HELPING MALADJUSTED CHILDREN

Chapter 24

HELPING MALADJUSTED CHILDREN

The Chapter at a Glance

The general guiding principles.

Specific techniques of helping maladjusted children.

Paramount significance of mental health.

        A teacher can prevent and treat innumerable varieties of maladjustment amongst school children. Much depends upon his approach towards problems incidental to the school situation, class discipline, children's problems, etc. A healthy approach towards these matters prevents many a child from developing any serious trouble at the school and afterwards.

            The main principles which can aid a school teacher in the task of understanding and helping the maladjusted child can be grouped under two major categories as follows:—

            A. The general guiding principles.

            B. The specific techniques.

     Careful observation of children's everyday problems and critical study of the literature on mental health and hygiene are sufficient to guide a teacher in the formulation of certain general principles which could help him immensely in handling mal­adjusted children.

The General Guiding Principles

            Some of the commonly enunciated principles of a general nature are as follows:—

            (1) Understanding the individual child.

            (2) Providing adequate emotional nourishment.

            (3) Removal of frustrating causes.

            (4) Positive emphasis in teaching and treatment.

            (5) Need for balance and consistency.

            (6) Moral and religious development.

            (7) Role of teacher’s own mental health.

            (8) Cooperation with the parents.

            (9) Cooperation with the guidance service.

 (1)   Understanding the individual child: Each child’s personality is unique and his peculiar point of view attention worthy. The teacher should endeavor to understand the specific factors that cause maladjustment in a particular child. He should avoid relying on dogmatic generalizations both in understanding as well as in guiding the children.

(2)  Providing Adequate Emotional Nourishment: Affection and security are the basic emotional diet of children. Without this, no academic instruction or program of personality and character development can proceed smoothly. Lack of proper emotional nourishment promotes maladjusted behavior.

     A teacher should, therefore, provide all the emotional warmth, friendliness and companionship to the child that is favorable to his proper intellectual and mental growth.

(3)  Removal of the Frustrating Causes: Maladjustment may also result from some physical defect or disease. If the teacher can help such a child in overcoming the defect or getting his disease treated by an expert, he will succeed in readjusting the child by this simple process of removal of the frustrating cause.

      Similarly, whenever possible, a particular frustrating factor or situation, etc. which causes maladjustment in the child should be removed to pave the way for improvement and adjustment.

(4)  Positive Emphasis in Teaching and Treatment: During his class instruction the emphasis of the teacher should be positive rather than negative. He should put premium on praise, encouragement, achievement and hope rather than ridicule, humiliation, disappointment, discouragement, fines and penalties.

Similarly, while handling a maladjusted child the spirit of his treatment should be positive and sympathetic. He should endeavor to understand, appreciate, encourage and guide rather than rely on frowns, threats and punishments.

(5) Need for Balance and Consistency: A teacher who adopts any extremist attitude in the class­room, e.g., over-affectionate or over-strict attitudes, promotes maladjustment among many children. Similarly, a teacher who changes like a weather-cock in his attitudes in the class-room impairs the mental health of his pupils.

            A balanced attitude towards children is extremely indis­pensable for their mental health and well-being. It must be neither too lax nor too strict. The teacher must strike a balance between the two extremes and then adhere consistently to the attitude adopted by him.

(6) Moral and Religious Development: Proper moral education of the child proves immensely helpful for him in facing many a mal-adjustive situation in life. A child who has been successfully taught to appreciate such moral values as justice, truthfulness, righteousness, patience, etc. is less likely to deviate into maladjustment. Such a child is fully equipped with an effective and enlightening inner force in the form of juicing values. These values and principles enable him to fight against many a tempting or frustrating situations in everyday life which otherwise may lead to maladjustment.

            Similarly, religious theory and practice can mould the thought and behavior of children very considerably. Love of Allah Almighty, the biographies of Prophets especially the last of the Prophets, Sahabah of Prophets and other pious personalities, the socializing influence of prayer, etc., pave the way for a sensible and ad­justed approach towards people, objects and situations.

            Care should, however, be taken to impart Islamic instruc­tion to the children in a very reasonable and methodical manner, otherwise it might lead to undesirable developments in him, e.g., fanaticism, bigotry, dogmatism, etc. Such unhealthy developments are liable to pave the way for much maladjustment rather than promote mental health which is the true aim of Islam. In fact teachings of Islam and reference to Quran & Sunnah, at appropriate stages of teachings, must be part and parcel of all the lessons of all the subjects right from the beginning of schooling in a very methodical and natural way.

(7) Role of Teacher's Own Mental Health: Perhaps the most significant way in which a school teacher can help the maladjusted children in his class is to improve his own mental health. If the teacher tries his best to be cheer­ful, co-operative, helpful, sympathetic and understanding all the time, the maladjusted child is most liable to be touched and stimulated by the wholesomeness of his attitude. Conversely, a mentally unhealthy teacher is bound to intensify the troubles of the maladjusted children all the more. He may as well even infect the normal and healthy children with the germs of maladjustment.

            It is, therefore, the moral and social duty of every teacher to cure himself of his emotional inadequacies. If self-under­standing, self-correction and the enlightened guidance of specialized literature on the subject fail to help him overcome his maladjustments he must hasten to seek expert psychological advice.

(8) Cooperation with the Parents: It is needless to point out that the active assistance and continued cooperation of the parents is indispensable to children to overcome their maladjustments.

            A teacher may exchange his observations and impressions regarding the child with the parents. Both the parties can thus educate each other in the problems arising from efforts to under­stand a maladjusted child. They may then outline and imple­ment jointly appropriate courses of action suitable to bring about an improved adjustment in him.

(9) Co-operation with the Guidance Services: Those cases of serious and unusual maladjustment which are baffling for a teacher could be referred to a child guidance clinic if its services are available in and around a school. The guidance services provided at the clinic can only be utilized to the maximum advantage of the maladjusted child if the class teacher co-operates with the clinic's staff.

            The teacher's cooperation includes the furnishing of rele­vant data about the child, attending the case conferences at the clinic and implementing the clinical suggestions regarding the readjustment of the child especially those that pertain to him and his general attitude towards children in the class.

Specific Techniques of Helping Maladjusted Children

            In addition to these general principles there are certain specific techniques which are suited for the understanding and treatment of the peculiar maladjustments of certain specifically handicapped categories of children.

            Some types of children prone to develop maladjustments of one kind or another, due to specific handicaps or exceptional qualities, or conditions, are: —

            (1) Physically handicapped children.

            (2) Gifted children.

             (3) Scholastically handicapped children.

             (4) Shy or isolated children.

            (5) Children with feelings of inferiority.

            (6) Poverty-stricken children.

            (7) Delinquent children.

            (8) Baffling children.

            In the following pages the peculiar maladjustments of these children, the specific techniques of helping them will be briefly discussed.

(1) Helping the Physically Handicapped Child: Physically handicapped or sickly children are unable to participate adequately and vigorously in the normal academic, recreational and social activities of the school. Unwise teachers and indulgent parents are most inclined to over-protect them because of their physical disability. The un-understanding class ­mates" and the street-chums, however, are apt to cut jokes at them. Such children are, therefore, liable to develop abnormal self-consciousness, excessive sensitivity, timidity, self-pity, inferiority feelings, withdrawing and introversion. These un­healthy mental developments intensify their maladjustment.

           Medical Treatment: The first step that a teacher, should adopt towards such children is an arrangement, for adequate medical, examination and treatment of the physical defect. With the cure of the defect the maladjustment is most liable to disappear. 

            Psychological Treatment: On the psychological side a very careful and individualized handling in the class-room does im­mense good to such children. No reference should be made to their defective physical conditions and inabilities. Academic standard should he relaxed considerably to suit the limited capacity of such children. Sense of achievement, appreciation from the teacher and an understanding attitude of the class­mates reduces most of their maladjustments.

(2) Guiding the Gifted Child:            The exceptional intellectual talents of the gifted child might too lead to maladjustments. The most frequent sources of maladjustment in such children have been enunciated by Louttit* as follows:—

    (a) Lack of teacher's recognition of superiority leading to an antagonism towards the school

            as an institution.

    (b) Lack of parental recognition of superiority with resulting lack of stimulation or even

             positive discouragement.

    (c)   Superiority over available associates so marked that social    adjustment is extremely

             difficult.

    (d) Development of poor study or work habits because of lack of stimulation of class-room-

             work  

    (e) Development of inferiority feelings because the child's interests and activities are not

             socially recognized by his group.

    (f)     Development of a boastful, conceited personality because of unwise emphasis by adults.

    (g)    One-sided personality development because of lack of normal social activities, resulting

           from parental inter­vention or from undue superiority feelings.

    Extra work and Social Education: Such a child obviously needs extra academic work in the class. The quality of this extra work should be appropriate to his superior intellectual ability. His social maladjustments can be removed by encourag­ing him to mix with the other children. This step will safeguard him against the possibility of snobbery and conceit taking roots in him.

(3) Assisting the Scholastically Handicapped Child:           The scholastically handicapped child is one who is incapable of keeping pace with the scholastic activities of the class. This might be due to dullness or backwardness, etc. Such a child experiences extreme strain and stress in connection with his academic problems. His position in the class is pathetic. He is perpetually in the grips of confusion, failure and frustration. The scorn and humiliation of his class-mates aggravate the situa­tion still further and pave the way for increased maladjustment.

            The teacher should provide such children appropriate opportunities to achieve success by doing less difficult academic work. Their achievements, however, insignificant they might be, should be appreciated by adequate praise. Other children in the class should be helped to understand such scholastically back­ward class-mates. They should be asked to refrain from ridicul­ing and humiliating their meager attainments. Such measures are apt to reduce the frustration and maladjustment of educa­tionally handicapped children.

(4) Socializing the Shy or the Isolated Child: The shy or isolated children refrain from mixing with other children. Consequently, they are liable to develop habits of suspicion, introversion, day-dreaming, etc. Gradual socialization is the proper cure for most of their maladjustments. The teacher should stimulate their interest, step by step, in various school group and extra-curricular activities.

            Their activities should be appreciated adequately. Care should, however, be taken to refrain from an appreciation of their personal qualities in the initial stages of their socialization for the obvious reason that a shy child feels embarrassed when his personal traits are being praised. Appreciation in the initial stages of their social education should, therefore, be directed towards their efforts at effective social interaction, participation in group games, etc., without involving any reference to their personalities.

(5) Encouraging the Child with Feelings of Inferiority: When there are considerable discrepancies between a child's actual achievement and the standard of his aspiration, inferiority feeling is the most likely to result. The most significant factors which are usually responsible for lowering the actual achievement level of a child are as follows:

            (a) Real or imagined physical defects.

            (b) Poor health.

            (c) Below normal mental capacity.

            (d) Low socio-economic status of the family.

            (e) Continued failure and frustration.

      On the other hand, the most important factors that tend to raise the level of a child's aspiration unduly are:

            (a)      Undue emphasis on his natural inabilities or shortcomings.

            (b)      Excessive competition in the school.

            (c)       Insistence by parents or teachers on too high or too idealistic standards.

       Two Reactions to Inferiority Feelings: The most undesirable reactions to inferiority can be grouped under the following two main kinds of maladjusted behavior:

            (a)      Aggressive behavior, and

            (b)      Recessive behavior.

Aggressive behavior includes delinquency, bullying, domineering, frequent and extremely irritating demonstration of attention-getting devices. Recessive behavior, on the other hand, includes self negation, timidity, shyness, awkwardness, clumsiness, jealousy, fear, perfectionism, day-dreaming and valetudinarianism.

            Need for Encouragement: A child, suffering from feelings of inferiority needs to be placed in a situation where it is possible for him to receive the legitimate achievement, attention and appreciation of teachers and class-mates. If the teacher labors a little, he is sure to discover some particular field of interest, activity, etc., wherein such a child can shine and possi­bly excel others. Encouragement to achieve distinction in this particular field can also go a long way towards reducing the adjustment of the inferior child.

(6)    Aiding the poverty Stricken Child: Much of the maladjustment of a number of our school children is the direct outcome of poverty and its associated factors. Health, food, clothing, books, and stationery are the main problems of a school child from a poverty-stricken family.

            Such a child is mal-nourished and sickly. Mal-nutrition is usually accompanied by irritability and indifference towards scholastic activities. Poor and inadequate clothing result in physical discomfort, clumsiness and inferiority feelings. Lack of books and stationery seriously impair his scholastic progress at the school.

            Psychological Consequences of Poverty: The collective result of all these adversities associated with poverty is that the child feels inferior, humiliated and insecure in the class. He might start stealing and even enter into the realm of full-fledged delinquencies.

             Financial Relief for the Child and his Family: Such an unfortunate and his hard-hit family needs immediate economic aid. Special funds should be kept at the school to provide medical relief, milk, clothes and books for poverty-stricken children and, if possible, even some financial assistance to their families.   Care should, however, be taken not to hammer the self-respect or the prestige of the poor children while offering them financial aids.

 (7) Readjusting the Delinquent Child: Delinquency, as we have seen, is a product of many causes. A delinquent child comes into clash with his class-mates, the society and the law. His readjustment requires a careful under­standing and treatment of the specific causes that incite him to delinquent behavior.

            It has often been found that interesting class-room activities, adequate group recreations and participation in organized games usually succeed in inculcating in the delinquent child a sense of respect for the law and moral values.

(8) Referring the Baffling child to a Clinic: Following the suggestions offered in the foregoing pages a teacher may well meet with some success in diagnosing and treating children who have become victims of one or another type of maladjustment.

            A baffling case, however, might arise with which the teacher fails to deal effectively. Such a case should be referred to the child guidance clinic, if one is available in and around the school campus.

Paramount Significance of Mental Health

            The problem of maladjustment at school and in other fields of life is indeed very serious. If maladjustment is left untreated during early years it is liable to develop into serious mental and social diseases in later life. It may then be the cause of great material and human loss. An effective treatment during the early stages of its manifestation is the soundest possible approach towards maladjustment. This is only possible by popularizing mental health and hygiene techniques among parents and teach­ers. Development of guidance services at schools is an essential step in this direction.

The Magnitude of the Problem

            The urgency of taking adequate steps in the field can be realized through an appreciation of the magnitude of the problem. The following extract from a report on the incidence of mental illness is very revealing:

            "The number of hospital beds devoted to the care of mental cases exceeds in many countries the number of hospital beds for all the diseases put together. If there were any way of knowing the num­ber of hospital patients whose apparent bodily illnesses are the result or the concomitant of mental disorders, the picture would expose even more vividly the discrepancy in our effectiveness against diseases of the mind as contrasted with diseases of same body".

     The Mental Health Situation in Pakistan: The relevant statistics in our country are not available, but the rising tide of mental disorders and serious maladjustments like conflicts, dis­putes, strikes and divorces reveal that we too are undeniably sailing in the same boat.

     Roots of International Conflicts: Looking at the problem of maladjustment from a wider international angle, one finds that the roots of world wars, con­flicts, international prejudices and hostile nationalism also basically stem from humanity's indifference towards the princi­ples and practices of mental health and hygiene. How can wars and conflicts and other allied maladjustments disrupt peace if the causes are properly understood and effectively treated in individuals?

            International understanding, problems of peace and pros­perity and the promotion of world citizenship in the last analysis boil down to the individual mind and to applying the principles of mental health to the individual child.

       Interdependence of Individual and Society: "Man and his society are closely interdependent", said someone at the Inter­national Congress on Mental Health held at London in 1948. "Social institutions, such as families and schools, impose their imprint early in the personality development of their members, who in turn tend to perpetuate the traditional pattern to which they have been moulded. It is the men and women in whom these patterns of attitudes and behavior have been incorporated who present the immediate resistance to social, economic, and political changes."

            "Thus prejudice, hostility, or excessive nationalism may become deeply imbedded in the developing personality without awareness on the part of the individual concerned, and often at great human cost."

      Need for Mental Health Services: It is needless to re-emphasize that the provision of adequate mental health services in the schools can solve most of these problems most amicably. When maladjustments are understood and treated in good time, many children are prevented from developing into serious problems and trouble-makers.

            Negligence of the principles of mental health and hygiene is replete with dangers of a terrifyingly serious nature. The mal­adjusted children of today, if left untreated, may develop into a source of serious trouble to their families, the nation and even the whole of the world.