Sometimes the physical therapist, speech therapist or hearing therapist visits and works in the classroom, and sometimes the child works separately with them. It's essential for parents, teachers and specialists to draw on one another's strengths and knowledge about the child, his abilities and disabilities. When including a child with a disability in a group, parents and teachers may feel uncomfortable finding a way for children and adults to understand how to relate to this child. Specialists can help with this understanding. It's vital to treat this child like the other children while, at the same time, use common sense about what's reasonable to expect.
All children have a lot in common no matter what their abilities or disabilities.
They need affection, reasonable expectations, the opportunity to play, to experience as much physical exercise as possible, and the opportunity to belong to a group and have friends. The adult who sees beyond the disability to the typical child inside, offers the child a wonderful opportunity to develop fully. Mental Retardation Mental retardation, or slower learning, ranges from extreme to mild lags in development. The flexibility of today's child care centers means that many mildly and moderately delayed children can, with a little extra effort on the teacher's part, fit quite comfortably into the group. When caring for children who are moderately delayed learners, there are some basic principles to remember.