Last Reflection

This was the last week of class for SPED310 and I will truly miss this class, I have learned so much and I am so thankful for what I have gained from it. I really enjoyed having a last essay exam about children and their disabilities, it was really easy to apply the knowledge I learned from the course to the essay. I think I would recommend this class to everyone because we are all affected by people that have needs and accommodations.

FLUENCY DISORDER (STUTTERING)

I first thought that I would practice stuttering with my husband because I never tried to stutter before. That was a good and bad idea. I realized that when trying to do something I am not good at, I begin to laugh. I didn't want to laugh in real life because I didn't want it to see like a joke. I tried stuttering in front of a mirror and that helped more. but I was nervous to stutter in front of a stranger. Well I went to the restaurant Wendy's and tried ordering a Jr. bacon cheeseburger. I then asked what came on the cheese burger. The employee was nice and waited for me to finish but seemed very confused at first as to why I was talking like that. They had a concerned look on their face and it made me feel embarrassed. I don't think I was the best at stuttering, and It probably came off as being incompatant than just having a fluency disorder. But I tried my best. I then went to the library on campus and asked a student working there, where to find a certain book. I felt embarressed because they cracked a smile when I first started talking. I don't think they had been exposed to a lot of people with disabilities before. I think they thought I was joking with them. But then they became serious and focused. They were staring at me in shock and awe that I was stuttering my words. After I finished, they helped me find my book but hurried on their way. I think I scared them..... It was a very interesting experience.

LEARNING DISABILITY

I knew I had to do the Learning disability stimulation but I was very nervous and didn't even think I could correctly do it because I would slip up when trying to speak. Well I decided I would go to Winco to go shopping and get my groceries for the week. I planned out before what I would ask an employee for once I got there. My sentence was going to be... , Which Isle are the pineapples on" but that wouldn't work because that uses "L", next I thought of the sentence of " Can you show me where the Pineapples are", but I couldn't say that because of the "N", S I settled with asking this way..."where are the pineapples?" When I got there and asked the employee, it went different than I had expected. After asking her, she replied fresh produce or canned?..... I really wanted the canned pineapple but I couldn't reply "Canned" because it had a "N" in it. I freezed up and tried to think of how to word it. I thought I would say, "the ones in the tin" but that still had a "N" in the word so I coulnd't use it I felt my face turn red because it had been a long time and I couldn't answer a simple question. I realized that I didn't know how to answer and out of embarrassment I replied, "Produce" I gave in because I was embarrassed,But I realized that If I had a real Learning disability that I wouldn't be able to do that. I really felt for these people. I then went to the book store on campus and asked them where the dresses were for girls, This time, the employee didn't ask me any questions but just walked me over to where the dresses were located. It wasn't as hard at the grocery store but I still felt the anxiety of knowing they could ask me a question and not feeling prepared to answer it. I realized that people with learning disabilities must feel anxiety frequently.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

When I put on the masks, I was very surprised on how I could hardly see anything. The masks really disrupted my view, More than I thought so. I thought that I would be able to see more than I was able to. It was very hard to be able to focus on m work because of the mask. I put on the first mask with the little holes and it started giving me a head ache. I didn't want to put on the other masks because it was making me a little dizzy. But I continued with the assignment. I thought that it was more difficult than I thought. I put on the other masks and noticed they each had a huge difference with my vision. It didn't help make me feel better because I am pregnant and felt very nauseous, Wearing the masks made me feel dizzy and want to faint. I had to take longer time doing my assignment. I was also embarrassed having other people stare at me and wonder why I was wearing those masks. It was hard not to take them off but I kept them on to know what those feel like that have a visual impairment. I can see how those would feel with a visual impairment because they would struggle to do assignments. It would take them longer time to do their work because they would have to focus more.

Service Learning

When I went to go do the service learning, I was nervous to go because I went by myself. But once I got there, I actually had a lot of fun. I went with a group out into the community. There was another worker and then two adults with disabilities. We first headed to the dollar store and that was interesting because we looked in the store for a good hour before checking out. The two adults with disabilities were very high functioning. I thought  that it was really nice to have a conversation with them and be able to ask the questions about their lifestyle. The one woman worked at a hotel cleaning rooms and the other man worked at Arby's. I thought it was great that they were working and still tried to do their part. After the dollar store, we went to Walmart and walked around there, they practiced talking to the employees and asking them questions. I thought that this was a great way to introduce them to new situations. We then headed back to the building once again and I had the opportunity to sit in on a class. But this wasn't a typical class that I thought I would be sitting in on. When I was observing the class, we talked about politics and worldly issues. I thought this was interesting because they knew more about what was going on in the world than what I thought. They really understood problem going on in society. I was very impressed with them and the way they communicated. After we had the class, we went to the main room and then watched a movie for a little bit. But I mostly kept talking to the adults there and we worked on a puzzle. I really enjoyed my experience volunteering there.

ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENT

For SPED310, We were assigned to be in a wheelchair for four hours so that we would put our selves in someone's shoes. We could see what it was like to have a disability and have to be in a wheel chair. To be honest, I was very nervous about being in a wheel chair, I was afraid what people would think of me and how I would move around. I procrastinated as long as a could because I was scared but finally realized I had to do it and get the courage. I didn't realize how hard it would be to be in a wheelchair. I started out in the Hinkley and went down the elevator. It took a really long time to have the elevator come and get to the floor I needed. I started down the hill outside of the Hinkley and that was the scariest part of the whole time I was in the wheelchair. As I started down the hill, I was picking up too much speed and when I went to grab the handrails, My hands were on fire. I couldn't grasp on tightly to stop myself and I ran into the tri-fold news stand. That hurt pretty bad. I tried adjusting myself and realized that I hadn't even made it down the steepest part of the hill yet. Luckily I remembered that I had my work shirt in my backpack, I grabbed it and used it on the wheel and held it with my hand to help me slow down. I made it down the hill but with some difficulty. I was heading to my next class in the clark and went to the wrong side of the building, I realized there was no automatic button. But silly thought that I could open the door on my own. I tried opening the door and bumped around quite a bit. A girl sitting right on the inside of the building noticed me struggling and came to my rescue. Sadly, once inside the building, I noticed a set of stairs with no way around them! Duh!!! I went the wrong way of course, I had to go back the other way and exit the building and then go around. I had to travel up hill in order to get to the other door. Luckily this side had the automatic door opening. I went to my classes for the day and a lot of people were actually sincerely concerned about my well being which I thought was sweet. I then Not only went to the bathroom once for the requirement of the project but I had to go multiple times because I am pregnant and cannot hold it at all. I went to the bathroom multiple times and it was a true struggle, It took me triple the time to use the bathroom because of having to get on and off of the chair. But I headed back to return the wheel chair because My time was up. I then realized that I would have to make my way back up the hill because I had to head to the Hinkley. The hill was huge!! I barely started up the slope from the smith and I was trying to push my way up but because it was so steep, I was hardly budging an inch. I was really embarrassed because it was passing period and there were  alot of people walking past me. I just wanted to disappear. Luckily, There a sweet girl that asked if I wanted a push, I politely refused because she was heading the opposite way of the Hinkley, She refused my poliet no thanks, she pushed me all the way up the hill to the Hinkley, I felt so bad that she was pushing me when I was fully capable. of walking. But It was so sweet of her to help me when I needed help. This experience has shown me that I am very blessed. I think that This has really opened my eyes and shown me how People feel when they are at a different level. I realized how much respect we need to give those that are in wheelchairs.

Reflection 12

In class, we did another vote with your feet. I love doing these because we get to read scenarios and are able to voice our opinions on the matter. I realized that I can have alot of opinion on certain matters that I thought I would be unsure about.  I think that it is good to always hear different perspectives and get a good view on all sides of the matter. This allows us to keep an open mind and make sure we don't become closed off to other people's opinions. I think this is a very important skill to have, especially going into the work force that we are going to. Teaching can be rough but we need to always keep changing up how we teach our classes to accommodate for those who need help.

A group also taught on Friday about emotional disorder disabilities. I thought that these were very interesting and are topics that not alot of people address. I think society tends to hide these parts of ourselves from the world because they are scary and hard and ugly. But if we don't talk about it then we don't realize how many people actually fall in these categories.

Depression is when you get feelings of guilt, sadness and anger for a long period of time, because of this, you can have social withdrawl and leave the group you are in. Some accommodations are to make the classroom fun with lots activities.

OCD
Can make you count numbers over and over again. Clean excessively, or having a strict routine
Making accommodations could be having hand sanatizer and making small goals.

I realized that we can all help those around us and be friends. Life should be enjoyable and not something to dread.

Reflection 11

This week was my favorite week by far to talk to Emily, I thought that it was so interesting to hear about her lifestyle and the way that she learned to adapt with her disability. I realized that we all have flaws or imperfections but we don't have to allow that to define us in any way. As long as we have a positive outlook on life, we can accomplish anything. I loved being able to ask her questions and listening to how she has impacted people around her and not even realizing it. I have seen in my own life how we can impact others for the good and not realize how much we really do in this world. I thought it was interesting how she had a braille machine and was able to type onto it and make her own braille. I loved how she made her own games and improvised. I thought it was so cool how her Book of Mormon was in braille and she could read it like that. I  am very close to the deaf community because I had a deaf teacher in high school that taught me sign language, we were able to become great friends!!! She took me under her wing and showed me a whole new way of life, It was so crazy! I eventually came to the point of interpreting for her for a while before I left for college. I miss those times and being able to use my other senses!I think that Emily will continue to influence those around her with her bright spirit!

Reflection 10

As a group, we decided to teach the other students how to braid their hair. We thought that this would be a fun yet simple activity for them to learn. We wanted to teach something that wouldn’t be too complicated and could be taught on different levels if needed. We realized that braiding hair would be the perfect topic since most girls have braided their hair or others hair. If some people in our group of students did not know how to braid or had never braided before, they could easily learn quickly. As well for the students that had more expertise on the subject, we could teach them a more advanced version of the braid so they could still learn something new. As we did our pre-assessment, it became clear that we had students on all ends of the spectrum scale. But we knew we could tailor our lessons to make it interesting for everyone to participate.  Our plan to teach the students, was to have each student pair up and have one student sit down and one stand up. They would take turns braiding each other’s hair, so that everyone would have a model to practice on and then become a model themselves.

                We also realized that something we would need to prepare for was the students with disabilities. As a group, we talked about what could be done to help those students that would be visually, physically, or mentally impaired. Based on the type of activities that we had, we knew the biggest challenge would be the student that could use only one hand. Braiding requires two hands, thus this activity would be challenging for that student with that disability. In order to accommodate for that student, one of the teachers in our group, (Katelyn) would help be the other hand for the student and help hold the hair that would be braided. We also provided an aid for the student that was blind, by having (Stephanie) stand next to her and help guide her hands if she needed help. The last student with a disability would be mute and therefore wouldn’t struggle with doing the actually activity but if they had a question, they would need a way to ask. To help accommodate, we provided paper and pencil for them to write down what they needed to say.

                On the day that our group presented and teach we had an example placed in front of them for them to follow along with so that the student’s wouldn’t become lost in following directions. Lizzy sat down in a chair and Annie stood behind her to demonstrate how to do the braid. Annie gave instructions on how to braid the hair while braiding Lizzy’s hair. She would then pause and ask if there were questions or if anyone was struggling. Surprisingly, no students with disabilities were struggling, but one student wasn’t as advanced with braiding as the other girls. To help out, our group paused and we went over the steps slowly with her so she could catch up. The student’s with disabilities did very well with braiding and breezed through the activity.

                After doing the assessment, we realized that the activity could have been improved. Even though we planned to have everyone partner up and practice the braid and then switch, we ran out of time and only some of the students were able to actually practice the braid. Next time it would be helpful to either be given more time or to have it set up differently by having everyone in a line instead of paired up. We also knew beforehand that we had all girls in our group and that made it easier to teach the student how to braid. But if the situation changed and we had boys in our group that would have been difficult to have the students pair up since the boys would have too short of hair. If boys were included in our group, we would have to change up the plan by having fake doll heads that could be braided on instead. Though, overall, as a group we did a good job in preparation and planning. We communicated the steps efficiently and slowly so that the students weren’t rushed. It was also beneficial to have the teacher’s model in the room as an example, instead of playing a video from off of YouTube.

Reflection 9

Reflection 9

This week, it was very interesting learning in SPED310, I realized when we were talking about disabilities that even though we all have flaws and imperfections, we can all create. I thought that it was so amazing when I was watching this video about how we all have an ability to create and contribute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJC1sRJ8F0Q

I realized when we were talking about adaptations and changing the classroom, that we can always help those that have disabilities and that those disabilities don't have to define them! Most of the time it is the teacher that needs to change her thought process and way of teaching. I have noticed that most teachers get stuck in a rut of teaching and don't switch up their teaching methods because they get use to teaching a certain way. I think that any student has an ability to learn.Teachers need to help adapt their classroom so that the student can create and grow.

I think that teachers also need to get out of their comfort zone to get to know the families of their students. This is beneficial to help get more personal with students so you can better meet their needs. Every student has needs that need attention. I think that it is important to know students so they are more open and willing to learn. I loved how at the beginning of the semester we learned everyone's names and Brother Cloward knew our name. That helped in the learning process and making it easier to talk in class because it was more on a personal level.

We also had a presentation on traumatic head injury. I thought that was interesting because we learned about how the brain functions and how it really makes a difference. I realized that our brain is very important and if we injury ourselves, we need to seek help.

Damages to the brain-
Frontal- Socialization
Parietal- language verbal memory
Occipital- visual ability
Temporal- hearing