ECSE421 Final Reflection of Class

I have learned so much from this class - it's nice to walk away from a class and look back and think about what you have learned and then realizing that there's so much you learned that you could go forever. I loved the real life experience it brought with the family resource plan and the guest lectures. The best way that I can learn is through real life application - so I actually felt like I learned what it's like to work with the family and what it will be like in my profession. It helped me to better understand aspects of the family and things that should be considered when working with families. I loved this class and appreciate the impact it has on my life now and will have in my life in my future.

Before I came into this class I had heard of a developmental specialist but I didn't exactly know what it was. As I have learned about it and learned about working with families in this class, being a developmental specialist is something I am very interested in and would love to learn more about this profession. 

ECSE340 Week 6

It was the last home visit and I was so sad to say goodbye to the infant I worked with and his mom! I came at a time of day that I don't usually come, and the baby was really fussy and hadn't really napped. Our main goal for the last visit was for him to lay on his tummy for a total of 20 minutes - 5 minutes on the blanket and 15 minutes on the boppy. Right when we put him on the blanket with his PVC gym, toys, and mirrors ready for when he needs, he started crying right away and just would not stop. We started again and put him on the boppy instead but he still just would not have it. He was so distraught that we decided to let him calm down and be held by his mom. And he fell asleep and would not wake up! We stayed for a while, trying to attempt again but it just didn't work. Wrong time of the day! I gave her and explained to her the future development plan and the resource page and my thank you letter and said our goodbyes. She said she will still try to make his goal of 20 minutes straight! I learned a lot from this experience and glad I was able to have the opportunity to do this!

ECSE340 Week 5

This week I brought my developmentally appropriate activity to the home, which was a little "baby gym" made out of PVC pipe and I hung black and white patterns and a mirror from the top with red ribbon. We started him out tummy time on the boppy next to the hanging patterns. While he was on his boppy we went over the 3 month questionnaire. He was fussier this week than usual and only lasted about 16 minutes on the boppy and 1 minute on the floor, after the boppy time. We decided that for the next week, which will be the last visit, we will shoot for 5 minutes on the floor (first) and 15 minutes on the boppy (second), so 20 minutes all together! Hopefully he will be happier for our last visit!

ECSE340 Week 4

This week was great! The baby I'm working with has improved SO much and he's so much happier on tummy time than he was the first time. Last time he absolutely hated the mirror but when we tried it it was the second attempt of tummy time so I used the mirror on the first attempt this time. He lasted 5 min and 30 seconds and the mirror ended up being a hit! It took him a while to look at it but when he did he loved it. For the second attempt of tummy time, after a few minute break, we used the black and white patterned paper (the tool we used on the first attempt last time) and he didn't last too long - 1 minute and 10 seconds. I concluded that he was always just tired on the second attempt and the tool didn't play a factor in that. After another break, we tried the boppy again. This time with the mirror, black and white patterned paper, and a little book of his. He lasted so long - 9 minutes and 45 seconds!! It was so awesome! The whole visit he was pretty gassy and so he fussed a little bit here and there but he was suffered through it and was so tough. :) I told baby's mom the overall goal of 20 minutes a day and I really think he will be able to do it easily!

Week 11

I really enjoyed this week and the discussions, readings, and clips we had this week. Mental health illness was a subject that really made me think. Because I knew the background of Liza Long's child and more information that was given, I had a hard time agreeing with anything she was saying. I don't agree that she should have made a big deal about this, or comparing her son to Adam Lanza. I don't doubt that this affects him Mental health illness is a hard subject because I do agree that it's something that the world needs to be more aware of, but I also believe that it does not need to be blown out of proportion.

I loved the video clips on Wednesday, and pondered a lot about how those apply to teaching and how teaching, or just these different types of professions in general, can bless our lives.
What is one talent you have been blessed with that will make you a better teacher? I feel like one talent I have been blessed with is my ability to love and show it. I love to share my love with people and tell them constantly that I do.

Weekly Quote:
"Ours is the responsibility to care for the flock. May we each step up to serve." -Thomas S. Monson

HWD: Presenting on Monday! Agh!!

ECSE340 Week 3

The intervention session with the baby went so great! We worked on the only thing he fell behind in on the ages and stages questionnaire which was gross motor skills: tummy time. I used a variety of ways to help him get used to tummy time and actually like it! I started by having him lay on a soft blanket and I used a black and white patterned paper to gain his attention and distract from the hard time on his tummy. He loved it and did a lot better than I thought! He was able to lay on his stomach that time for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. We gave him a break and then a few minutes later we tried again using a mirror instead, and he absolutely hated it! I can't tell if it's because of the mirror or if it's because it was the second try and he was worn out from the first try. He only lasted 1 minute. After another break we tried again on the boppy his mom had, and he loved it! It was so fun, he was smiling and happy and it was awesome to see the mom discover something that had worked for him and something that had made him so happy. He lasted for 3 and a half minutes on the boppy. I left her with the black and white patterened paper and recommendations like having his older siblings lay with him and play with him, lay him on his tummy for 1-2 minutes after feedings, diaper changes, and naps, and lots of time on the boppy! I'm excited to keep working with him and see if he will be able to achieve the goal I've set for him, which I know he will be able to!

Week 10

It was super interesting to learn about all of the laws this week. You hear about the laws all the time in this major so it was nice to finally learn the details and descriptions of all of them. I know that knowing the laws is a huge part of this major and learning about them got me super excited for my major! HWD is stressing me out! Here's to a crazy week!

Weekly Quote: "You can have it all." -Abraham Hicks

HWD: Handout

ADA Assignment Reflection

My disability for the ADA assignment was to cook a meal wearing oven mitts to experience how it would feel to have a sensory disability and understand the types of struggles that they go through every day. I didn’t have much time to make a full out and extravagant meal, so I just grilled some chicken and made a sandwich with cheese, mayo, and lettuce. We only had one oven mitt and so the other hand was in a square oven mitt with no thumb or anything so it made it even harder. I started by getting out all of the ingredients, which already was a struggle, so I knew that I was in for a long ride. Even getting a plate out of the cupboard was weird, and hard. I started by trying to undo the wired tie on the plastic bag my bread was in. It took me AGES!! I had to use my teeth and it honestly took me a solid ten minutes. I was so frustrated and all my roommates were just laughing at me. I so desperately wanted to ask for help from my roommates but made myself realize that people with this disability don’t have the opportunity to just ask people to make it different and better for them all of the time. I felt kind of gross touching all of my food with oven mitts, but that’s beside the point of the assignment, haha. Grilling the chicken was pretty different, just because I couldn’t feel the frozen chicken when I put it on the pan. It was weird not having to worry about touching the pan and feeling the heat, I had some fun with it. Slicing cheese was pretty normal, and it was almost easier because it wasn’t as much of a worry if I would cut myself with the knife or not. Spreading the mayonnaise was normal. Tearing up the lettuce to put on the sandwich was so weird for me to not be able to feel the temperature. The hardest part was honestly just putting caps back on bottles, the cheese back in the bag, sealing bags back together, things like that. Even after this assignment I know that I will never understand this disability to the extent that it really is. I got frustrated really easily, to the point of where I didn’t want to talk to anyone anymore. I was mad that no one would help me and I was mad that it took me 20 minutes longer than it usually would. Overall it was an awesome experience that helped take a disability I had no idea about and how it would be to me experiencing it first hand and feeling for these people who deal with this disability every day.

ECSE340 Week 2

Yay for my first home visit!! I was pretty nervous but I felt confident going into it and I think it went pretty well. It was nice to get to know and assess the baby and mom before I start working with them. They are awesome! The home visit gave me more of an idea of what professionalism and how we as professionals should apply and emulate it. It also was good to go with Olivia to her home visit, even though it was after my home visit, to see how home visits should go. I felt comfortable with the mom and baby and I'm really excited to work with him on his goals, like tummy time. It'll be interesting to learn how to make an intervention plan and actually apply the intervention life and make it a reality.

Week 9

It was so nice finally being done with the Family Project! Now time to focus on HWD. It's interesting to learn more about the Special Education laws now, because it is such a big part of our major and is knowledge that we need to know in any career we will most likely be involved in.

Weekly quote: "There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more." -Robert M. Hensel

HWD:
https://www.asws.org/WhatisAutism.aspx
http://researchautism.net/autism/types-of-autism

ECSE340 Week 1

I feel like the term home visit is a pretty self explanatory concept. What I know about home visits is that it's when a professional goes into an infant or child's home and just assesses what the infant/child's life is like and what the parenting is like in the home.

I LOVE working with infants. I have 10 nieces and nephews, all from my sisters who are very close to me, so I have done this a lot and it's my favorite thing in the world. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of the developmental stages at certain ages and things like that.

Week 8

Working on the family group project was stressful but also so interesting and rewarding. Learning about the other families and their struggles gave me a much better insight to how family resource plans work and what it's like to be a developmental specialist.

Weekly Quote:

"The family is the center of life and it is the key to eternal happiness." -L. Tom Perry

HWD:
Expert interview - asperger's syndrome

Week 7

Professionalism is so important! I learned about this is in both this class and another. It plays such a big role. You could be the most educated and know every single thing about early childhood and special ed but if you are not practicing professionalism, it all goes to waste. The developmental specialist lecture was amazing and I think I found the profession I want to do! I found it amazing and felt like it applied to me so well.

Weekly Quote:
"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." -Wayne Dyer

HWD:
http://www.autism-society.org/in-the-news/ask-the-expert-adults-with-autism-and-health-problems/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/press-releases/autism-speaks-and-worlds-leading-autism-experts-announce-publication-autism-

Week 6

This week ended heartbreaking when I found out the baby in my family project died. We learned about adult learning and how even when we are grown up and educated we are still constantly learning.

Weekly Quote: "I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught." -Winston Churchill

HWD:
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-spectrum-disorders
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/autism/autism-spectrum-disorders.htm

Chapter 1-4 Map

Chapter 1

The information in this chapter that most stood out to me was the different models of how disabilities/special needs are viewed. It was interesting to see how different the children were viewed in different circumstances and in different environments. The additional resources gained were the different statistics regarding the family as a whole and their characteristics, which was so shocking and sad to me.  Learning about the family, their characteristics, their ethnic backgrounds and how to deal with them, and life management skills will all be information that will be helpful to my future career no matter what my future career will be.

Chapter 2

Learning about the different types of supports in this chapter really gave me a different perspective on what role people play in your life and if the people in your life are actually necessary. This is helpful for the future because I will be able to observe the children and the people in their life and distinguish what type of support they offer to that child. Doing an ecomap and learning about Nicolette’s life gave me an idea of what it will be like to work with families and the right way to do it.

Chapter 3

What this chapter mostly focused on to me was the student and what matters most in the student’s life. The main things that are important are affection, spirituality, socialization, recreation, and their education. It brings in all aspects of their life and are vital to their success and how successful they will be. This helps me for my future career because it tells me what I need to focus on for every child I work with.

Chapter 4

Every family is completely different and I think it’s important for us as professionals/teachers to understand that every single child is going through something completely different, and possibly something we have no idea what it’s like to go through that specific thing. Sometimes different cycles happen “off cycle” and some happen on “on cycle”. We learn the correct way to transition through the different cycles and how to deal with things like death, finding out your child has special needs/disabilities, etc.

Week 5

This week opened up a lot of new perspectives for me. Looking at the father and sibling perspective made me think of special needs children in a completely different way. It made me think of what kind of teacher/professional I want to be and how I want to better involve parents, most importantly fathers, and my students' siblings.

Weekly Quote:
"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -Billy Graham

HWD:
http://www.parents.com/health/autism/parenting/day-to-day-raising-autistic-child/#page=1
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/searching-for-answers/raising-autistic-child

Week 4

This week I only attended one class. I was super sick on Monday and class was cancelled Friday, which it is always so nice to sleep in! I got the notes from a friend in the class from Monday. On Wednesday we learned about the grief cycle. I've always known a lot about the grief cycle because my mom died when I was 16, and my dad made me go to counseling many times. But as I read about the story of Nella, I realized that having a child with down syndrome is a different type of grief than losing someone. I had such a hard time reading that story, it brought up new emotions I didn't even know I had. What an amazing experience that would be.

Weekly Quote:
"Grief never ends... But it changes. It's a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, not a lack of faith... It is the price of love." - Author Unknown

HWD:
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2012/08/autistic-grief-is-not-like-neurotypical.html
http://autismnow.org/blog/grief-and-bereavement/
http://www.autism-society.org/what-is/facts-and-statistics/

Week 3

It was interesting to learn about the different kind of supports that the people in our life provide for us. It makes you think and realize the role that each person in your life plays for you as well as the part you play in other people's lives. And also what role you should start playing in some people's lives to better help them.

Weekly quote:
"We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason." -unknown

HWD:

This article talks about giving emotional support to kids with autism, like when you are parenting or teaching them - http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/top-10-strategies-success-emotional-parenting-child-autism-or-pdd-83838322

How dogs help children with autism - http://www.projectchance.com/dogs.html

Week 2

Reading about time management and life skills is always a huge help to remind you about how to better deal with stress, I can honestly say it helped my week out a ton. I am usually the world's worst procrastinator but this week I got all my stuff done ahead of time! It was most interesting to me to learn about the medical model vs. social model with disability. It was helpful to see a specific way of how to decipher between the two and how people look at it. 

Weekly Quote:
"There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more." Robert M. Hensel

HWD:

35 percent of young adults (ages 19-23) with autism have not had a job or received postgraduate education after leaving high school. (Shattuck et al., 2012)

In June 2014, only 19.3 percent of people with disabilities in the U.S. were participating in the labor force – working or seeking work. Of those, 12.9 percent were unemployed, meaning only 16.8 percent of the population with disabilities was employed. (By contrast, 69.3 percent of people without disabilities were in the labor force, and 65 percent of the population without disabilities was employed.) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014)

Week 1

I'm excited to learn more about how to deal with and work with families and people in the community. I know that there are a lot of different people with different views and opinions than me, it is extremely important to understand that in this profession.

I want to learn more about the background of why teachers do things the way they do things. I know that I will be that much better of a teacher, and more professional, if I have the all of the knowledge of everything I need to know. Starting out with learning about HIPAA and FERPA got me excited to keep learning about these things. It's funny how excited to learn and how much more interested you can be in school when you can apply it to your future career. I am ready to learn and be the best educator I can be.

Weekly Quote -- "Educating yourself does not mean that you were stupid in the first place; it means that you are intelligent enough to know that there is plenty left to learn." -Melanie Joy