Do you have a toddler at home who remains hyperactive well past midnight? Then it is important you introduce the concept of ‘white noise’ at home. That is, make the child hear a mundane repetitive sound, such as of a washing machine. It will lull the child to sleep after a few trials, says Sue Macleod, who has spent last four decades working with children with spectrum disorder.
Many times parents are dismissive of their child’s behaviour as something very common to being “naughty” or a “bundle of energy” and on most occasions do not think something could be wrong. But as Sue says, it needs that discerning eye and the sensitivity to understand the organic and genetic underpinnings of someone’s approach to life. “You cannot treat personality without understanding the brain,” says the behavioural therapist from Belfast, Ireland.
A teacher with 37 years of experience, she holds a bachelor’s in education and masters in special education, Sue believes in embracing differences, approaching every individual with human touch and based on need and constantly evolving methodologies for assessment, diagnosis and evaluation . That is why her first ever trip to India was important last month. “I knew the takeaways would be plenty,” says Sue, who in 2009 researched, developed and pioneered resource kits for parents and teachers of pre-schoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. And yet when she spent days at Anbagam Special School and Home for Mentally Challenged in Madurai, she was both taken aback and impressed by the minimum resources but maximum assistance through yoga and cultural connect here.
“Back home everything is gadget-driven and kids are always sitting in chairs and at customised tables. But here everybody is on floor mats and there is an instant friendliness and openness, warmth and acceptance” she says.
The mother of two and a grandmother of four at 60, Sue joined yoga classes for the first time here. “I saw the students and staff at Anbagam do yoga daily and wanted to experience the benefits. The children are so flexible and yoga works as a good therapy for the body and the mind. There is an element of happiness in doing it,” she says. Meditation and focus is something she is contemplating on integrating now.
Sue started off as a volunteer in Birmingham with children with special needs when she was just 17. At that age to be able to help someone gave her immense satisfaction and it was only in later years that she decided to study further and specialise in the subject. What Sue understood quickly in the seventies was that while everybody gets busy with therapies and appointments while treating children with ADD, ASD or AHD, few pay attention to the varying levels of needs and how children require to be reassigned activities and learn based on their needs and capacities.
Regardless of diagnosis, I like to understand a person’s style, says Sue. Because of an early interest in the organic nature of personality, she gravitated toward learning differences, and developmental problems. Stress management and mindful parenting followed simultaneously. Sue is so empathic and caring that the ease with which she sees and talks about a child is visible even during a general conversation. “Health challenges are part of life and they cannot prevent a person from being a person,” asserts this cancer survivor who moved to Belfast 16 years ago and rededicated herself to formal assessments and intervention programmes for children with special needs.
“Early, timely and positive behavioural and health interventions are important to see improvement in the range of behaviour of special children and their other life skills and goals like task learning, time management, goal setting, problem solving and academics,” she says. A fixed syllabus and approach does not necessarily help always, she notes, sharing an example from her daily visits to Anbagam. She observed a little girl refusing to sit in the class room. “She turned cranky each time the teacher gave a task. I went and sat in the room with the girl on my lap. It changed everything and many times small gestures like these impact like nothing else,” she adds.
Even if learning environment is safe, it is crucial to help children build their confidence, says Sue. She understands disruptive students can certainly be a challenge. That is why she advocates structures in place that support the behaviour change and culture shift that is sensitive to emotional vulnerabilities of students and wellness needs of caregivers. “We have to move beyond the usual platitudes because the only thing children with special needs seek is acceptance and inclusion, warmth and feel --like any other child,” she adds.
The evidence is clear. Addressing mental health in schools, homes, public spaces with a feeling and and understanding fosters a climate healthier and happier for the kids and more supportive of teachers and parents. A beautiful person is found, as is said, only with the heart, not with the eyes.
