Learning Disorders Management & Child Psychology

Course details

This 13 month part-time programme of study is designed specifically to train potential teachers, parents and caregivers to identify, detect and support children with special needs.

Objectives

• Have a basic knowledge of the key theories and stages of child development, educational theory, and the characteristics of the common types of disabilities;
• Have the skills necessary for the identification of specific disabilities and understand the diagnosis and assessment of individual weaknesses;
• Be able to develop competency in a range of teaching skills to suit the needs of the children being taught; and
• Be able to plan and evaluate individualized intervention programmes for their own area of disability specialization.
• To be able to access the different resources to support the integration of a child with special needs
• To be able to work with educationalists and therapists to provide counsel and support to parents with special needs children
• To acquire a strong foundation in the areas of speech and language development, child psychology, abnormal psychology and counseling.

Programme Structure

• The programme begins by introducing student teachers to the theories and stages of developmental psychology and then moves on to the nature of special needs. The main focus will be for the students to be familiar with the most common learning disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Disorders, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia. Students will be exposed to the identification processes, diagnosis processes and intervention strategies for individuals with these needs. Students will then be trained to help children develop their literacy skills and communication skills. The programme is highly practice-oriented to ensure a direct linkage with the real issues and problems encountered by the student teachers in their special classes. The students go on to acquire the critical foundational skills of counseling needed to work with children and the parents of children with special needs. 

Four Major Areas of Study

Child Psychology

• Developmental Psychology: Theories of child development.
• Developmental Psychology: Developmental stages and processes.

Learning Disorders Management

• Learning Disorders Management: Foundation to special needs.
• Guidance of Exceptional Children: Intervention strategies

Speech and Language Development

• Speech and language development: theories and practice (1)
• Speech and language development: theories and practice (2)

Counseling

• Counseling Theories
• Counseling Skills

Supervised Practicum

• Practical Training

Entry Requirements

• Candidates should possess at least passes in 3 'O' Level subjects including a pass in English obtained at the GCE 'O' Level (English) Singapore-Cambridge Examination;

Modules description

Developmental Psychology: Theories of child development.

• This module covers the basics of how we get our knowledge and information about children- how research on children's behavior is conducted. It includes the ideas and principles -the major developmental theories- that we use to explain children's behavior and structure our information about them.

Developmental Psychology: Developmental stages and processes.

• This module covers the developmental stages of a child from age 0-12.
• It focuses on the major milestones of developments in areas of cognitive development, language and literacy development, physical development, social and emotional development.

Learning Disorders Management: Foundation to special needs.

• This module introduces the diverse needs of exceptional children. It focuses onto 4 common learning disorders; Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Disorders, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. Students will understand the theories, characteristics and issues concerning these learning disorders.

Learning Disorders Management: Intervention strategies.

• This module will go into the different intervention strategies applied for the different disorders covered in module 3. Students will have an in-depth understanding of the strengths, limitations and applications of each of the different intervention strategies.

Speech and language Development: Theories and practice

• Students will understand the importance of speech and language and be introduced to the functions of the speech organs. The module will then go on to train the teachers in areas of applied linguistics topics such as phonetics and phonology.

Counseling: Counseling Theories.

• This module will cover the importance and functions of counseling. Students will acquire knowledge in the history, concepts, strengths and limitations of the different models of psychotherapy.

Counseling: Counseling Skills.

• This module covers the basics skills and ethics in counseling. It includes the key attributes of a counselor and trains the students to have skills in active listening, attending and problems solving in relation to counseling. Students will also be practicing techniques from the Egan's model and applications of psychotherapy for children.

Supervised practicum

• Students will be attached to special needs school to gain practical experience working with special needs children under supervision. At the end of the attachment, students are required to submit a written report for assessment.