❤️ Never underestimate the importance and joy of special interests!
❤️ Never underestimate the importance and joy of special interests!
‼️ Any professional who suggests restricting your child's access to anything that offers them joy should be questioned.
👮♀️Section 11(7C) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 defines abuse as "violence, harassment, threatening conduct and any other conduct giving rise, or likely to give rise, to physical or mental injury, fear, alarm or distress".
Furthermore, Article 19 of the UNCRC protects children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation.
👉 Removing or discouraging a child’s use of their special interest is harmful and can cause significant distress.
If any professional attempts to remove or discourage a special interest please highlight the following:
✅ When your child is engaged in their special interest, they can self-regulate and cope with the environment around them; - removing that special interest removes the coping mechanism.
✅ When you take away or limit your child's special interest you're effectively telling them that their interests are bad, undesired, and/or unimportant.
✅ Your child's special interests bring them happiness, so they are a great place to start incorporating spoken language or creating learning opportunities in school with activities that they already enjoy.
✅ Your child's special interest could become a future hobby or profession for them. As a result, it is important to provide them with the freedom to pursue their interests.
✅ It is completely disrespectful, harmful and causes unnecessary harm and distress.
Craig & Telfer, (2005) reports that professionals, may identify strengths but then overlook them in order to focus on the areas of challenge. They highlight that is advantageous to use a child's talents in one domain to help them enhance their language and communication skills in other areas.