ECSE 421 RB 7

This week we have been working on our Family Project. It has been fun but also a little challenging to find resources to help our family that has a child with down syndrome. I never realized all the different resources that the child and the family would need. There are so many things to consider that you don't think to consider. And then when you do figure out the resources that are needed, it is a struggle to locate and find those resources. Even in big cities, there is a lot you have to do to receive necessary services. However, it has been eye opening as to how to work with a family that has a special needs child.

Weekly Quote:

"No one tells you grieving can be a normal part in raising a child with special needs" -Katie Paulson


HWD:

This week i found a blog post from the above mother, Katie Paulson, about her experience with the grief cycle since she had her son who has panhypopituitarism. She goes through each of the stages of the grief cycle and how they affected her. It was really great to read this and see what the grief cycle is like for parents who have special needs. It is okay to grieve, in fact, it is essential. She went through all the stages and finally reached acceptance and hope. It took a while, but she reached it. She understands that the saddness and anger may still come back, but she still has hope.

ECSE 340 RB 7

Our home visit this week went really well! We came up with two different activities that we had Mom do. One to work on passing toys from one hand to the next, and the other to help N strengthen her core muscles. Mom did a great job and caught on to the activities quickly. As we were practicing during the home visit, we could already tell that N was progressing and that she was catching on as well. As mom did baby sit-ups with N, we could already see N contracting her core muscles and strengthening them. I am excited to see the progress that N makes in the next few weeks.

I do not have any questions or concerns, as it has been so great working with the family and with N. Mom just wants N to progress and wants her to sit up. So everything we do is geared toward that. Mom is not afraid to ask us questions or let us know what is going on with N's growth. I appreciate that she is so open with us, because we are able to really cater to their concerns and their needs.

Resource:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/299657-exercises-to-strengthen-babys-abdominal-muscles/

Weekly Quote:

"Just like adults, specific exercises can help your baby develop abdominal muscles he needs to become strong and mobile. The exercises can also be a fun and bonding activity for the two of you". -Jody Braverman 

This quote comes from the above resource and i like that it mentions helping baby with these exercises can be a bonding and fun activity for mom and baby. 

ECSE 340 RB 6

This week we had our baseline visit with N and her mother. We explained the results of the first assessment that we gave and then we asked a few more questions for the next assessment up to challenge her. We then evaluated some skills needed to work on the goals we set for N in sitting up and problem solving (passing a toy from one hand to the other). We found that N has good depth perception and can grasp toys pretty easily. We need to work on the passing motion from one hand to the next. We then evaluated her head control, balance, self correction, and core strength. She has great head control, but we need to work on her core strength, which will then increase her balance and self correction.

I think our visit went great and we were able to do all that we needed to. N's mother was happy with our goals and is excited to work on sitting up and passing toys to different hands. For next week, we will write our intervention plan and create activities to work on. We will then begin our intervention activities next week.

Resource:

www.babybigstep.com (blog that has a 7 day step program for helping a child to pass a toy from one hand to the next including activities).

RB 6 ECSE 421

I really enjoyed our discussion this week about working with parents. It really is important to communicate with the parents and have a good understanding of how to work with them. I never realized all that was included in working with parents. But it is the teachers responsibility to foster that good positive relationship and do what you can. I like the idea of home visits, calling the parents about good news, praising the parents for the good they are doing, and including the parents in everything. I know that if we do this, they will feel more in charge of their child's learning and growth. They will feel that they have a major part in deciding what their child needs and actually doing it. I am going to apply all of these into my future career either as a teacher or a developmental specialist.

Weekly Quote:

"Identify habits or attitudes that interfere with effective communication". I like this a lot because I say "like" SO much that it annoys my husband. So, I now realize that I need to work on not saying it so much so I can be taken seriously and be more professional.


HWD:

Since I changed my topic, I was looking up articles about the grief and crisis cycle in children with special needs and the parents with those children. I have not found many articles yet, but I have found that there are many resources in dealing with children with special needs and the grief cycle is a very real thing when it comes to that. I am excited to learn more about all the different parts of the grief cycle.

ECSE 340 RB 5

So this week Brynn and I did our first home visit. It went really well and we are so excited to start our intervention lessons. We administered the Ages and Stages assessment to our infant and go pretty high scores for all the domains. Because of this, we have to go back and give her the next age up in the assessment to figure out where she is low so we can base our intervention plans off of that. This was definitely something that I learned this week. It makes sense though, because if we could start early on intervention that will help in the future, then the infant and parents will be greatly benefited and much better off.

An additional question that I have is about the baseline visit. I am still a little confused at what that means and how that goes, but I guess we will figure it out. I don't understand how that is different from our first visit if we have to give her another assessment.


Weekly Quote:

"Goals have to be measurable, specific, and observable".

ECSE 421 RB 5

I really enjoyed our classes this week. I am a hands on person and I much rather enjoy having a conversation and hearing about real life experiences. So I really liked the videos we watched and the guest lecture that made everything so much more real for me. 

The guest lecture was such an eye opener for me. I love hearing real experiences of parents with children that have disabilities. They are all just so real and down to earth. They are real about the hard and bad parts about the disabilities and real about the good times as well. I also really like that they treat them just like any other child. I could tell that the mom that came to speak to us loved her children so much and would do anything for them. But I could also tell how hard it is sometimes, and that is OKAY! Sometimes we think that it is not okay to suffer or not okay to cry. But that is just a normal part of life. We just have to learn to love life through the trials. So when it comes to having a child with a disability, you accept that that is your life and that it will be hard but love them anyways.

One thing I really liked was that she put on her powerpoint that having children with a disability created stress in her marriage. I just like that she was honest about that. Especially after having 6 other kids of her own that were typically developing and then adopting 3 with disabilities. I can totally understand the stress it would create. But the amazing thing is that they worked through it and they continue to work on it everyday to create the best life for their children that they can.

Weekly Quote:
"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't know that slapping my child would cure him of autism!"-Jenn

HWD:

I found this really cool website while researching this week. It is: https://www.homecity.com/creating-a-home-where-your-child-can-thrive-with-a-disability

It is a real estate website, but has so many ideas and resources for parents when it comes to modifications for the child with special needs! It has so many different ways you can modify your house so that your child with a special need can thrive and live comfortably. I think it was really cool that that was available for parents to refer to.

ECSE 421 RB #4

I learned a lot this week in class. I thought it was so interesting when we were talking about the grief cycle, especially in the context of being a professional working with families of children with special needs. Knowing the grief cycle can help us understand families and where they are at when we work with them. This is so good to know, so that we can better help the families instead of tearing them down. 

Another thing that really struck me hard was regarding the question, "Is our education system supporting a fatherless America?". I had never thought about this before. Of course we are! We are scheduling parent teacher conferences, IEP meetings, school performances, etc during the day when fathers are working and they cannot attend. We are inviting the mothers to come in and help out in the classroom, but not the fathers. We are not giving the fathers the opportunity to be available. During this discussion, I thought about how when I am a professional one day (if I decide to work in a school), I will do all that I can to prevent this from happening. I will schedule all those things at night, when the fathers can attend. I think it is so important, even if it cuts into my own personal time. Fathers need to be present. 

My father was so involved in my life, and I can see the impact it has had on my family and myself. Especially now that I am an adult and living away from home, I can see that I am who I am today because of my father and the man he was and is in my life. Every child deserves to be treated that way. 

Quote:

"It is important to wrestle and rough play with your children" -Sister Swenson in class

I really liked this because that is another reason why we need fathers, because they help in the development of their children in ways we never would have thought!

HWD:

In regards to my topic, I think having a father involved in the home can really help when it comes to families of children with special needs. I also liked the question posed in class, Do we spend money to fix the yard or do we go on a family trip? I think one of the best practices to balance the child with special needs and the children without is to just be a family. Do things together, and have fun!