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Self motivation and success
Pursue a career in speech-language pathology essay
Self motivation and success
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As a natural communicator with exceptional interpersonal skills, I have always dreamed of a career working as part of a collaborative team, significantly improving individuals’ lives. Having witnessed my sister overcome a language disorder and a severe learning disability, I understand the personal impact of impaired communication and the importance of a competent Speech-Language Pathologist. Diagnosed at age 5 and placed on an IEP until the 12th grade, my sister’s progress would not have been achievable without the dedication of her Special Education teachers and Speech-Language Pathologists. My own experience with my sister receiving speech therapy as a child has shown me the value of this field and its ability to radically impact lives forever. The opportunity to return this favor to future generations of children is my dream. Living with a communication disorder is a continuous journey that affects individuals of all ages …show more content…
Now employed at a local elementary school as a Special Education paraprofessional, I work with children possessing meager or no verbal skills, as well as children with Autism, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and various other communication disorders. Observing speech therapy sessions where children from all aspects of the Autism spectrum are taught, as well as some students with Down syndrome, I acknowledge how divergent, tailored approaches can produce agile and further growth. Speech was a typical impairment in most of the children I worked with at the elementary school. Having the ability to work with them first-hand on improving their speech, motor, and developmental skills, enabled me to use multiple methods learned throughout my undergraduate education. Having spent several days shadowing numerous professionals within the school setting, I have discovered my passion for working with young
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
Alison’s story is the perfect example of what many families must go through when faced with the possibility of having a child diagnosed with a learning disability. Alison was not diagnosed with visual and auditory dyslexia until the summer before entering college. However, while still a toddler, her symptoms had been brought to her mother’s attention by her sister’s teacher. Alison’s mother then noticed her habits in repeating words incorrectly and how Alison would need tactile clues to follow directions. At the recommendation of her kindergarten teacher, Alison was tested for learning disabilities and the results from the school psychologists were that she was acting stubborn or disobedient. Her family did not stop with the school’s diagnosis. They had private testing completed that confirmed Alison did not have a specific learning disability. The final word came from a relative that happened to be a psychologist. He insisted Alison would grow out of her difficulties. So Alison continued on with her entire elementary, middle and high school journey as a student and daughter with an undiagnosed learning disability.
At Clarke I currently teach in a self contained classroom of four year old children that are deaf and hard of hearing who are learning to listen and speak. I assist under the direction of the classroom teacher in planning, preparing and executing lessons in a listening and spoken language approach. I have the opportunity to record, transcribe and analyze language samples on a daily basis. In addition, I facilitate the child's communication in the classroom and ensure carryover of activities between the classroom and individual speech therapy sessions. Every week I contribute and participate in meetings with the educational team to discuss each child's progress using Cottage Acquisition Scales of Speech, Language and Listening (CASSLLS).
Before meeting Eric Walker, and his family, I didn’t really have very much experience or knowledge of what it meant to have a child or sibling with Cerebral Palsy. Meeting with Eric, and his family, along with his speech therapist not only gave me an insight into what it really means to live with a disability and to care for a child with a physical disability, but also the opportunity for me to apply what I have learned in this class and other classes to a real life situation.
After working with the 3rd graders, I became an assistant teacher at an early childhood education center in a low-income neighborhood with numerous students who needed extra support due to behavioral and emotional disorders. At one point, I encountered a student with selective mutism; selective mutism is when a person is capable of speaking but voluntarily chooses not to communicate verbally. I began to work one on one with him to understand why he didn 't communicate verbally. The first course of action was a meeting with his mother to learn more about him and th...
Owens, Robert E., Dale E. Metz, and Kimberly A. Farinella. Introduction to Communication Disorders: A Lifespan Evidence-Based Perspective. Four ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2011. 194-216. Print.
1. Many people have multiple reasons why they want to be able to help others in their everyday jobs. My attraction to being a Speech Language Pathologist is because I want to be able to people overcome their speech problems. As a Speech Language Pathologist I want to be able to help people that have speech problems, overcome this problem and be able to be independent without needing the help of myself or other people that are trying to talk to them. I personally know their feelings and have actually been in their shoes to know how frustrating life can be trying to talk and have someone else talk for you.
Special education is evolving, evolving in form and substance. Education of the special needs population in the United States lacks uniformity of purpose and deed. In many school districts within the United States, special education creates a financial burden that subjugates the traditional programs (Higbee, Katz, & Shultz, 2010). The lack of consistency to approach and positive results has created academic chaos for methods and strategies in working with the special needs population. The difficulty in educating special needs children to develop their academic and social skills has created many strategies for supposed benefit, and in fairness, some work for some children. Too many instances exist where not all children benefit (p. 8). The problem is developing a strategy and curriculum that provides for the needs of all children whether they are involved in an inclusive, mainstreaming, or self-contained classroom. This is particularly significant with a particular segment of the special needs population, Asperger’s autism. Asperger’s autism is a controversial diagnosis, a diagnosis that creates a schism of psychiatric thought. Some psychiatrists classify this as a pervasive developmental disorder, while other psychiatrists see this as a form of personality disorder that has many traits associated with schizophrenia (Odom, Buysee, & Soukakou, 2011). The Asperger’s child lacks emotional development normally associated with their age group. An example that illustrates the emotional development issue concerns age appropriate demonstrations of concern or awareness in their environment. Many of the Asperger’s children are not able to tell whether someone is making fun of them and will join in making fun of themselves as unsuspecting ...
As a high school student, I worked with a thirteen-year-old boy named Ricky as a sign language tutor. Ricky had autism and did not acquire speech other than the word “ma”. A high population of children with autism does not acquire speech, and intervention is needed. Other methods of intervention exist, but teaching signs is one of the most useful ways of giving nonverbal children the power of communication. Although researchers often seek to solve problems, I approach this topic from the perspective of a teacher. Teachers must grapple with educating a higher percentage of children with communicative challenges due to a growing diagnosis of autism. Special education policy must work to support the needs of these students while giving teachers opportunities to practice appropriate interventions. The success of sign language instruction will vary among children, but invested parents and teachers may be able to help a child realize his or her communicative potential.
People talk at a rate of 125–175 words per minute yet can listen to 450 (Carver, Johnson, & Friedman, 1971). Since a person speaks slower than what the brain can manage, the mind drifts off to thinking of other things rather than listening to the message at hand and communication can be lost. This barrier to effective listening causes one to miss or misconceive what the other is saying (Janusik & Wolvin, 2009). It is imperative as a psychologist to actively listen, ask questions, seek clarification and check for understanding of what others are saying for effective communication to occur. The interpersonal relationship between a psychologist and their client should focus on that person’s growth and change in their personal and professional development as well as social adjustment. It is the responsibility of the psychologist to contribute to these areas and problem solve with their client to assist them to meet these needs (Bordin, 1981).
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
Luiselli, James K. "Verbal Language and Communication." Teaching and Behavior Support for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Most children with severe and pervasive disabilities need a classroom that will start at their unique skill levels. The children need to learn numerous and diverse behavior changes, probably different in each of their cases that cumulatively, would enable each child to enter and benefit from the general curriculum. To assign children with autism who do not possess those skills to the usual public school classroom is to assign them to regression. (Baer, 2005, p.9)
Communication is a simple process and known by everyone as it is an inborn activity. Yet, there are people suffering from language disorder, who cannot deliver speech normally. Therefore, especially for nurses, it is important for us to learn different communication skills to talk with different people.
Kuder, S.J. (2008). Teaching Students with Language and Communication Disabilities (3rd edition). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.