Listen to thisJust a decade or two ago most child care practitioners and academics would have turned up their noses at the idea of electronic contraptions, e.g. computers, in child care work – too impersonal or worse, inhuman. Today this is a non issue – computers and their varied applications are used and accepted in every aspect of child care work and their wide ranging use is a commentary on their contribution to our field.
One area of child care work that has not been impacted by computer applications is computers in direct face to face practice with clients. In my view this is likely to change as the increasing sophistication and creativity of hardware and software become available, computer applications/software will be used as a tool in child care direct practice with young clients. Software programs specifically designed to help young people with developmental and anti-social problems have been developed in the US and overseas and are now available for use by child care workers overseas and in the US. Some of them are described below:
For example In Scotland, social worker Les Cowan has designed, produced and sold a number of CDs for work with children including “Bruce’s Story” a CD which is about the adventures of a puppy moving into the unknown world as he grows up – a software program for children to be used by a social worker and her client who is moving into the child welfare system and facing adoption or foster home care.
Michael Gropper a social work administrator, in Israel has produced an educational multi- media program called “Say No to Donny” to teach Israeli and Arab youth to avoid drugs. His design uses an older brother model who provides advice to younger Israeli players regarding the adverse consequences of using drugs.
"Funny Face” a software program designed by Louis L Aymard in Maryland, uses this program to help his youthful clients to engage in socio-dramatic play, to make masks, and to learn how to identify and express feelings in a constructive way.
In Finland a creative use of computers (called videoconferencing) has been developed by Marja-Leena Mielonen and her colleagues to do family therapy, psychiatric supervision and teaching. Although the program was designed for use with adults it easily be adopted for work with children and their families. In this program Mielonen et al have been able to overcome the long distance problems which separate many of Finland's communities as well as the severe weather which makes travel in the winter quite difficult for mental health workers.
Kris Bosworth an educational psychologist in Indiana, uses a computer program called “Talking It Out: A Computer Based Mediation Process for Adolescents” who uses mediation concepts in a creative multi-media program to help teens in schools and agencies to settle disputes peacefully.
Dick Schoeck and Ann Wilder (and a group of kids who were part of the design and production team) in Texas developed a program to educate young people whose parents have HIV or the AIDS virus.
Ron Kokish a social worker purchased a commercially available computer game called “Ultima” which he used with his young clients – to allow a child to name and create a character who then sets off on a mission to find and kill an evil wizard. The character – a metaphor for the young client, makes choices as he seeks to achieve his mission, The therapist therapeutically comments on these choices and links these choices/ behaviors in the game to the clients real life.
“Busted” a computer sim-game, is designed to help youths between the ages of 10 to 14 to become aware of the consequences of their choices. Many young people especially troubled ones are impulsive and can create a great deal of difficulty for themselves (and others) with their choices. Busted, developed by the author of this column, is now being sold in Scotland and is currently being upgraded for the US Market.
There are many more programs like the ones described above being developed in our country and overseas that look promising. It’s time for the child care field to begin experimenting with these computer driven programs. It’s possible that computer programs can help some troubled youth who cannot use traditional social therapies.
