So True

Famous Quotes About Children

"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

Anonymous

"You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way."

Barbara Bush, former U.S. first lady

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."

Henry Ward Beecher, reverend and social activist

"The soul is healed by being with children."

English proverb

"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

Mohandas Gandhi, political and spiritual leader in India

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."

Emma Goldman, author

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."

Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. first lady

"Children are our most valuable resource."

Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. president

"Safety and security don't just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa

"Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun."

Mignon McLaughlin, journalist and author

"If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!"

Dwight L. Moody, evangelist

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

Dr. Seuss, author

"I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!"

David Vitter, U.S. senator

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."

John W. Whitehead, founder, Rutherford Institute

"The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation."

Ray L. Wilbur, third president of Stanford University

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."

Wess Stafford, President, Compassion International

Assessment services for school-age children in Mexico

How are services provided for children? The two models in Mexico for service delivery are:

• Regular Education Support Services Unit (Unidades de Servicios de Apoyo a la Educación Regular or USAER)
• Multiple Attention Centers (Centros de Atención Múltiple or CAM).

According to Todd Fletcher of the University of Arizona, USAER and CAM serve children with and without disabilities who have special learning needs, akin to combining 504 plans with disability categories. A student, therefore, may not be assigned a disability category, but may receive services for special learning needs that teachers and USAERs have identified, but have not specifically labeled. For example, hyperactivity (ADHD) is not considered a disability, but special education professionals are aware of it and any intervention associated with hyperactivity would be provided by mental health professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists. There are educational associations that focus on ADHD-type conditions, but teachers generally do not have knowledge or training in how to deal with it in the classroom (email communication, Todd Fletcher, 2007).

The USAERs conduct psychopedagogical evaluations similar to holistic assessments in which they gather information, such as student history, educational experience, and student work samples. Special education personnel conduct informal non-standardized assessments to determine learning needs (email communication, Fletcher, 2007). USAERs usually consist of a social worker, a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, and a special education teacher. They serve four or five schools, spending one day per week in each. USAERs conduct studies of the school operations and environment, and of the community the school serves as well.

USAERs are designed to integrate special needs students into regular classrooms. Special education teachers in these units collaborate with regular classroom teachers to help build success among special needs students in the classrooms. Primary objectives of USAER are: initial evaluations, intervention planning, intervention, and ongoing assessment, and monitoring. The USAER uses curriculum-based assessments to determine progress. Students are provided with curriculum adaptations in the regular classrooms according to their needs.

CAMs are alternative settings or special schools designed to provide education to preschool through high school students who are unable to integrate successfully into regular classrooms and need additional accommodations. The centers are organized by group and age and work to provide instruction to students with diverse disabilities in the same group. Each center maintains autonomy in organizing, planning and instruction of their students.

Reverences

Special education in Mexico - Policies for immigrant transfer... Retrieved from

www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/brdglangbarriers/3.3

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Impact of Poverty on Children’s Development an Educational Outcomes

 

In all countries, poverty presents a chronic stress for children and families that may interfere with suc­cessful adjustment to developmental tasks, including school achievement. Children raised in low-income families are at risk for academic and social problems as well as poor health and well-being, which can in turn undermine educational achievement.

    USA, the association between poverty and children’s de­velopment and academic performance has been well documented, beginning as early as the second year of life and extending through elementary and high school. When these risks occur during preschool years, they can have long-lasting consequences. For example, readiness for school on entry to kindergarten sets the path for future success. School readiness is critical to later academic achievement because dif­ferences on school entry have long-term consequences.

    Lee and Burkman, found that most American stu­dents who start school significantly behind their peers can never close the readiness gap. Rather, the gap tends to widen as they move through school. “School readi­ness has been shown to be predictive of virtually every educational benchmark (example, achievement test scores, grade retention, special education placement, dropout, etc.). The consequences of early school fail­ure are increased likelihood of absent, drop out, and unhealthy or delinquent behaviors.

    Between 30 and 40% of children entering kindergarten in the United States are estimated to not be ready for school. The link between poverty and low academic achievement has been well established. Low-income children are at increased risk of leaving school with­out graduating, resulting in inflation-adjusted earn­ings in the United States that declined 16% from 1979 to 2005, averaging slightly over $10/hour. Evidence from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network has shown that children in chronically im­poverished families have lower cognitive and academic performance and more behavior problems than chil­dren who are not exposed to poverty, partially ex­plained by a lack of stimulating behaviors and home experiences among low-income families.

    Parenting education and support programs are de­signed to improving the negative effects of poverty on family characteristics, such as lack of responsive stimulation or learning materials, with the goal of im­proving child well-being. These programs have a vari­ety of delivery mechanisms, including a health center or system, home visiting by a trained worker, com­bining counseling with growth monitoring, providing group sessions for parents, and media outreach. Some are directed to children with a particular risk factor, such as prematurity or low–birth weight (LBW).

 

References

The effect of poverty on child development and educational outcomes. Retrieved from

 digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002...fac

Immunization

Immunization coverage

Fact sheet N°378       April 2013

Key facts

• Immunization prevents illness, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases including diphtheria, measles, pertussis, pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhea, rubella and tetanus.
• Global vaccination coverage is holding steady.
• Immunization currently averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year.
• But an estimated 22 million infants worldwide are still missing out on basic vaccines.

Overview

Immunization averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and measles. Global vaccination coverage—the proportion of the world’s children who receive recommended vaccines—has remained steady for the past few years. For example, the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) was 83% in 2011, 84% in 2010 and 83% in 2009.

During 2011, about 107 million infants worldwide got three doses of DTP3 vaccine, protecting them against infectious diseases that can cause serious illness and disability or be fatal. By 2011, 130 countries had reached at least 90% coverage of DTP3.

Current levels of access to recommended vaccines

Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) causes meningitis and pneumonia. Hib vaccine was introduced in 177 countries by the end of 2011. Global coverage with three doses of Hib vaccine is estimated at 43%.

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver. Hepatitis B vaccine for infants had been introduced nationwide in 180 countries by the end of 2011. Global hepatitis B vaccine coverage is estimated at 75%.

Human papillomavirus — the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract — can cause cervical cancer, and other types of cancer and genital warts in both men and women. Human papillomavirus vaccine was introduced in 43 countries by the end of 2011.

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus, which usually results in a high fever and rash, and can lead to blindness, encephalitis or death. By the end of 2011, 84% of children had received one dose of measles vaccine by their second birthday, and 141 countries had included a second dose as part of routine immunization.

Meningitis A is an infection that can cause severe brain damage and is often deadly. By the end of 2012—two years after its introduction—the MenAfriVac vaccine, developed by WHO and PATH, was available in 10 of the 26 African countries affected by the disease.

Mumps is a highly contagious virus that causes painful swelling at the side of the face under the ears (the parotid glands), fever, headache and muscle aches. It can lead to viral meningitis. Mumps vaccine had been introduced nationwide in 120 countries by the end of 2011.

Pneumococcal diseases include pneumonia, meningitis and febrile bacteremia, as well as otitis media, sinusitis and bronchitis. Pneumococcal vaccine had been introduced in 72 countries by the end of 2011.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. In 2011, 84% of infants around the world received three doses of polio vaccine. Only three countries—Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan—remain polio-endemic.

Rotaviruses are the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal disease in young children throughout the world. Rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 31 countries by the end of 2011.

Rubella is a viral disease which is usually mild in children, but infection during early pregnancy may cause fetal death or congenital rubella syndrome, which can lead to defects of the brain, heart, eyes and ears. Rubella vaccine was introduced nationwide in 130 countries by the end of 2011.

Tetanus is caused by a bacterium which grows in the absence of oxygen, e.g. in dirty wounds or in the umbilical cord if it is not kept clean. It produces a toxin which can cause serious complications or death. The vaccine to prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus had been introduced in over 100 countries by the end of 2011. Vaccination coverage with at least two doses was estimated at 70%, and an estimated 82% of newborns were protected through immunization. Maternal and neonatal tetanus persist as public health problems in 36 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia.

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. As of 2011, yellow fever vaccine had been introduced in routine infant immunization programmers in 36 of the 48 countries and territories at risk for yellow fever in Africa and the Americas.

Key challenges

Despite improvements in global vaccine coverage during the past decade, there continue to be regional and local disparities resulting from:

• limited resources;
• competing health priorities;
• poor management of health systems; and
• inadequate monitoring and supervision.

In 2011, an estimated 22 million infants worldwide were not reached with routine immunization services. About half of them live in three countries: India, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Priority needs to be given to strengthening routine vaccination globally, especially in the countries that are home to the highest number of unvaccinated children. Particular efforts are needed to reach the underserved, especially those in remote areas, in deprived urban settings, in fragile states and strife-torn regions.

WHO response

WHO is working with countries and partners to improve global vaccination coverage, including through these initiatives adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2012.

The Global Vaccine Action Plan

The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) is a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths through more equitable access to vaccines. Countries are aiming to achieve vaccination coverage of ≥90% nationally and ≥80% in every district by 2020. While the GVAP should accelerate control of all vaccine-preventable diseases, polio eradication is set as the first milestone. It also aims to spur research and development for the next generation of vaccines.

The plan was developed by multiple stakeholders—UN agencies, governments, global agencies, development partners, health professionals, academics, manufacturers and civil society. WHO is leading efforts to support regions and countries as they adapt the GVAP for implementation.

World Immunization Week

The last week of April each year is marked by WHO and partners as World Immunization Week. In 2013, more than 180 countries, territories and areas are expected to mark the week with activities including vaccination campaigns, training workshops, round-table discussions and public information campaigns. The theme of World Immunization Week is “Protect your world – get vaccinated”. It aims to raise public awareness of how immunization saves lives, encouraging people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against deadly diseases.

Reference

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs378/en/index.html