types of self concept CWSN children normally have. How to deal with it

1. Self Concept of Children with Special Needs
BEDSE205: Psycho Social and Family Issues

2. There are many terms for the way an individual looks at
themselves.
Self-esteem, self-concept, self-assessment, self worth and self
perception are some of these terms.
The above terms can all be used in positive and negative ways
that one looks at or describes themselves.
However, the bottom line is that all are referring to the same
concept, the way we see ourselves inside and out.

3. Positive self-concept is considered as
• desirable goal (outcome, having it by itself is good) and a means of facilitating
subsequent achievements (intermediate variable)
• It leads to other positive outcomes)(Marsh & Hau, 2004, 2005).
• This is also important because ultimately, the way we see ourselves will
determine how others see us.
• For individuals with special needs, they need to see themselves as valuable and
in a positive light so that others can see this and provide appropriate assistance
and attitudes.

4. Children with disabilities generally fall into
one of three categories in regards to self-
competence:
• Inflated
• Underestimated
• accurate.

5. Inflated self-concept : have a positive opinion of their
competence but are unrealistic.
• Children with disabilities view themselves in an exaggerated way.
• Believe that they can do anything and accomplish more than their average
counterparts.
• This belief sustains them as a coping mechanism for setbacks and failures.
• It also provides them with a large ego that can make them act superior and could
interfere with new learning.
• Children with an inflated self-concept often believe they know everything, and
refuse to listen to teachers and parents who try to teach them.
• It is important to know that as part of the behavioral technique to treat children
with disabilities, immediate and specific feedback is crucial to these children.

6. • Overly optimistic thinking may be an impediment to treatment
progress.
• For students with disabilities, high confidence was associated with
less academic and behavior improvement at the end of the
treatment program.
• Research shows that a realistic self-assessment may have "served
a motivating function, causing these children to work harder in
treatment."
• A positive but unrealistic view of one's competence may "reflect
distorted social reasoning processes that interfere with the ability to
learn from past experiences or the motivation to change
maladaptive behavior (Hughes, Cavell, & Grossman, 1997).

7. • An inflated self-concept entails an unrealistic positive view of ones self. Such a
view can be harmful as it often distorts social reasoning (Pisecco, Wristers,
Swank, Silva, & Baker, 2001).
• Much of our daily decisions are built on past experiences.
• If these past experiences are skewed and not seen for what they realistically are,
it is impossible to learn form them.
• Subsequently, if poor behavior is not recognized then this maladaptive behavior
will not be changed.
• In order to adapt behavior to social expectations the problems must first be
identified.
• If an inflated self-concept is present it can also affect the rate of maturity in
younger children and adolescents.

8. Underestimated self-concept :
have negative views of their competence which are
unrealistically lower than they actually are.
Children with deficient views of their own academic abilities engage in
delinquent acts as a mean to enhance their self-image (Chae, Jung, & Noh,
2001).
These are the students who feel like they don't belong, the ones who feel they
aren't the smart ones or have special needs.
They have a desire to fill a role and receive some sort of attention. They do this
by acting out and receiving negative attention.
It is important for teachers to work with all students and break down the
classroom cliches.
They have to realize that sometimes students act out as a way to ask for help
whether it be academically or to help them find their way in the classroom.

9. Conclusion
• Some researchers argue for the need to raise children's perceptions of
competence (Kuhne & Dunning, 1997) and others argue for the need to
decrease them to bring them more in line with their actual competence levels
(Gresham et al., 1998).
• Based on the work of Baumeister, Smart, and Boden (1996), Gresham,
MacMillan, Bocian, Ward & Forness, (1998) argue that overestimation of
competence may indicate an emergent psychopathic personality which could
benefit more from "humility training" than from further bolstering of an already
inflated self-concept.
• Training should be given for self-evaluation strategies directly (Erk, 1997).
• Humility training is a technique made available to deal with children with
inflated self-esteem. The goal is not to embarrass these children but to
actually use self-evaluation techniques to make them aware of their behavior.
• The hope is that by making them aware of their behavior and the problems it
will cause, they will be more willing or likely to want to modify it and model the
behavior of more successful academic students.