I have learned a lot in this class. The biggest thing that I have learned is that I don’t want to be a developmental specialist. I don’t like being in people’s homes or working with infants. I prefer to work in schools and to work with older children. I feel like my brain is more wired toward helping five-year-olds. It’s easier for me to help slightly older children. It was super fun to see our infant grow and learn how to say more words than she said at the beginning of the semester. When we went in for our final home visit she kept saying “Thank you! Thank you!”. She was so excited to get the folder. It was amazing to see the progress that she has made throughout the semester. I don’t think it was anything that we did but it was interesting to see the development. I’m glad I took this class so I could have a deeper knowledge that I really do want to teach elementary school.
RB 9 ECSE 340
This last week’s session was pretty okay. She had just woken up from a nap so she was pretty tired. We tried to do Old MacDonald but she just wanted to listen. She honestly doesn’t want any part in saying animal noises. I feel like there is only so much we can do to make her say the sounds. This class has really tested my patience. I feel like I have learned that you can force a child to do something. Working with children is about going with the flow and trying your best to anticipate how they are going to feel. I’m excited about our DAP intervention this week. I hope she can do the zippers okay. I don’t have any specific questions. I feel like if I run into a question I just ask someone. Is this our last RB for this class?
“Education is the foundation upon which we build our future.”– Christine Gregoire
RB 9 ECSE 421
I personally loved our discussion on Monday about how all that we are doing really does relate to the gospel. For these parents, it can be a trial to have this child with disabilities. It is our job as professionals to help them. God gives us trials that don’t end in this life and for these parents, it’s important to remember that. My favorite part from The Will of God video is where he talks about the currant bush. He will sometimes cut us down so we can grow into what we are destined to become. I can apply what I learned this week. I also helped my peers by sharing my thoughts during class discussions.
“So how do you best respond when mental or emotional challenges confront you or those you love? Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven, who loves you more than you can comprehend.” -Elder Holland, Like a Broken Vessel
This week I found a scientific journal that said that “Six items pertaining to social relatedness and communication were found to have the best discriminability between children diagnosed with and without autism/PDD.” This means that looking at a child’s social abilities really is a good sign on if the child is on the Autism spectrum. Through my research, I found that the biggest sign that a child might have Autism is if they are able to keep up socially. These like face tracking and talking are some of the big signs that a child should be tested.
Robins, D.L., Fein, D., Barton, M.L. et al. J Autism Dev Disord (2001) 31: 131. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010738829569
RB 8 ECSE 340
I think our sessions are going okay. They aren’s super awesome but they are decent. I was honestly a little bummed by our score on the Midterm evaluation. I wish we would have had one sooner so we could have improved sooner. It was good feedback so hopefully, with we have left we can improve. It’s frustrating because our infant is pretty advanced and so she doesn’t really need our help. I feel like if she wanted to talk more she would or do her pincer grasp she would. I am excited to show her our DAP toy. Hopefully, she will like it.
“Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves.” Ernest Dimnet
RB 8 ECSE 421
This week it was interesting to learn about the different resources that are out there. I also learned about disabilities that I’ve never even heard of. I think we start to forget that there are other disabilities out there besides for down syndrome and autism. It was also cool to see how different family units handled disabilities. I could apply what I learned this week into my future career as an educator. I helped my peers learn by presenting my project and sharing what I had learned.
“Individual burdens and concerns may be lightened by the power of a family united in mutual love and support and in prayers of faith.” Rex D. Pinegar “Home First,” Ensign, May 1990
This week I wanted to know if children are born with Autism or is it something that is developed later in life. I found this article https://www.autismspeaks.org/expert-opinion/are-children-born-autism-or-does-it-develop-later. It talks about the brain and how complications at birth can cause autism. It could also be a mutation in the genes that cause Autism.
RB 7 ECSE 421
The main thing I learned this week was that I don’t want to be an interventionalist or whatever it is that this project is a simulation of. I want to be working with the children not just finding resources and filling out paperwork. These stories of these families are sad and it makes it seem like everyone has sad families. Which is totally false. I learn best by doing. I like hands-on experiences. So I have learned a lot through this project. I helped my peers by collaborating on this project with them. I could apply what I learned later in life.
I found this article interesting because we often interchange Aspergers and Autism. They are separate and require different interventions but they are similar in some of their attributes.
RB 7 ECSE 340
This week’s intervention session when really well. We sang with her and she loved that. She was dancing and was so engaged. She didn’t want to do the actions or say the words but she was engaged. It would have been awesome to have her sing with us but she enjoyed it. She liked ripping the paper too. She would rip it with her whole hand but then pick up the tiny scrapes on the floor with her pincer grasp. I thought that was interesting.
I don’t know how much we are actually helping. She’s so developmentally ahead that I feel like all the things we do with her she’ll just get eventually. I really think if she wanted to talk to use her pincer grasp she would.
“The most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home.”—President Harold B. Lee
RB 6 ECSE 340
I have been learning a lot about infants this week. It’s been a hard and fast learning experience on what is required when working with infants. I enjoy our home visits yet I come out wondering if we did it correctly. We’ve just been doing the activities we plan. Then we go over what happened and figure out if we need to change our goal. I think that our goal is too easy yet I’m not positive that it needs to be changed. How do we figure out if our goal is too easy without being too hard? We are really trying our best which I believe is one of the most important parts about trying anything new.
In the Strength of Youth, it says, “Set high goals for yourself, and be willing to work hard to achieve them.” I think this applies to this class because I believe that if we work hard with our infant we can achieve our goals. It also applies to us as we work hard we are can accomplish so many things.
RB 6 ECSE 421
This week I learned a lot about how to work with the parents of children with disabilities. The thing that helped me learn the most was watching the videos. The thing that would have helped me the most in the learning process was trying to read/do more of the prep. I could definitely apply what I’ve learned in class to help other families. I helped my peers learn by participating in class.
Something that I found super interesting was the quote that was said, “Is the behavior typical for their age group or does the behavior have to do with the disability?” I think that it’s hard to discipline children with disabilities because of the guilt that is associated with it. Even children with disabilities need structure and consequences.
This week I found an article from the Autism Society website about how to get an IEP started for a child with Autism. It breaks down exactly what an IEP is and what is on it and how it can help the parents. This website also lists all the resources that a child could receive. http://www.autism-society.org/living-with-autism/academic-success/individualized-education-plan-iep/
HWD Midterm:
I have kept my original plan for my HWD. I have learned what to look for when you think that your child has autism. I have also found out what services are available for students with autism. I don’t have any current questions.
48/50
RB 5 ECSE 340
From this week’s class, I think the most important thing we learned was how to do the baseline home visit. This is going to be critical when we have our second home visit this week. This class honestly is the hardest class for me. This is not something that is coming naturally to me. In class Sister Swenson did our lowest level of development in a skill map and I feel like that will be super helpful when we sit down and do our baseline plan. I don’t have any specific questions but I think I might come up with some as we work on the case study project and the baseline plan. There’s a quote from Sister Eliane Dalton that says, “We can do hard things.” It’s super simple but hopefully, it will help me as I work on these assignments and other assignments.
Emma LeFevre ECSE 