Nov. 18-22, 2013
At the start of the week, I observed Steve Hinkley for the first time at Nina Harris (an ESE school in my area). I asked Bryan if I could observe him on this day, b/c I am highly interested in this population of kids and for some reason, I kept thinking this was my last week of interning. After Bryan and I reviewed the master calendar for the internship, we realized my last week of interning would be after the first week of Dec. Yay! I get a full week of observing Steve and Nancy after the Thanksgiving break!
I observed Steve work with 4/5 students that day. 1 student was absent. It was so good for me to see his teaching approach and teaching styles with the kids. His students reminded me so much of our students at Paul B. I kept referring to them as a mix between "this student" and "that student". I really appreciated Steve's strength, ability to encourage the students toward the develoment of determination, and his creativity. With this one student, he had her walk to his office (independently), find the frisbee on his desk, walk out to an open field, and throw it back and forth to each other. It was fun for all of us and such a good lesson for me to observe the student's contrast vision, fine and gross motor skills, peripheral vision, central and peripheral vision, and more. One of the things I also learned about this experience was that Bryan sure has a much harder and much more interesting caseload at Paul B. Stephens. I found out after observing Steve's students that Bryan has some of the hardest students (Dino, Sarah, and Andrew) that even Steve has ever dealt with and this was encouraging for me, b/c I was blossoming with these specific students.
This week, we had another QPVI meeting, which they mentioned might be ending after the next one in Dec. I learned so much at this meeting about professional conduct, character, paperwork requirement for TVIs, and desires for management over the vision program of Pinellas. At this meeting, I was able to introduce myself to the teacher I will be working with in May for my TVI internship and Beverly Bennett (Lighthouse of Pinellas representative). Beverly gave a speech on the transition program provided at the Lighthouse and educated us on what they offer for students who qualify for that position. I was shocked to see Beverly, b/c I was planning on going to see her personally right after the meeting to ask her about a position I am interested in at the Lighthouse. I was able to introduce myself to her and ask her more about the position. The position is working with babies and the requirement would be to be TVI and O&M certified with an ability to get training in 2 early intervention Visas. She told me there was a gentleman flying all the way from CA to interview, but if that did not work out and the position was still available in May, she would consider me.
Another O&M Specialist, Nancy Montcalm asked Bryan if I could assist her with her American Teach-In lesson at her daughter's school (Anona Elementary) on Thurs. This was so neat and I'm so glad she asked me to do this with her. Nancy has been teaching a little longer (22 yrs) than Bryan. She arranged such a neat lesson for the class. It was also interesting to observe her teaching style in comparison to Bryan's and Steve's, b/c she is a woman. I was most impressed by her speech and her little activity for the kids to learn braille. She had me pass out 6 skittles to each student and she had an activity for the whole class to place each skittle on a braille cell (ditto). Then, she instructed everyone to move the skittles around to certain dots, to eat ones on certain dots, and she told them how each of these different arrangements made different letters. By the end of the lesson, I have never seen so many 4th graders so excited about braille! After this, she arranged 11 different stations in the room for the students to experience. She had Perkins braillers, braille books, maps, touch-and-feel bags, canes (which I instructed and prompted students to use outside the classroom), magnifiers, telescopes, talking and graphing calculators, and more! I hope I get the privilege of doing something like this in the future for a gen ed school.
After her presentation, I observed Nancy work with a high school student (blind and autistic), which was good for me to see (especially since I will be working at a HS resource room from Jan-May for my TVI internship).
When Nancy and I met Bryan at the mall for a community lesson with Jon and Alex, it was interesting how our lessons took a different twist and turn. This happened when we were walking in the mall toward the ice skating rink and skylight and found a helicopter in the dead center of its perimeters. The helicopter was advertising flying lessons/tours and the assistant allowed the students to get in the helicopter and feel all its parts. That was the coolest thing ever! What are the chances? That's when Bryan and Nancy told me about the importance of going with the flow and not getting upset when the lesson doesn't come out as planned.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Week 14
Nov. 11-15, 2013
On Monday, one of our wheelchair-bound students' parents joined us on our lesson to see the progress their daughter has made. It was pretty awesome. They invested in this extremely expensive wheelchair and the company is currently loaning them this headrest device and that is what we were impressing them with (how well she has adjusted to the use of the headrest and certain positions of her head to make it move). She is able to move forward, turn left and right with purpose and it is just the coolest thing to watch (especially since when we first started working with her, she could barely put her head back to move forward at all).
I also got some big success in working with a deafblind student on Bryan's caseload. This student has CHARGE syndrome and sometimes she acts out for no apparent reason. On this particular day, we took a walk outside (freezing) and she started to react by stomping her feet and groaning and whaling her arms. Immediately, I motioned for her to enter the building and we headed to the library. I just wanted to try something new. So, I had her put on some headphones and listen to a story. I was amazed to find her loving the story as she listened. She started clapping, smiling, making pleasant groans, and stomping her feet in a happy way. That was very rewarding for me.
I am definitely getting close to 100% independence with these kids. I've experienced so much and I can imagine it would even be so much more if this lasted through the whole school year. There is really so much to write about and it's hard to choose which experiences to focus on.
I'm learning how to work with a student who recently broke his finger. This kid is wheelchair-bound and he uses his hands to wheel himself in the chair. This is good experience for me, b/c I'm learning to work through exactly what to do. I feel so limited with this situation and I've had great success where he loves to work (cafeteria with all the sensory things going on and Sandra, who he LOVES). He does not have much success anywhere else, but it is also a challenge, b/c the time I have him is when it is lunch time so it is hard to have the lesson in the back of the kitchen at lunch time.
It was neat to challenge Lucas with something I hadn't challenged him with before - reversing the route. I had him do his usual route from class to playground, but this time I told him to reverse the route. At first, he was so confused and ready to go into the door that we normally go in from the playground, but I continued to stand by the gate of the playground and call his name. After he started heading my way, I told him what we were doing and he didn't seem opposed to it (which I thought he would be - b/c of his limitations). I have seen such a big progress in his abilities since we first started working with him. Or, is it b/c I'm paying more attention to the kids now than when I first met them?
This week, I'm learning how to work through a student's behavior in working with me. Our "honeymoon phase" has quickly ended and now all he wants to do when he hears me coming is attack me (with his nails or with his cane). The first time he did it (threw the cane at me several times), I just kept giving it back to him and encouraging him to work through it. The second time he threw it at me, I left it in the classroom and shortened his walking time and just took him out to the sensory playground. It really is such a tough decision, b/c either way we are rewarding bad behavior.
I saved the best for last, b/c that is when it happened this particular week. I was walking Daniel down the hall after working with him (walking with his walker from class to playground and back to class). About 10 ft away from his class, all of a sudden, his pants start to fall down (out of nowhere) along with his diaper. He started to moan and I started to panic and push him faster. Finally, we made it to the class (where there was help for this kind of thing inside). Hoping to find just an assistant there, it was a full class. The first person I saw was the assistant. I was so relieved and I asked him for help, but then I looked over and saw the rest of the class and other teachers. I could not help myself and out of embarrassment and humor, I could not stop laughing for the life of me. I really couldn't tell anyone at the time why I was so awestruck on what to do in that moment, but later as I reflected upon it, I guess I was just afraid of getting in trouble for touching this kid and being the one to blame for pulling his pants down. I don't remember learning about this in any of my classes before. Then again, I only had 1 multiple disabilities class! So, in the classroom - the assistants taught me what to do should that kind of thing happen again - to simply pull up the diaper and pants back up again.
On Monday, one of our wheelchair-bound students' parents joined us on our lesson to see the progress their daughter has made. It was pretty awesome. They invested in this extremely expensive wheelchair and the company is currently loaning them this headrest device and that is what we were impressing them with (how well she has adjusted to the use of the headrest and certain positions of her head to make it move). She is able to move forward, turn left and right with purpose and it is just the coolest thing to watch (especially since when we first started working with her, she could barely put her head back to move forward at all).
I also got some big success in working with a deafblind student on Bryan's caseload. This student has CHARGE syndrome and sometimes she acts out for no apparent reason. On this particular day, we took a walk outside (freezing) and she started to react by stomping her feet and groaning and whaling her arms. Immediately, I motioned for her to enter the building and we headed to the library. I just wanted to try something new. So, I had her put on some headphones and listen to a story. I was amazed to find her loving the story as she listened. She started clapping, smiling, making pleasant groans, and stomping her feet in a happy way. That was very rewarding for me.
I am definitely getting close to 100% independence with these kids. I've experienced so much and I can imagine it would even be so much more if this lasted through the whole school year. There is really so much to write about and it's hard to choose which experiences to focus on.
I'm learning how to work with a student who recently broke his finger. This kid is wheelchair-bound and he uses his hands to wheel himself in the chair. This is good experience for me, b/c I'm learning to work through exactly what to do. I feel so limited with this situation and I've had great success where he loves to work (cafeteria with all the sensory things going on and Sandra, who he LOVES). He does not have much success anywhere else, but it is also a challenge, b/c the time I have him is when it is lunch time so it is hard to have the lesson in the back of the kitchen at lunch time.
It was neat to challenge Lucas with something I hadn't challenged him with before - reversing the route. I had him do his usual route from class to playground, but this time I told him to reverse the route. At first, he was so confused and ready to go into the door that we normally go in from the playground, but I continued to stand by the gate of the playground and call his name. After he started heading my way, I told him what we were doing and he didn't seem opposed to it (which I thought he would be - b/c of his limitations). I have seen such a big progress in his abilities since we first started working with him. Or, is it b/c I'm paying more attention to the kids now than when I first met them?
This week, I'm learning how to work through a student's behavior in working with me. Our "honeymoon phase" has quickly ended and now all he wants to do when he hears me coming is attack me (with his nails or with his cane). The first time he did it (threw the cane at me several times), I just kept giving it back to him and encouraging him to work through it. The second time he threw it at me, I left it in the classroom and shortened his walking time and just took him out to the sensory playground. It really is such a tough decision, b/c either way we are rewarding bad behavior.
I saved the best for last, b/c that is when it happened this particular week. I was walking Daniel down the hall after working with him (walking with his walker from class to playground and back to class). About 10 ft away from his class, all of a sudden, his pants start to fall down (out of nowhere) along with his diaper. He started to moan and I started to panic and push him faster. Finally, we made it to the class (where there was help for this kind of thing inside). Hoping to find just an assistant there, it was a full class. The first person I saw was the assistant. I was so relieved and I asked him for help, but then I looked over and saw the rest of the class and other teachers. I could not help myself and out of embarrassment and humor, I could not stop laughing for the life of me. I really couldn't tell anyone at the time why I was so awestruck on what to do in that moment, but later as I reflected upon it, I guess I was just afraid of getting in trouble for touching this kid and being the one to blame for pulling his pants down. I don't remember learning about this in any of my classes before. Then again, I only had 1 multiple disabilities class! So, in the classroom - the assistants taught me what to do should that kind of thing happen again - to simply pull up the diaper and pants back up again.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Week 13
Nov. 4-8, 2013
I love being creative with these kids! This week, my creativity spilled out onto Austin. To incorporate something new, I had him experience the twisty slide and climbing a ladder (on the playground). It was so cool and he loved it. However, perhaps it is not the safest bet to have the students climb a ladder that high up. I loved introducing the twisty slide to Dino and watching his expression of learning about it as he went down. I appreciate his willingness to trust me to take him to new places on the school grounds. I loved how Daniel appeared he thought he was going to die when he went down the twisty slide as well, but he had the biggest smile on his face on the way back to class. What an adventure! I also loved introducing the swing to Austin and showing him how to find the middle of the swing and where to sit down independently.
I also learned about some assistive technology device (DynaVox) used a homebound wheelchair student. I attended a meeting with Bryan and some other professionals about the device. It was really interesting.
Some new things Bryan is teaching me are incorporating the use of the wheelchair with Andrew. Bryan worked independently with Andrew on this lesson while I assisted and Andrew was not too happy about this new task. He bit his own arm up so bad like I had never seen before. All he accomplished for this lesson was 2 purposeful movements on one wheel toward a projected sound source (located at a slight down slope). If I thought the playground was impossible to begin with, oh brother!
Some students who are knocking my socks off with progress are Morgan (incorporating left, right, and forward motions with controls of the head on the headrest of wheelchair), Alysia (traveling up to 200-300 ft independently with pre-cane), Carsyn (traveling up to 100 ft independently with pre-cane), Sarah (pace of walking up and over curbs is phenomenal).
One of the biggest surprises this week was working with a student who just broke his finger. This is a wheelchair-bound student. I am glad I had this experience, b/c had it been me - the O&M Specialist (without Bryan), I would have mothered the poor kid and opted to not push the lesson. Instead, Bryan brushed it off as no big deal and motioned for me to take him anyway. I know Bryan is in his head laughing at me, but I can't help carrying around with me a mother's heart. :) Due to this broken finger, Jacob's progress has ceased quite a bit. I wonder how long it will take his finger to heal.
By the end of the week, these kids were just about done with me. Carsyn hit his head on a pole after aimlessly wailing for no good reason, Andrew just about bit me and was done with me by the end of our lesson together Thurs, Dino threw his cane at me 4 times and attempted to scratch me after I tried to get him under control, and Daniel peed all over the floor in the front office after stopping by to say hello to the lady at the front desk. Call for laughs another day, but in these moments, I was disturbingly learning.
I'm glad the week ended with an amazing community lesson in the mall with 4 students and 3 teachers. Nancy joined us to help out with the lesson. Grace, Ella, Jon, and Alex all experienced the movie theatre, its size, D-Box display, arcade, concession stand, some free icecream samples, and concierge desk. By far, this was the coolest lesson I've seen thus far. It was probably a classic lesson I would have written about in one of my classes prior to working with these real-life students. Now, I was experiencing it for real and firsthand.
I love being creative with these kids! This week, my creativity spilled out onto Austin. To incorporate something new, I had him experience the twisty slide and climbing a ladder (on the playground). It was so cool and he loved it. However, perhaps it is not the safest bet to have the students climb a ladder that high up. I loved introducing the twisty slide to Dino and watching his expression of learning about it as he went down. I appreciate his willingness to trust me to take him to new places on the school grounds. I loved how Daniel appeared he thought he was going to die when he went down the twisty slide as well, but he had the biggest smile on his face on the way back to class. What an adventure! I also loved introducing the swing to Austin and showing him how to find the middle of the swing and where to sit down independently.
I also learned about some assistive technology device (DynaVox) used a homebound wheelchair student. I attended a meeting with Bryan and some other professionals about the device. It was really interesting.
Some new things Bryan is teaching me are incorporating the use of the wheelchair with Andrew. Bryan worked independently with Andrew on this lesson while I assisted and Andrew was not too happy about this new task. He bit his own arm up so bad like I had never seen before. All he accomplished for this lesson was 2 purposeful movements on one wheel toward a projected sound source (located at a slight down slope). If I thought the playground was impossible to begin with, oh brother!
Some students who are knocking my socks off with progress are Morgan (incorporating left, right, and forward motions with controls of the head on the headrest of wheelchair), Alysia (traveling up to 200-300 ft independently with pre-cane), Carsyn (traveling up to 100 ft independently with pre-cane), Sarah (pace of walking up and over curbs is phenomenal).
One of the biggest surprises this week was working with a student who just broke his finger. This is a wheelchair-bound student. I am glad I had this experience, b/c had it been me - the O&M Specialist (without Bryan), I would have mothered the poor kid and opted to not push the lesson. Instead, Bryan brushed it off as no big deal and motioned for me to take him anyway. I know Bryan is in his head laughing at me, but I can't help carrying around with me a mother's heart. :) Due to this broken finger, Jacob's progress has ceased quite a bit. I wonder how long it will take his finger to heal.
By the end of the week, these kids were just about done with me. Carsyn hit his head on a pole after aimlessly wailing for no good reason, Andrew just about bit me and was done with me by the end of our lesson together Thurs, Dino threw his cane at me 4 times and attempted to scratch me after I tried to get him under control, and Daniel peed all over the floor in the front office after stopping by to say hello to the lady at the front desk. Call for laughs another day, but in these moments, I was disturbingly learning.
I'm glad the week ended with an amazing community lesson in the mall with 4 students and 3 teachers. Nancy joined us to help out with the lesson. Grace, Ella, Jon, and Alex all experienced the movie theatre, its size, D-Box display, arcade, concession stand, some free icecream samples, and concierge desk. By far, this was the coolest lesson I've seen thus far. It was probably a classic lesson I would have written about in one of my classes prior to working with these real-life students. Now, I was experiencing it for real and firsthand.
Week 12
Oct. 28- Nov. 1, 2013
This was an interesting week, b/c I started getting sick and literally making myself get up and go to work everyday. I wanted so bad to stay in bed, but DayQuil was my best friend. By Thurs, I was toast, but that's when Mickey was coming so I had to pull myself together and I missed so much work last week.
This week, Bryan gave me increasingly more independence with each student and I felt he was more confident in leaving me with them. Some of the experiences I appreciated trying on my own were when I let Sarah keep walking past the duck pond when she missed that right turn (again!). We were always correcting her at this turn, I just wanted to see if she would notice she missed that turn. I think she got suspicious at the round-about, but I'm not entirely sure. The next lesson to the duck pond did not reflect she understood this is where she is supposed to turn. I am brainstorming how I could get her to remember this.
I loved the independence of taking Morgan up the pedestrian walk as I thought this was good therapy for her weak muscles. The top of the pedestrian walk is a good reward for her -looking out over the cars pass by. I loved the independence of working more with Andrew. This week, I learned a new way to connect with him (instead of him associating me with work all of the time). When I rubbed his back and encouraged him verbally, he seemed to go from biting his arm to smiling and appearing calm. I loved the independence of introducing Jana to the sensory playground and the rides out there. This was her first time on the teeter totter and spinner. Although she needs more practice strengthening her muscles to use these things, she still got to experience them, which was cool.
Some things that puzzled me this week were working with Alex and him getting emotional in the middle of our lesson. He seemed so out of it and almost like he was sleeping in the middle of our lesson. When I asked him if he was okay, he brushed me off and said he did not want to talk about it. This was a hard experience for me to swallow, b/c I was not sure what that was all about. Bryan told me it was just a brain reaction he occasionally presents.
This was an interesting week, b/c I started getting sick and literally making myself get up and go to work everyday. I wanted so bad to stay in bed, but DayQuil was my best friend. By Thurs, I was toast, but that's when Mickey was coming so I had to pull myself together and I missed so much work last week.
This week, Bryan gave me increasingly more independence with each student and I felt he was more confident in leaving me with them. Some of the experiences I appreciated trying on my own were when I let Sarah keep walking past the duck pond when she missed that right turn (again!). We were always correcting her at this turn, I just wanted to see if she would notice she missed that turn. I think she got suspicious at the round-about, but I'm not entirely sure. The next lesson to the duck pond did not reflect she understood this is where she is supposed to turn. I am brainstorming how I could get her to remember this.
I loved the independence of taking Morgan up the pedestrian walk as I thought this was good therapy for her weak muscles. The top of the pedestrian walk is a good reward for her -looking out over the cars pass by. I loved the independence of working more with Andrew. This week, I learned a new way to connect with him (instead of him associating me with work all of the time). When I rubbed his back and encouraged him verbally, he seemed to go from biting his arm to smiling and appearing calm. I loved the independence of introducing Jana to the sensory playground and the rides out there. This was her first time on the teeter totter and spinner. Although she needs more practice strengthening her muscles to use these things, she still got to experience them, which was cool.
Some things that puzzled me this week were working with Alex and him getting emotional in the middle of our lesson. He seemed so out of it and almost like he was sleeping in the middle of our lesson. When I asked him if he was okay, he brushed me off and said he did not want to talk about it. This was a hard experience for me to swallow, b/c I was not sure what that was all about. Bryan told me it was just a brain reaction he occasionally presents.
Week 11
Oct. 21-25, 2013
At the start of the week, Cindy Campbell came out to observe me for the last and final time of her requirements. This was a really good experience for me as she observed me working with one of my favorite blind students at Paul B. His name is Austin. I had him go from the cafeteria, out the back patio, along a long sidewalk parallel to a parking lot, onto the playground, up some stairs, down a slide, and back to class. He always has such a great attitude. I love working with him. When Cindy and I had our final meeting in Bryan's office before she left, that gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my performance and progress thus far. I was most encouraged by how the strengths she asked me to claim were actually what my weaknesses were in our last meeting. The strengths I mentioned were confidence.
At the start of the week, my daughter's immunity started to go downhill. I was not in school much as I had to monitor her fevers (which lasted 5 days) and take her to the doctor. On Wed, there was an iPad training for the vision department in our area. I attended that in the beginning, but had to leave to take her to the doctor. On Fri, it was Teacher Work Day (which I was unable to attend). Bryan told me he got caught up on all the documents required for the field (screenings, evaluations, applications for Cane Quest, mileage, etc.). I was able to review some of these documents afterwards.
At the start of the week, Cindy Campbell came out to observe me for the last and final time of her requirements. This was a really good experience for me as she observed me working with one of my favorite blind students at Paul B. His name is Austin. I had him go from the cafeteria, out the back patio, along a long sidewalk parallel to a parking lot, onto the playground, up some stairs, down a slide, and back to class. He always has such a great attitude. I love working with him. When Cindy and I had our final meeting in Bryan's office before she left, that gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my performance and progress thus far. I was most encouraged by how the strengths she asked me to claim were actually what my weaknesses were in our last meeting. The strengths I mentioned were confidence.
At the start of the week, my daughter's immunity started to go downhill. I was not in school much as I had to monitor her fevers (which lasted 5 days) and take her to the doctor. On Wed, there was an iPad training for the vision department in our area. I attended that in the beginning, but had to leave to take her to the doctor. On Fri, it was Teacher Work Day (which I was unable to attend). Bryan told me he got caught up on all the documents required for the field (screenings, evaluations, applications for Cane Quest, mileage, etc.). I was able to review some of these documents afterwards.
Week 10
Oct. 14-18, 2013
This week, I started to do more of the coursework required for the position. By the end of the week, I was writing reports on all the students seen and sending it to Bryan so he could record it in his notes. I'm also learning about how Mary Anne (supervisor) takes and uses the information we input. Bryan explained to me the graphing system that is used for this and how they chart student performance based on these graphs. However, it is such a complex dynamic (O&M) and there are so many facets to the profession. I wonder how this could be possible.
I'm definitely getting a lot more independence with the students. Bryan is still accompanying me from a distance and sometimes he is working with the students, but I am beginning to feel the independence that comes with this job. I'm always amazed at the students' progress. For instance, Alysia (a student who used to kick and scream and wail on end) was introduced to the pre-cane and by the end of this week, she is cooperating and walking with it up to 15 feet with prompts on her back. Even though there is progress here, I still wonder how the pre-cane actually helps. It seems unstable and I wish there were more support built into it for students like her. I guess I have to wait this thing out and see how it pans.
Some other things to gauge my progress up to this point can be reflected on my lessons with students named Andrew and Dino. This week, Bryan let me transfer Andrew from his wheelchair to the playground rails of the ramp independently, but he still had to remind me to stop and wait for him to explore. I have a tendency to think, "work" often and this reminder was good for me. I'm glad he told me that, b/c after I waited for Andrew to explore, he went from sucking a pole to wrapping himself around something entirely different (which made him happy). On the way back to class, Andrew was smiling. I couldn't believe it! By the end of the week, I worked with Andrew independently without Bryan's provision and I had him go from his wheelchair all the way up a ramp, up stairs, down a slide, and walking back to class in his gait trainer. This was huge!
When I worked with Dino this week, I worked independently with him. I'm pretty sure Bryan left me alone with him entirely. I found some music on my iPhone and played it for him while we practiced touch technique with the cane from his class to the cafeteria. I used to be so afraid of this kid, b/c I've heard so many rumors about how he tackles people and now I am working with him independently. Whoop!
I'm also getting more practice with a gait belt support for Jana (one of our blind students at Paul B.). If she does not have this on, Cate Waller showed me how to use her shirt for support.
I'm learning the importance of not touching students so much and using verbal instruction primarily (especially for this kid, named Jon). I worked with him in the mall independently and we were definitely not getting along, b/c of this issue. He wanted to go his own way and I kept wanting to correct him with physical prompts (b/c he would not listen)!
By the end of the week, I was really working independently with almost every student, but leaning a lot on Bryan's feedback and support.
This week, I started to do more of the coursework required for the position. By the end of the week, I was writing reports on all the students seen and sending it to Bryan so he could record it in his notes. I'm also learning about how Mary Anne (supervisor) takes and uses the information we input. Bryan explained to me the graphing system that is used for this and how they chart student performance based on these graphs. However, it is such a complex dynamic (O&M) and there are so many facets to the profession. I wonder how this could be possible.
I'm definitely getting a lot more independence with the students. Bryan is still accompanying me from a distance and sometimes he is working with the students, but I am beginning to feel the independence that comes with this job. I'm always amazed at the students' progress. For instance, Alysia (a student who used to kick and scream and wail on end) was introduced to the pre-cane and by the end of this week, she is cooperating and walking with it up to 15 feet with prompts on her back. Even though there is progress here, I still wonder how the pre-cane actually helps. It seems unstable and I wish there were more support built into it for students like her. I guess I have to wait this thing out and see how it pans.
Some other things to gauge my progress up to this point can be reflected on my lessons with students named Andrew and Dino. This week, Bryan let me transfer Andrew from his wheelchair to the playground rails of the ramp independently, but he still had to remind me to stop and wait for him to explore. I have a tendency to think, "work" often and this reminder was good for me. I'm glad he told me that, b/c after I waited for Andrew to explore, he went from sucking a pole to wrapping himself around something entirely different (which made him happy). On the way back to class, Andrew was smiling. I couldn't believe it! By the end of the week, I worked with Andrew independently without Bryan's provision and I had him go from his wheelchair all the way up a ramp, up stairs, down a slide, and walking back to class in his gait trainer. This was huge!
When I worked with Dino this week, I worked independently with him. I'm pretty sure Bryan left me alone with him entirely. I found some music on my iPhone and played it for him while we practiced touch technique with the cane from his class to the cafeteria. I used to be so afraid of this kid, b/c I've heard so many rumors about how he tackles people and now I am working with him independently. Whoop!
I'm also getting more practice with a gait belt support for Jana (one of our blind students at Paul B.). If she does not have this on, Cate Waller showed me how to use her shirt for support.
I'm learning the importance of not touching students so much and using verbal instruction primarily (especially for this kid, named Jon). I worked with him in the mall independently and we were definitely not getting along, b/c of this issue. He wanted to go his own way and I kept wanting to correct him with physical prompts (b/c he would not listen)!
By the end of the week, I was really working independently with almost every student, but leaning a lot on Bryan's feedback and support.
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