ECSE 340

Last week, I met Ezra's family for our first home visit. This week, I scheduled our second home visit and began looking through my notes to see what the mom and dad wanted most for Ezra and tried to align it with what I found from the Ages and Stages questionnaire.

When I spoke to Ezra's mom, she mentioned her desire to have him begin learning sign language. We talked about how she would like to know when he is hungry or thirsty. We decided to start with the sign of milk.

Looking at the Ages and Stages questionnaire showed me that this area would be good to work on and that I could pair it with problem solving. As he learns the sign for milk, we can move onto other signs that will help him to get the things that he needs, which is a form of problem solving.

"Before you call, think of what the parent has told you before about the goals for their child. Then use what you found from the Ages and Stages questionnaire to create a semester long goal." -Sister Swenson

I liked when she said this because it made me connect in my mind all of the things that we are doing during our intervention visits. As an interventionist, I need to work on the goal set by the parents, but also not disregard what I know the child needs to be working on.

I am excited to go into the home with a partner because I feel like I will learn just as much from watching one of my peers interact with a family as I will learn with my infant and his family.

Behavior

This week, the chapter focused on helping students to prevent behaviors, and how to respond to teach level of behavior. I enjoyed the class discussion this week because we were able to see how this can work in a special needs classroom.

I have been under the impression that without a reinforcer, I can't work with students that have a federally defined disability. This include: Learning disability, Cognitive impairment, Autism spectrum disorder, Hearing impairment, Vision impairment, Hearing and vision impairment, Other (such as ADHD), Orthopedic, Traumatic brain injury, Emotional Disturbance, Speech and language, and Multiple disabilities.

After having this discussion in class, I realized that the reason the reinforcer is needed is because after the extrinsic motivation is gone, the student stops doing the desired behavior. If I couple the extrinsic motivation with an intrinsic motivation, the desired behavior will continue as I slowly take away the "candy" or other extrinsic motivation.

We also focused on BIP and I was encouraged by Brother Cloward to learn more about this because of my study being in ECSE. A Behavior Intervention Plan is included as a part of the IEP plan and lays out what steps are to be taken when a behavior occurs and should be included if the behavior is negatively affecting the students academic success. It is also required when the behavior negatively affects the learning of other students who will be associating with this student.

When I worked at American Fork High School, the life skills students all have varying behavior plans. Some of the behaviors were severe enough that a behavioral contract was signed by the student and the teacher, stating the consequences or rewards associated with the behavior or the lack of it. I think if my teachers would have tried to create better intrinsic reinforcers, the behaviors could have been present less often than they were.

Wrapping up this semester, I feel like my philosophy of education has changed. Because I have seen poor examples of helping these students reach their IEP and BIP goals, I didn't think it was realistic or even necessary. But these goals are hear to help the student to succeed and to offer them as much academic opportunity as everyone else.

Reflection: Teaching on Poverty

Each member of my group contributed to the overall lesson that we presented to our class. We tried to make it as interactive as possible and to avoid lecturing. Looking at the national statistic for those living in poverty made me feel sad because it was so high in 2013. Idaho was at 47% and most of the states were just as high, if not higher.

From this experience, I want to make personal application. Brother Cloward gave us the challenge of finding a small way we can combat poverty and help the public school systems. My first pledge is to never take away a recess from any student because I believe there is value and learning that takes place when we are outside, playing games in an unstructured fashion. I also want to become involved in my community as I have children and to be involved in their classrooms.

Poverty usually stems from a lack of financial security and can affect things as much as cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Another way I hope to help my students is by creating an environment that is safe from judgement and where they can feel comfortable learning, growing and making mistakes. Part of the teaching I want to focus on is what is morally right when we are working with other classmates. It isn't right to exclude others or tear them down. We need to build each other up and recognize the positive characteristics of each other.

I know I can't take away world hunger or even provide food for all of the students in my class, but I can focus on the circle of influence that I have and try and make an overall better environment for my students within my classroom as well as the students attending the school.

Service Learning

For my service learning hours this semester, I went to Hands, the special needs FUN RUN, and to Life Skills. Last semester, I had the opportunity to go to Hands so I was grateful that the same people were there so I could reconnect with them and learn from them.

I am always impressed with the capability of one girl in particular that I associate with at Hands. She can easily hold a conversation, enjoys doing the artwork, and likes to make connections with the people around her. She remembers people from a long time ago and likes making new friends. She is interested in music and games to play on her i-pod. She likes getting her toenails done and wearing jewelry.

This semester, I really enjoyed focusing on the abilities and skills of these individuals, not their disabilities. When I went to Fun Run, there was a man there that ran the entire mile and when he finished, he called one of his friends and said, "I just finished a marathon!" I enjoyed dancing with them at the finish line and continuing to get to know them.

To prepare for their end of the semester talent show, we practiced their talents for Life Skills. I loved listening to a poem that one girl wrote about love and how she shows her love by being their for people. Another girl sang a song about America and was so proud to be on the stage, singing her heart out. I admire their ability to share what they love to do without fear of being judged by others.

I am grateful for how far America has come in helping individuals to become a part of society and to not exclude them from our circle. I feel a desire to work with young children and to help them be a part of the general education classroom as much as possible. Too many youth grow up not knowing how to interact with someone who is different from them. As a part of the LRE we have seen students included in general education classrooms in high school and in the middle school. But it isn't happening enough. If we want our students to learn what real life is really about, we need them to interact with those who haven't been as blessed as they are. We sill have a long way to go. I wonder how hard it would be to have preschools that included students of all ability levels and how hard it would be to continue using heterogeneous groups throughout grade school.

Stuttering

I think it is safe to say that the majority of my class put this simulation off for last because of how awkward it is to have a stutter. I finally had the courage to stutter while ordering a smoothie. I stumbled over the name of the smoothly, responded slowly to her questions, and repeated myself several times. It got to the point that if she asked me a yes or no question, I just shook my head because if I had a real stutter, I would have resorted to that to save myself from further embarrassment.

This simulation gave me a small idea of how some of my students might feel in the classroom when I call on them and ask them to give me an answer. One thing that could help these students to feel more comfortable would be to have them share their answer with their elbow partner, instead of having them answer in front of the whole class.

The reoccurring theme for me this semester through all of the simulations is the amount of patience it requires to have these impairments or disorders. I needed to be patient with myself as I tried to read with only one eye. I needed to be patient as I tried to push open a door while sitting in a wheelchair, only to have it come right back at me. I needed to be patient while I tried to speak without the letters n and l. And the people around me needed to be patient as I spoke slowly and repeated words.

As a future educator, I want to be more patient with my students and help my students to be patient with each other. In today's fast paced society, it seems to be almost a thing of the past, but I think it is a virtue that needs to be remembered and that will help create a safe classroom environment for my students.

Chapters 6 and 7

Autism

The first presentation was on autism. The majority of my work with preschoolers has been associated with this disability. I enjoyed seeing the connections that the group made and the video that they shared. Too often, we try to make choices for people that have a disability instead of being patient enough to let them make their own decisions. I know for me, it is much easier to just make a decision for some of the students I work with, but in the end, this is just enabling them to rely on me to make their decisions for them.

Autism is characterized by a lack of social skills (taking things literally), avoidance of eye contact, parroting behaviors, and often being extremely gifted in specific areas of learning. People with autism can be overly stimulated easily and can have trouble focusing on a single thing if they have too much stimulation (hence why they avoid eye contact because of the stimulation given when looking at a face).

To help students with this disorder, I can limit stimulation, give them breaks from learning, and help them find their niche of interest. I can help them by not allowing their para-educator to invade into their social circle so they can develop these skills.

Visual Impairment

A piece that stood out to me from visual impairments was when Garret shared his story about having a tumor around his eye and how bad his vision was. It reminded me of the importance of having understanding for the people around me. How easy it is to just pretend like we know the lives of the people around us, failing to get to know them well enough to understand some of the trials they face each day.

Visual impairments need to negatively affect academic performance in order to receive services under IDEA. I worked with a boy at American Fork High School who was legally blind and he had the service of technological supports that helped him to read and write independently. One thing I noticed was that when things didn't go according to plan, he would become frustrated and would need time to cool down. Visual impairments can accompany other learning disabilities.

I can help the visually impaired by making clear assignments that have enlarged print and additional spacing. I can seat the child in the front of the classroom and write with a bigger font. I can also pair them with a buddy that can help them to read material that is too small for them to see.

Speech Impairment

There was so much material in the chapter for this week! I enjoyed the presentations from both of the groups. I nearly choked on the three marshmallows and Britley couldn't understand a word I was saying! The only reason she guessed the three statements that I shared with myself was because I made hand motions while I "spoke". I thought it was interesting to make the connection between showing patience for those who have speech impairments and how difficult it can be for them to get their message across.

The general application I took away from this was to show patience for students with speech impairments. It is a disservice for me to always speak for them or to supply words for them, but I can also be sensitive to their needs and help them avoid embarrassing situations by not asking them to answer a question in front of the whole class. I can use white boards as well as think-pair-share.

Speech and sound disorders come in two types: articulation  or phonological processes. Articulation problems are when a child produces sounds incorrectly (possible a lisp). Sound patterns, or phonological processes can come as word substitution, omission, addition or distortion of speech sounds.

Learning Disability

The second presentation was about learning disabilities. They did a great job of showing us how difficult it could be to read if the letters were jumbled up all of the time. A little girl I work with at the elementary school seems to have an acute problem with this because she likes to sometimes read the word backwards or spell words backwards. She gets frustrated fairly easily because she can't seem to read like everyone else in her class. I am grateful that the presentations have translated over into real life.

The general application from this presentation for me was that I need to meet the child where they are at. It doesn't make any sense for me to go outside of the childs' zone of proximal development because that is where the frustration comes in for them. If they don't love learning, then they aren't going to have very much motivation to try.

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

A girl from my class shared an experience where she suffered from severe anxiety to the point that she would pace her house at night to make sure that everyone was going to be safe. These disorders can range from depression, to OCD, to anxiety to Bipolar to Schizophrenia. 

My family has a high incidence of depression. One thing that my family has tried to do is to set goals for future events. Having something to live for can help a little bit. 

I liked the video this group showed because it talked about the lack of understanding our society has in relationship to these disorders. How often do we use these terms without a full understanding of what that actually looks like? I worked with a girl in a Life Skills class that constantly was worried that people were going to kidnap her and that she smelled gross. These are real disorders that affect a large percentage of the population. 

The statistics for Schizophrenia are very low. I found this interesting because a person can't be diagnosed with this disorder until the age of 18 because of how rare it is. This made it hard in the Life Skills class because there was a girl with high symptoms of this disorder, but she couldn't be treated for it until she turned 18.

One thing I want to be better at is having understanding towards those who suffer from this disorder. I can't understand what it is like to want to wash my hands dozens of times in a day or to want to take my own life, but these are real disorders. I don't need to judge others just because of my lack of understanding.

ADHD and ADD

These week, a group presented on ADHD/ ADD. Before this presentation, I wasn't aware of the medical implications of this disorder. I learned that when a student is affected by this disorder, the cortex of the brain shuts down during time of instruction so while a student may be able to complete an assignment one day, the next, they won't have access to that information. I felt like this lesson was good for me to realize that this is a true medical condition and just because I haven't experienced it, doesn't mean it isn't real.

I took the general application that I need to accommodate for this disorder by limiting the distractions for this student by having them sit in the front of the classroom, giving them more time to complete assignments, limiting the quantity of an assignment (not the quality), giving verbal explanations as well as written (by putting up a powerpoint after verbal instructions so all students know the basic instructions for the current assignment), and offering opportunities to move around in the classroom.

I also need to let the parents know what I have observed (which doesn't mean that I tell them to get their child tested, just that I let them know of the symptoms I am observing). Some parents may be in denial that their child is having these symptoms. I can have patience with the student and the parents as they struggle to find what will work best for them, whether that is medication or social support through counseling.

There are three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive, and a mixture of the two. The inattentive ADHD is found in girls twice as often as it is in boys. The other or mixture of the two is found three times as often in boys then in girls. Around the world 5.2 million people have ADHD.

Cognitive Impairment

Some characteristics of cognitive impairments include forgetting basic information (like their age or names of places), a tendency to get overwhelmed easily, trouble reading despite normal intelligence, impairment of communication, and a high level of motor activity.

These children can be helped by teaching life skills in how to appropriately communicate with others. One way I have seen this done is through role play. The students practicing their social skills are asked to act out different scenarios of how to ask if they can join in a game or how to alternate asking and answering questions in a conversation. 

This impairment is caused by an outside force, usually a violent blow to the head. These students benefit from having more time to understand concepts and to complete assignments.

Poverty

Poverty is so much more than not having money. Poverty also comes in the form of not having proper stimulation from the beginning of life and ranging into adulthood. One way to combat poverty is to give environmental supports from a very young age. Stress and anxiety are a part of life, but there can be toxic stress when children or adults are placed in environments of abuse, neglect, or organized crime. Without these emotional supports, these people will suffer developmentally and will continue the cycle of living in poverty.

In 2013, Idaho was ranked at having 47% of its population falling below the poverty level (meaning a family of four would earn less than $22,000 a year). Half of our students were qualifying for free or reduced lunch at school. 

One way I hope to combat poverty in my own classroom is to never take away recess privileges from a child. Children need to be able to play to develop socially/emotionally, cognitively and physically. Another small way is to create a classroom environment where we are safe to make mistakes and where it isn't okay to look down on others because of their family circumstances. 

I loved the story Brother Cloward shared about the teacher who organized clothes, glasses, and shoes to the point that when the built the new school, they built rooms to house all of those things. It can be hard to do the right thing and to stand alone, but it is worth it. Poverty affects such a large percentage of students that it cannot be ignored. I can make sure my students have opportunities to enroll in programs designed to help their needs. 

ELL 

It used to be thought that we should just submerge ELL students into the classroom and that they would figure it out after a while. A girl in my SPED 310 class had that experience when she came to America and said that she was quiet for about a year until she learned Spanish. Today, we have separate classes for these students to help support them academically as they transition into the American culture.

I want to be good at communicating with the parents of my students and because I don't speak Spanish, this is a potential barrier. My husband speaks Spanish and so it is my goal to learn enough Spanish that I could have a conversation with them over the phone or during a parent teacher conference so they feel comfortable enough to attend and talk about their child.

Evaluating Skills

The American public school system is doing a lot to make sure we are evaluating the skills of our students equally across the nation. While the CCSS are making the material that should be taught the same across the nation, there is little as to how this will effect students that fall within Special Education.

I think this also raises the question for how the material is being covered. While the standard for what is being taught has been raised to a higher level, the method of teaching has not. Despite some of these flaws, this week I learned the importance of helping my students to succeed while I measure their skill level, not their disability.

Evaluating skills is separate from evaluating their disability because I should already be aware of the disability- this is not the same as evaluation for services. Because I should already know where my students are at, I can help them succeed by clearly writing my test (making sure there is enough space in between questions), remind students of the option of getting help from a tutor, and give the students either a practice test or a study guide. 

My accommodations, such as no time limit, shouldn't lower my expectations and should be available so that again, I am measuring skill, not the disability. I can also grade out of the number tried, not the total number of questions. This would allow my students to work on the questions they have time for and would end up giving me a more accurate idea of what they really know.

This past week, I was given a zero on an assignment that I had put effort into and had taken my time to complete. While I may have total botched the point of the assignment, I could see how distorting it was for my overall grade to have that zero. For one thing, someone who hadn't attempted the assignment at all would have gotten the same grade as me and for another, it doesn't accurately show what a student does know. 

Grades do have their place and assessments need to be made. But again, when it comes to the CCSS and evaluating skills, I want to assess my students throughout the semester in ways other than formal tests. What if the evaluation is to have the students make real life application? If there is a math problem that says to try and find the three sides of a triangle made with the shadow, flag pole, and the line connecting the two, why not actually find out instead of sitting inside and doing a worksheet? This week's material reminded me of the importance of doing hands on assessments as well as instruction throughout the semester.