Oct. 7-11, 2013
This week, I'm learning more specifically about how to record student progress at the end of the day or student's lesson. It's good, because I'm also able to think more about what I'm doing when I'm teaching the kids and especially to think about what I'm going to do before I even begin a lesson. I also appreciated the teacher's feedback on what I recorded.
We also are in the process of evaluating a student at an elementary school in which we gave him his first official cane. He is just the littlest thing and using that cane so well already. Bryan says he is a natural and he foresees him learning the routes around the school in no time. How exciting to watch this curious kid develop great skills!
I'm learning how to just get over my fears and work through the challenge of possibly being bit, attacked, or slobbered on. I've been telling myself to just jump in and do it, because now is the time to get the practice. And, it's been working! :) I worked more with Andrew and Dino this week - 2 boys I swore I would not be handling at the beginning of the internship. With Andrew, I had almost complete independence working with him and he took completely everything out of me. I helped him trail a rail (15-20ft) that led to some shaky poles and helped him walk all the way back to class with his walker. This was really hard physically because he fought the entire way up the rail except for the walk back to class (which he loves - circle time!). With Dino, I think I'm finally finding a good rhythm for him that works for both of us. He loves music and so I had Stevie Wonder playing while he was practicing his touch and trail techniques with arc trainer support.
I also got to observe Bryan teach a new assistant how to work with one of the students. This was really cool, because I am so used to being the student. It was nice to take a step back and watch him teach someone else.
I also got to observe some really cool community lessons in downtown Dunedin - amazingly beautiful area of town. This was the very first time I've ever worked with audible signals at lighted intersections. Yes, can you believe it? This was actually my favorite lesson thus far. I learned so much and got to see the student perform so many obstacles under the blindfold in such a short amount of time. It was neat that Bryan took the time to teach the terms: parallel park and jay-walking at this time.
Another student I used to be fearful of working with was a deafblind student, named Sarah. Bryan has been backing off more and more and encouraging me to work with her more independently. At first, I did not appreciate that, but now I do. :) We are starting to make a connection and build a necessary relationship. Today, when I was working on some homework for this deafblind class I'm taking, I got ideas of new lessons I could incorporate with her and I got pretty excited about it. Thanks, Bryan! :)
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Week 8
Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2013
We had 2 IEP meetings this week, 3 screenings, and I'm getting so much more independence with these kids. I'm also learning so much more than I thought I would at the beginning. The progress of these kids are really knocking my socks off (even from the time we first started working with them).
I'm learning a lot about patience in the sense that when students progress, it doesn't necessarily mean they are apt to continue progressing at the rate they first had. In fact, they may just regress (like this student - Alex). I'm learning to bite my tongue a lot (when I'm giving him instruction) to provide him with the room he needs to figure it out on his own (even if he gets lost or is taking a lot time - to me, to figure it out).
I'm learning about the importance of teaching orientation skills versus mobility skills and when to apply one or the other. For instance, there is this one student who we have been working with to improve muscle tone and simple and practical use and development of his gross motor skills. After a lot of whining, Bryan realized he should alter his lessons to incorporate things that were more rewarding for him instead of seemingly work all of the time. Now, we are teaching the student how to use the wheelchair more efficiently and experience the world that way. It is going so well. I can tell the student is really enjoying the places I've been bringing him to.
I'm learning that it is not so scary to be slobbered on and possibly bit (which I did not, just saying). If there was any student I was completely afraid of, it was this one kid named Andrew. A lightbulb went off in my head the other day when I realized I should just dive in and do it instead of wait for the courage to drop from the sky and into my lap. I'm proud to say Bryan has allowed me to work almost independently with him and it has been fabulous (a workout for sure, but fabulous). For instance, I wheeled him out to sensory playground and helped him wrap himself on the spinner, then towards his walker, walking all the way back to class (with physical and verbal prompting from behind his walker). This is one of the students I am considerably impressed by his abilities since school started.
I'm learning about how important it is to push the students even farther than I think they can be pushed. For instance, on this particular day we were working with Andrew, we had done so much with him and he was hot and sweaty and our time with him was running short. I recommended to Bryan for Andrew to be put in his wheelchair and we could wheel him back to class. Bryan motioned for his walker (just to see how far he could make it back to class). It turned out Andrew made it all the way from that point back to his class (walking by himself in the walker with physical prompt on the back of the walker). I could not believe it! And just think, he would have not had the opportunity to do that had it not have been Bryan advocating for his abilities.
I'm learning how to be sensitive to students' emotions and reactions to lessons and alter lesson plans accordingly. For instance, when working with Grace she has often demonstrated fear of isolation consistently. So, Bryan changed the objective of his lessons to incorporate more exploration and experience of her environments. I'm so glad he did this and that I got to see him problem solve this situation.
I'm learning to be sensitive to certain students who are tactile defensive. This one student gets so upset with me when I correct him and touch him at the same time. He starts to give me an attitude and I really need to draw strict boundaries with him on this so my lessons with him are more effective. It is hard, because he is so little and he reminds me of my son. :)
I'm learning how to write objectives and record data after student lessons in my sleep. I've been using Bryan's special assistive technological device for this so I know how to do when I am a teacher.
On one of our community lessons, a high school student taught me how to use voice over on my phone and I also got to observe her take an imaginary bus to CVS, find the store (by herself), go inside, and purchase a drink. Watching her problem solve during this time was interesting.
For one of the screenings, we got to meet a student who receives vision services in her home. We spent an hour and a half screening the student there and talking with the student's mom. All that and Bryan motioned that he did not think his services would benefit the student based on the specific circumstances and home environment.
Did I mention I'm learning a lot? :)
We had 2 IEP meetings this week, 3 screenings, and I'm getting so much more independence with these kids. I'm also learning so much more than I thought I would at the beginning. The progress of these kids are really knocking my socks off (even from the time we first started working with them).
I'm learning a lot about patience in the sense that when students progress, it doesn't necessarily mean they are apt to continue progressing at the rate they first had. In fact, they may just regress (like this student - Alex). I'm learning to bite my tongue a lot (when I'm giving him instruction) to provide him with the room he needs to figure it out on his own (even if he gets lost or is taking a lot time - to me, to figure it out).
I'm learning about the importance of teaching orientation skills versus mobility skills and when to apply one or the other. For instance, there is this one student who we have been working with to improve muscle tone and simple and practical use and development of his gross motor skills. After a lot of whining, Bryan realized he should alter his lessons to incorporate things that were more rewarding for him instead of seemingly work all of the time. Now, we are teaching the student how to use the wheelchair more efficiently and experience the world that way. It is going so well. I can tell the student is really enjoying the places I've been bringing him to.
I'm learning that it is not so scary to be slobbered on and possibly bit (which I did not, just saying). If there was any student I was completely afraid of, it was this one kid named Andrew. A lightbulb went off in my head the other day when I realized I should just dive in and do it instead of wait for the courage to drop from the sky and into my lap. I'm proud to say Bryan has allowed me to work almost independently with him and it has been fabulous (a workout for sure, but fabulous). For instance, I wheeled him out to sensory playground and helped him wrap himself on the spinner, then towards his walker, walking all the way back to class (with physical and verbal prompting from behind his walker). This is one of the students I am considerably impressed by his abilities since school started.
I'm learning about how important it is to push the students even farther than I think they can be pushed. For instance, on this particular day we were working with Andrew, we had done so much with him and he was hot and sweaty and our time with him was running short. I recommended to Bryan for Andrew to be put in his wheelchair and we could wheel him back to class. Bryan motioned for his walker (just to see how far he could make it back to class). It turned out Andrew made it all the way from that point back to his class (walking by himself in the walker with physical prompt on the back of the walker). I could not believe it! And just think, he would have not had the opportunity to do that had it not have been Bryan advocating for his abilities.
I'm learning how to be sensitive to students' emotions and reactions to lessons and alter lesson plans accordingly. For instance, when working with Grace she has often demonstrated fear of isolation consistently. So, Bryan changed the objective of his lessons to incorporate more exploration and experience of her environments. I'm so glad he did this and that I got to see him problem solve this situation.
I'm learning to be sensitive to certain students who are tactile defensive. This one student gets so upset with me when I correct him and touch him at the same time. He starts to give me an attitude and I really need to draw strict boundaries with him on this so my lessons with him are more effective. It is hard, because he is so little and he reminds me of my son. :)
I'm learning how to write objectives and record data after student lessons in my sleep. I've been using Bryan's special assistive technological device for this so I know how to do when I am a teacher.
On one of our community lessons, a high school student taught me how to use voice over on my phone and I also got to observe her take an imaginary bus to CVS, find the store (by herself), go inside, and purchase a drink. Watching her problem solve during this time was interesting.
For one of the screenings, we got to meet a student who receives vision services in her home. We spent an hour and a half screening the student there and talking with the student's mom. All that and Bryan motioned that he did not think his services would benefit the student based on the specific circumstances and home environment.
Did I mention I'm learning a lot? :)
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Week 7 (cont'd...)
Sept. 23-27, 2013
This week, we accomplished 2 screenings and attended
another IEP meeting. I also had my first observation from one of the supervising
teachers. It was a productive week as I am also taking on more students
independently and really enjoying it.
On one of the screenings for a student, I started to
learn how creative you have to be to accomplish this thing. These are the objectives I noticed Bryan got from the student while he screened him: (1) who the student was and
where he came from, (2) if the student had mobility training in the past, (3) if
the student uses peripheral/central vision, (4) what the student sees exactly
when he is looking out at a view, (5) if the student knows anything about his
visual impairment, (6) if the student has issues with night vision, (7)
observing the student’s depth perception, (8) student’s ability to go up and
down stairs, (9) if the student knows where certain rooms or buildings are in
the school, (10) the student’s ability to read words from signs from certain
distances, (11) if the student uses or used a telescope, and (12) if the
student uses glasses and if he does, how often he relies upon the glasses to see. This screening took place over 3 different sessions.
The observation by one of the supervising teachers went
very well. For this, I worked with Michelle, high school student with RP (retinitis pigmentosa). I had her blindfolded at a drop-off location in a residential area. When she came out of the car, I had her put the blindfold on, gave her directions (verbally) of a block route (u-route) travel from the current location to a coffee shop. Then, she was required to locate the store, go inside, make a purchase, and find a table. I was really impressed with her ability to do all of this with only one verbal prompt, because I afforded her about 6 prompts at most on the pre-written lesson plans. She ended up crossing a few intersections (stop signs) and one lighted intersection. When we made it to the coffee shop, I met her at the table she found and that is when she took off her blindfold and we were able to chat about her progress. Afterwards, I had her describe how she would reverse the route and then, she reapplied the blindfold and did just that with again, just one verbal prompt. I was proud of myself for biting my tongue the time she got lost in some bushes and had to find her way back out and onto the sidewalk and also when she could not make out when to cross the lighted intersection until after about 3 traffic cycles.
I am beginning to feel more and more confident about this position. Yay! :)
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