by Hadassah Richman, TBHBE
What I enjoy most about working with children with learning differences/special needs is how unique each and every child is. Even though the TAP program has taught me so much and prepared me tremendously, it still always depends on the child and the situation and I love being able to use the knowledge I have gotten from TAP and apply it to the classroom.
One helpful strategy I learned in the TAP program that I have used is to praise good behaviors not just by saying “good job” or “great work”, but instead being specific to that certain behavior. For example, if the child just read a line of hebrew, I would say “great job reading the letter resh” or “your hebrew reading is coming along really well”. That way the child knows exactly what he/she is doing well and will be able to continue.
This Sunday I am going to the Sensory-Friendly Family Mitzvah Event. I am really looking forward to doing mitzvah projects with the children to help people in need. I also look forward to using even more of the skills I have learned in TAP at this event and through the year.