 Name: Alessandro  Age: 4  Gender: Male  Family pattern: Single Mother, 2 year old sister  Culture: Italian  Disability: Alessandro has a sensory-neural hearing impairment  Socio-economic status: Low - Mother is struggling to make ends meet as she works full-time as a cleaning lady, to provide the necessities for her two children, as well as a hearing aid and further treatment for Alessandro.

 The Microsystem: The Innermost level of the environment, which consists of experiences and interactions within the child’s immediate surroundings.  The Mesosystem: The Mesosystem refers to the interrelationships between experiences, interactions, relationships & routines.  The Exosystem: The Exosystem consists of social settings in which the child is not directly involved in, however still have a deep impact on their experiences in immediate settings.  The Macrosystem: This final system incorporates a specific set of values, beliefs, laws or higher faith’s in which a society is organised. The priority that the Macrosystem gives to children’s needs affects the support they receive at inner levels of the environment. (Berk, 2008).

MICROSYSTEM INDIVIDUAL EXOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Alessandro

MICROSYSTEM INDIVIDUAL EXOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Alessandro Alessandro lives with his Mother, Maria, and 2 year old sister Isabella. Alessandro attends Norton’s Off Norton Long day care 3 days a week. Lily is employed to spend 4 hours with Alessandro each day he is in child care. She supports him through assistance with sign language and other techniques that help include Alessandro. On Fridays, Maria takes Alessandro and Isabella to her Mother’s group, located in Leichhardt town hall. Here the children are given the opportunity to interact with others in the community, while mothers talk about relatable topics and can scaffold teaching techniques amongst each other. MESOSYSTEM

MICROSYSTEM INDIVIDUAL EXOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Alessandro The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children provided Alessandro with Diagnostic services, followed by quality intervention programs Co. As. It is an organization that assists Italian people settle into Australia. This Organization assisted Maria in finding an occupation when she moved to Australia 10 years ago. Absolute Domestics is an agency for house cleaners. They provided Maria with a job that pays above award wages, and allows her to work the 3 days a week that her children are in long day care. St Joan of Arc Catholic Church Haberfield is the Local church for Alessandro’s family, in which they attend mass every Sunday, followed by Church Play group for one hour. Centrelink Australia provides Maria with the funds to place Alessandro in long day care, as well as provide him with assistance (Lily) while he is in care.

MICROSYSTEM INDIVIDUAL EXOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Alessandro The Catholic Church influences Alessandro’s families morals and beliefs. The Australian Italian Community put together the Co.As.It organization, which has provided Maria, and many other Australian Italians with the support and services required when settling into a new country. The Australian Government recognizes the difficulties single mothers face, and therefore provide organizations such as centrelink, that assist single parent families, and families of children with disabilities. The Code of Ethics is a set of statements that ensures the quality treatment of any child in professional care, and provides guidelines for the specific treatment of children with special needs Early Childhood Australia INC. advocates to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years. This ensures Alessandro’s inclusion in all areas of the Early Childhood setting.

MICROSYSTEM INDIVIDUAL EXOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Alessandro Mum Isabella Lily Norton’s Off Norton Early Learning Centre Leichhardt Mother’s Group St Joan of Arc Catholic Church The Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children Co. As. It Centrelink Absolute Domestics The Catholic Church The Australian Italian Community The Australian Government Early Childhood Australia INC. The Code of Ethics

(2009) Australian Institute of Family Studies March , from aifs.gov.auhttp://www. aifs.gov.au Source: ABS (2007), 2006 Census of Population & Housing, Cat. No – 2006 Census (2007) Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 13, 2009, from abs.gov.au/ abs.gov.au/ Child Care, Australia, Jun 2005 Second Reissue Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, Laura E. Berk, (2008) Infants & Children: Prenatal through middle childhood, (6 th Ed) Pearson Education, Inc References