How To Teach Acceptance To Typical Peers Of Special Kids?

Dr Puja Kapoor shares a few tips to promote kindness in neurotypical children.

Promoting Empathy And Understanding: Every child is different and has unique abilities. This understanding by a neurotypical child would help embrace his special needs peer age group with compassion and empathy. Dr Puja Kapoor: Pediatric Neurologist & Co-founder of Continua Kids, shares a few tips to promote kindness in neurotypical children.

Set a Positive Example: Parents have a unique ability to influence their kids. How a parent behaves/addresses a special needs child is what the child will imbibe. If an adult ignores disabled people when they are around, they would follow the insight and replicate the same. Parents can set a positive example by following and depicting what they teach in their deeds. Making fun of the special needs child by a parent would also instil the same in the child’s mind.
Dart for Pathways to Practice Compassion: Please let your child rehearse performance by overcoming bullying and prohibiting any behaviour that causes their disabled peers uncomfortable. Invite the family of a disabled child over to your home. The more a parent can normalize the disabilities of the invited child, the more his child will understand others’ concerns and outlooks. It will make the circumstances better for special needs children.
Do not get ashamed: Occasionally, a kid may request complex queries about disabilities, starting a grown-up to expose a kid to forget the distinctions they follow. This approach would raise suspicion about the person with the disability. It may also imply something shameful about someone different from a non-disabled child. Utilize the point to introduce a kid’s understanding and compassion.
Quench the Curiosity: Why is the child behaving/ acting so differently? Use the opportunity to educate the child about special needs children. This will help the child to understand the perspective and purpose of other child behaviour. The more the child understands, the more compassionate he will become.
Focus on the Positive: Describe the disability in a fact-based manner. Another excellent method to plant favour and kindness in a kid is to request them how they would judge if they could not do some of the items they value. This exercise would help them to understand the special child’s emotions in a better way.
Always be ready with straightforward questions like: Why is that boy in a wheelchair? Or Why is that child not talking? Quenching their curiosity with reasonable answers will make them understand the reason behind other child disability.