This scientific essay is about children’s difficulties in playing and interacting with other children. The purpose of my essay is to gain a deeper understanding of those who are in need of support in their social interaction with other children. In order to be able to investigate and seek answers to my questions, I have used essay writing as a method.

In my story I describe Signe, a child who has difficulty interacting with other children. Signe is very impulsive in her actions and this causes her to encounter resistance from the other children as she tries to get into their playing activities. This often results in conflicts that cause Signe to be excluded by the other children, as well as being excluded by me if I remove her from ongoing play activities. This has become a dilemma for me because I feel conflicted in how I as a teacher should handle situations like this.

My dilemma lies in how to meet the needs of the individual child and create an inclusive environment within the group, while at the same time taking into account the other    children´s needs and rights to play in harmony. In the essay, I try to look back and reflect on my actions in the situations with Signe. I look at possible causes that may have affected Signe being excluded from the play activities of the other children. Could my way of dealing with the situations possibly have any impact on Signe’s status in the group?

I also try to see Signe`s behavior from two separate special educational perspectives, the individual as well as the relational perspective, as I wonder if it is the child herself who has difficulties or whether it is in the encounter with a certain environment that problems arises? One idea that arose during my writing is whether a teacher’s view of normality can contribute to how we look at children. I also wonder how I as a future teacher can work to create an environment that´s inclusive to all children.

The study`s conclusion has given me knowledge about how I need to minimize demanding situations by creating good conditions in the environment where the child is located. I need to be a present teacher who is there to support the child in the play.