I’M IN CHARGE!

Isn’t it a pleasure to remember those magic moments when a child or young person you have been working with begins to understand cause and effect, begins to understand that if they do something then something else will happen? I remember one little boy, Robert, laughing every time he knocked over  a pile of bricks built up on the tray of his supportive seating (it was a challenge for him as he had cerebral palsy that severely restricted his controlled movements, especially when excited), then showing gleeful anticipation through his facial expression and his vocal utterances as his very patient supporting adult rebuilt the tower again and again …

This is a hugely important step in learning and in developing cognitive development – ‘if I do something then something else will happen’. Translated into learning situations this can be as seemingly simple as realising that ‘if I move on this space blanket it will make a lovely crinkly sound’ or ‘if