Having been engaged in special education for more than a quarter of a century, I have learnt much from close to a thousand students, and I would like to share my experience here with you.

1. Do not label children

Many people label children who are more active, like to do their own thing, or have poor memories, as having special needs. Special Education Needs (SEN) children refers to children with unique learning difficulties when learning a standard curriculum. They need different learning approaches and a different curriculum. People who are not curriculum designers should not misuse this term.

2. Respect children, do not take over from them

I have observed volunteers participating in activities for SEN children, who complete the children’s tasks “on their behalf”, then yelling in excitement, or “encouraging” students with a smile. As a result, I’ve seen many students just give up trying, letting others do the task instead. Since the final results were not achieved by the children’s own effort, they were often expressionless at the end of the activities. Shouldn’t volunteers be more patient, allowing students to take the initiative to participate? Shouldn’t they observe the abilities of each child and adjust the difficulty level of the task? Shouldn’t teaching assistants make the effort to discover and appreciate the unique strengths of the students? Or are they just playing a controlling role?

3. Appreciate the children, and reflect on myself

I have learnt from many children to be humble and to change my perspective. Children are independent individuals. I do not know whether they will cooperate with me or show me respect, so I have to adjust my expectations and ideas. In fact, as I help children with special needs grow, I too grow as a person.