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. Upon getting the assignment and the information I was really apprehensive and actually nervous about the guidelines for the assignment. At the same time I was very excited to do hands on work, this is a great way to learn and I do love working with families. I was very concerned with the group and time elements of the assignment. I knew that this would be challenging for anyone but knew that it would be especially challenging for me and my situation. I found that it was easiest for me to let my group know up front, as well as Eric’s mom Melanie, the time constraints we had and also to ask Melanie first what was most convenient for her. Within the profession of working with young children and their families, the first rule is to consider what times and places are the most convenient for them. Turnbull list this as one of the principles when creating partnerships with families, to be available and accessible, and sometimes this means rearranging other commitments, in order to show the family that you really are not only committed to them but respect their time as well(Turnbull, 2011, p.147). After talking with mom and getting the times that worked best for her, the group then came up with times that would work for all. All of us had many other commitments,... ... middle of paper ... ...so learned that sometimes just living life was more important. She now feels it is very important that not only is Eric held back by his disability but the Cole is not held back or made to feel like he is held back, because of his brother’s disability. After talking to mom about daily routines and general information about the family, we asked more specifically about Eric’s diagnosis, disability and prognosis. She shared with us the story of her pregnancy, and finding out that Eric has Cerebral Palsy. Honestly, this part of the interview was the hardest and mom was a bit emotional, she did warn us that she would probably cry or at least get teary eyed, but was more than happy to talk to us about it. Works Cited Turnbull, A. P. (2011). Families, professionals, and exceptionality: Positive outcomes through partnerships and trust. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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.
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
My first observation was at Head Start. I talked to Tracey Claflin about some of the principles they use in their program and how they use them. I wasn’t able to observe the children directly because my TB skin test results came up positive. Tracey explained to me that because my results were positive I couldn’t meet children or be in the same room as the children. Due to this, I had to make some arrangements to instead speak with Tracey about some principles she has seen and that they follow. I met with her for an hour discussing the principles and how they were used in the Head Start program. One of the principles she said was highly important for Head Start was principle number 2. She explained that when there is enough time and opportunities to spend time with a child individually the caregiver puts full attention on one child. She explained that they like to focus attention on a child throughout the day so that the child doesn’t feel left out. She says that alone time for a child with a caregiver is usually tummy time. They allow the infants and toddlers to roll around and look at the carpet designs. Tracey explained to me how they asses each child through this quality time that the caregiver and the child have alone. This quality time the caregiver has with the child is important,
Dan and Betsy go through their emotions on hearing about Samuel condition of cerebral palsy. The roll coaster of emotion they felt. As a parent I could relate to their emotion of having a child with disabilities. I would love my child regards of condition but the emotion I would feel would be fear. Dan and Betsy both went through fear; asking themselves what about his education, and interaction with others. I would have those same question; as
The adaptations center that I had visited, help enable people with cerebral palsy to function more independently in the community. The adaptation center front entrance is wide with automatic sliding doors, so a person in a wheel chair can easily enter independently. The bathroom the door is also wide with an automatically open so that a person in wheel chair can easily use. The hallways are spacious for multiple people and wheel chair used. Locker rooms and showers are low to the floor and line up back to the room so they will have enough space. Its better this way because if the lockers wasn't line up side by side it would be congested and not enough room for wheel chair used.
Ms. Hines was determined to overcome her issues and attain it a great school year. She set all her lesson plans to her students with disability. She made sure her class activities would be easy for her students with disability, but also entertaining for her other students. Ms. Hines also paired her students together during her class activities. She figured out that making her class activities in
...r tended to her activities of daily living – feeding her, grooming her. However, her mother had no insight on her condition and how to help her take care of herself. I, personally took her to school and talked to teachers who advised to have her join a school for the disabled, she was falling behind in classes and it was affecting her mentally and emotionally. She was visually impaired and no one in the family knew until she took a vision test catered to her. She is now 22 years old, and it amazes me to see how she has flourished. A young girl who used to be glued to the television, watching cartoons and the likes, she is now on her iPad watching videos on YouTube, face-timing with friends and family. When our grandmother passed away a few years ago, she took it upon herself to console everyone. Had her growth been hindered, she wouldn’t be the person she is now.
...lighted this feature because I value respect and feel that a very important aspect of working with children is engaging their families which invites opportunity for respect to be demonstrated. Dietze & Kashin (2012) explain the importance of engaging families when they state “Including the input of others is essential in a reflective practice and families have a right to be included” (p.411). In one of my placements I saw the positive impact that including a parent had on a young boy when his mother came in to read a story to the. The boy’s self-esteem seemed to increase and could be seen in the way that he beamed the whole time she was there. This experience highlighted to me the importance of family involvement in an early childhood program. These three highlighted statements all reflect values that are important to me and which are important parts of my practice.
Pereira (2014), lists many inclusive techniques that can be used when working with a family who has children who are 6 years
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.
The first thing I wanted to know was what she thinks her brothers strengths and weaknesses. For these specific questions, I only asked about one brother instead of both of them to limit the time of the interview. I asked about Jack’s strengths and weaknesses in school. Meghan said that his strength is his elective classes like P.E, art, reading, and writing. His weaknesses are math, history, and science. The next question I asked was what does she expect for Michael in the future. She told me that it will be interesting for how far he will come because he is very dependent on his mother right now. She believe that it will be a huge issue for him. She wants to see his communication skills to get better but overall he is a very smart, funny person with a great future she says. The last question I asked Meghan was about what helps Michael and Jack in school. For being a future special educator I thought I could reflect a lot on this question by getting helpful tips. She told me that Michael does very well with his classroom aide and in smaller classes. He also loves when he get rewarded for his work. He enjoys sensory breaks with either his ipad or just relaxing on the carpet. Finally, Michael doesn’t like transitions to classes and this is difficult for him. Jack on the other hand, he loves school and is always on top of his game. He loves going from class to class. He
This realization and knowledge has presented itself in the most realistic way just within the past three years, while I continually helped disabled children learn various life skills. In these three years, my attention was unforgivably snagged by one child, Damion, who seemed to have an unfathomable web of trials and difficulties in his fragile little life. On an undying attempt to learn more about this child, I started working with him one-on-one and with his therapists and teachers. I soon came to realize that Damion had moderate to severe learning disabilities, speech impediments, fine (small muscles) and gross (large muscles) motor problems and sensory difficulties. His previous doctors considered Kabuki Syndrome, an extremely rare disease that is terribly difficult to diagnose, as a possible diagnosis.
Siblings who have sisters or brothers with disabilities express a number of special concerns they have a...
It’s Wednesday and a mother just kissed her son goodbye as he walked into the classroom. The mother walks back to her car and proceeds to work. Her son has Down Syndrome, but attends a private school where special needs children have their own classroom. Her son Alex loves going to school to see his friends, like any child would. With having Down Syndrome, Alex has some rough days in the classroom.
Social workers are legally obligated to assess and support the 397,600 children in need and their families as they are one of society’s most vulnerable groups (DfE, 2014). The social worker’s role and responsibility is to ensure children’s additional needs are adequately met to try to reverse disadvantage and enable children to maximise their lives and potential. To achieve this objective, social workers sift through in-depth information in different areas of family life, both past and present, as the vast majority of issues affecting children evolve from external factors which particularly relate to parenting. Gathering data involves collaborating with the family and relevant professionals to understand the family’s plight and establish strengths which are built upon so future troubles are positively resolved independently.