Would my child be able to cope in school? Would s/he be able to catch up in class? Would s/he have friends? How will my child cope with transitions and adjustments? These are just a few of the numerous concerns which would worry any parent, regardless of the child being in a special education or mainstream school.
At Psych Connect, our team understands that adjusting and thriving in a school environment can be stressful and challenging for some children, especially children who have differentiated social, emotional, behavioral and learning needs. We believe that these children would benefit from individualised attention and care to thrive in school.
We provide Shadow Support for children on top of our existing programs. Students with behavioural issues, high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, severe language learning difficulties, mild cognitive deficits, developmental delays, medical conditions (such as Cerebral Palsy, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and/or ADHD may require shadow support as they may struggle to integrate into classrooms and schools.
Who are our Shadow Teachers?
Shadow support (sometimes called a shadow teacher) is a trained professional who can help a struggling student learn effectively and integrate with a mainstream school environment. Studies have shown that when these students are given the appropriate level of shadow support, they can thrive in a mainstream environment. At Psych Connect, our Shadow Teachers are trained Educational Therapists. They have a minimum of a Master Degree in Special Education. Henceforth, having specialization in supporting children with a range of needs.
Why seek Shadow Support at Psych Connect?
We are committed to ensuring that our students benefit from the support provided to them. As such, children who are receiving shadow support with us, are provided additional educational therapy services. By taking adding these additional steps, we provide a wrap around program which ensures consistency across the home and school setting; allowing increased learning opportunities and hopefully, reduced time in intervention.
What do our Shadow Teachers do?
- Offer personal attention and care to support your child’s unique needs and abilities
- Provide ongoing feedback to key stakeholders (teachers, therapy team and parents) on the child’s progress
- Guide effective classroom learning
- Facilitate yout child’s seamless integration into the school setting
- Encourage your child to participate actively in class
- Helping your child to cope with classroom curriculum on a “here and now” real-time basis
- Supporting classroom teachers in understand your child’s strengths, challenges and learning needs
- Creating opportunities where your child could practise social skills
- Teach your child essential social skills to build and/or improve social interactions with peers and teachers
- Redirects your child back to the task when they lose attention
- Faciliate the incorporation of strategies into school life as per the IEP Goals
- Work towards increasing your child’s independence in school so that the need for shadow support can be eliminated over time
A great shadow is a wonderful asset to a student’s learning experience in school.