotor-praxic

AttentionVerbal memory

Visuo-spatial memory

Specific Learning DeficitAnswer interview

DSAAssessment of

orientation

Neurological Examination

EEGOculistic Exam

Audiometric Test

Other evaluation

PsychodiagnosticalEvaluation

yes

no

yes

no

Mediators

Central Cognitive System

Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

Mediators

Central Cognitive System

Generalized Learning Disability

Mediators

Central Cognitive System

Learning Disability due to sensorydeficit

Mediators

Central Cognitive System

Functional structure of the cognitive system

Mo

du

lar syste

m

Mo

du

lar syste

m

The cognitive system specific qualities

Specific qualities can be assumed onlysupposing a “modular” structure of the cognitive system and a “fragmentation” of itshidden functioning in specific elaboratingcomponents and processes.

Outside environments

DEFINITION

Clinicians and researchers agree that learning deficits are "specific-domain," meaning that the processing of certain information is compromised, although we very often test the presence of deficits associations and significant relationships between different domains reported (eg, Reading Disorder and Disorder of the calculation).

Therefore, the SLD are developmental disorders in writing, reading and calculating in absence of sensory, neurological, psychiatric, cognitive disorders and severe school and socio-cultural shortages.

Screening certainly can not talk about dyslexia, and then make a diagnosis.

It highlights only those children who are at risk of having a disorder such as dyslexia(or developing it, if screening is done on pre-requirements to 5 years) and should be evaluated by specialists as soon as possible.

For this reason we talk about : False positives =

Children who are bad at screening but once done the complete evaluation they are "healthy”.

False negatives =

Children who manage to pass the screening despite the presence of a specific difficulty that, in this case, did not emerge.

Each school work out itsForming Offer Plane

in accordance with all its components. The plane is the identity card

for each school.Our F.O.P.

is the official document whichgive an answer to the schoolambiental context demands,

respecting the general educational objectives given at a national level.

It addresses to:

PARENTS

SCHOOLOPERATORS

SCHOOLORGANS

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCHOOL

The FormingOfferPlane

Inspiring principles

F.O.P.ESSENTIALPRINCIPLES

LEGALITY

RESEARCH

QUALITYSTRATEGIES

SOLIDARITY

Best practices at Basile School Inclusion Project of all children

Chess project (National Champions under 11)

Music project

Psychomotricity in swimming-pool

“Bridge” Project (“ Progetto Ponte”)

Bandinelli strategy

Training activities

At school with brain, mind

and body

Informative questionnaire

about the didactic

organization of teaching-

learning and evaluation-

selfevaluation processes

Identifying and observation of

learning disabilities and need

cases in the classroom

Listening psychological

window

Operative working groups

between parents and teachers

Familiar advices

Reflection about the hidden

didactics

ICF-CY

Checklist to codify someone’s

functioning profile and to

understand if his living

environment is a barrier or a

facilitation for him

I CARE

Project

Multidimensionality

and Plurality

The personalized project for a

child with disability in the

light of ICF-CY classification

PDF Shared vision

PEI

Pupil’s personalized plan

IPDA

Observation questionnaire

osservativo for an early

identification of learning

disabilities in 5 years old

children

Medico-psycho-socio-

pedagogical team of “I

CARE” Project

City Council - Local Health

Authority - School

Training for teachers and

parents

Tools Resources Objectives

Inclusive education

Adaptation

ofCurriculum

objectives

ofteaching

strategiesthrough

oflearningcontext

additional semplified alternativeAddition

ofinputs

Modificationsof pupil’soutputs

Where? When?With

whom?

Hidden DidacticsIn the expression hidden didatcics we can include allthe dimensions composing the “forming setting" inwhich the teacher’s intentional action develops.Among these :

space managment, relating both to the variety andcharacteristics of the ambients used for the didacticaction, and to the classroom structuring (desks andfurniture disposal, specific corners and spacespreparation, didactic matherial placing…);

Hidden didactics time managment, relating to the sequence of the

didactic process (subjects, teachers, work methods)and to the didactic activities structuring;

the pupils’ grouping modalities , relating to thealternation of individual activities, in pair activities,little groups, big groups;

Hidden didactics the structuring degree of didactic delle proposals,

relating to the autonomy given to all pupils inmanaging the different works;

The rules, avowed or not, regulating the relational andfunctioning modalities of the class group;

the communication channels through which therelationship between teacher and pupils develops,above all the non-verbal communication and theprosodic and sovrasegmental aspects of verbalcommunication.

Teachers training

Forming courses for school operators and families,regarding:

• The quality of didactic strategies (Bandinelli methodand metacognitive didactics)

• The life project, including school and extra schooleducational routes in local ambit

• Network activities among schools, institutions,associations (medico-socio-psycho-pedagogical team)

Project “Bridge year” to help children aged 5 to pass in primary schoolWith the aim of:

1. facilitating the pupils’ transaction from pre-primary to primary school;

2. Early identifying of possible learning difficulties about reading, writing and calculation;

3. Motivating pupils to active participation in the teaching-learning process;

The life project is…

Thinking in a future outlook

A double thought

to imagine, to deam up, towish, to aim, to want…

(warm thought)

To prepare necessary acts, toforesee different stages, tomanage times, to weight prosand cons, to understand the feasibility…

(cold thought)

Forming experience in Balint Groups

4. adopting methodologies allowing to face and to overcome possible obstacles to the learning process;

5. working out the educational, didactic continuitybetween pre-primary and primary school;

6. structuring the right learning environment to give ananswer to all demands of each school subject;

We made the choice to organize and structurethe teaching-learning activities using innovative strategies.

Project “Bridge year” to help children aged 5 to pass in primary school

Purposes

The Project wanted to face, and to solve if possible, those problems not allowing all pupils to reach resultsadequated to their own possibilities, stopping them tolevels not corresponding to their real performancesand competences.

General aims

To promote a supplemented and right developmentmaking the individual able to represent and benefitfrom messages through a coscious use of schoollearning (internal locus of control).

Specific Objectives

Offer situations and tools to master the learning requirements in a supportive environment that assists the educational activity of teachers.

Progress about:- attention- memorization- decisional ability- intellectual efficiency- creativity- training commitment and organization methodology of

the study

Receivers

All pupils in first class and one section of the kindergarten of this institute.

There were involved 112 pupils

Operational Details

• Among the methodological and teaching strategies we can find those based on educational principles of Angela Carlino Bandinelli and Giacomo Stella.

• Epidemiological data show that it is highly likely that in any class there are pupils with specific learning disabilities (sld), and so it was planned the following route operating:

Operational Route Observation of performance considered as risk

indicators

Analysis of productions, spontaneous and induced, of the pupils

Formal evaluation of the same to identify those whoneed assistance in different areas

Designing of activities aimed at overcoming the difficulties through cognitive strengthening

Operational Route Designing of activities in the use of computer

technology for pupils who have difficulty performing normal teaching activities.

Designing of activities aimed to allow an appropriate development to those pupils who are in state of excellence.

Application of special teaching methods for the individualization of teaching

Operational Route Check of the projectual programmed situation every

two weeks, through the comparison among teachersabout both the used methodologic modalities and their relapse on pupils’ production.

Check of the teaching-learning process through the arranged check lists.

New programmations following the changes in the route.

Monitoring, check and validationof the project

The project was controlled during its relization.

With these monitoring activities we noted:

the incidence on development of all the abilities related to metacognitive learning process; the phonological competences; the communicationcpmpetences; the ability to work in groups; the knowledge of contents; the basic competences(writing, reading, calculation); the ability in carringout simple orders.

Metacognitive processes and courses In the ambit of dyslexia we can consider three

elements, related to the Vygotskji’s Theory, which Itraced in a study of mine, named “Mal di scuola”, aboutthe connection between psychosomatic reactions andlearning difficulties.

One of the main difficulties for children with cognitiveretardation, is that they don’t think over what they do,or they do it little and really superficially.

Teaching-learning processes andcourses Social competence, and then the individual one,

develop in a proportionate way to the considerationand consciousness degree about what someone isdoing.

School therefore can’t restrict itself to teachingprocesses, but it must help children to learn thinkingover what they are doing (metacognitive didactics).

Three essential elements ofVygotskji’s Theory

Positive atmosphere

Socialized learning in the area of proximal

development

Interiorization ofsocializedknowledge

external to the subject

The family’s role The role of family is determinant, too, both in the

acquisition and in the maintenance of metacognitivecompetences.

The public aknowledgment of acquired competenceshas a fundamental value in pupil’s appreciation.

Considerations It would be easier for teachers to work out a Life

Project as:

1. they can analyse a competence wanted by a specificcontext in a series of abilities;

2. they can plan gradual learning courses about theseabilities;

3. they can realize teaching-learning methods directedto the involved contexts and directly experienced inreal life.

Considerations…but…

1. For many teachers it’s difficult to orient themselvesto a Life Project, perhaps as they are bound to aprogramme “to be done”.

2. For some parents a real fear exsists, due to possiblefrustrations.

One aim of ours is to elaborate these “resistances”!