I started working at an elementary school by my house in December of 2004. I was hired as a One on One in a first through third grade Special Education class room to work with a student with autism. Working in the class room I noticed that the teacher needed extra help with the other students, so I took that on too. I met a special little girl in this class that seemed to be withdrawn from her peers and some of the teachers. When, I met her she had chopped blonde hair to her ears with dirt on her face, and drool coming down her chin. She smelt badly like urine and wore clothing that looked ratty. In that year I learned that this little girl was born to drugs and taken away from her mother by CYFD at age three. She ended up with her uncle who became her foster parent. Her individualized education program (IEP) forms documented her as having slight retardation and the need of Speech Therapy (SP) along with Occupational Therapy (OT) at school. It was clear that no one was giving her a healthy life she deserved. There was no support at home from her five older siblings and two cousins. I hated to see her this way, so I was bringing in snacks, clothing and lotion to mask the poor hygiene. Teachers thought that this little girl would be broken for life and did not stand a chance at eight years old. She had been through a lot and couldn’t be changed because of her family life influences. However, that would not be the case for this little girl. She did change and was no longer labeled.
My husband and I became the foster parents for this little girl for over a year and half. I came to work one day to find out by the case worker that this little girl was put into a shelter because of the poor living conditions among other issues. I aske...
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...noticed that she stood tall with her shoulders back. Having long fixed beautiful blonde hair, she showed a big gleaming smile on her clean face with no drool. She spoke so sharply and had an amazing attitude with confidence in herself. This was not a little fragile girl but a girl that was ready to conquer the world and all this was given to her because I did not see her as a labeled girl. I was ecstatic to have been part of this magical thing. So, when people around her gave up and assumed she would never be normal or have a normal life they were proved wrong and they got to watch as her life blossomed. Eventually she returned to her mother and kept the skills we taught her. We have a great relationship in present day between our two families. This is a good example for all of us to have our hearts open and make a difference in a child’s life that is unfortunate.
This Semester I observed a three-year-old girl named Allie. Allie attends preschool at Land of Learning; she is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It was my pleasure observing her and getting to know her. She is a very sweet outgoing girl that doesn’t let her disability get to her. I observed and assisted Allie throughout her days at preschool. I assisted her and observed her with recess activities, eating lunch, and daily school projects. My past observation experiences I observed at Westgate elementary school in a class room mixed with students with learning disabilities, ADHD and also ELL students the class was taught by Ms. Lewis. I observed a second grade ELL classroom and also a fourth grade classroom. I observed these students during school
As an Assistant Teacher in a public school, I was assigned to a fifth grade student who was having problems with reading and writing. John came to me late in the school year and his reading abilities were that of a first grader. I became disheartened because I thought it was unfair to me given his situation and the time factor. Instead of immediately think of ways to move him forward, self got in the way and I became overly concerned about what my peers would say about my abilities if John did not advanced. Because I was seeking self praise, I lost sight of the main objective and as a result the child suffered. I was backed into a corner and had no answers or solutions to the problem. It was not until late March, two months later, that I realized that I needed to shift gears. I...
Ellen Foster lived through a disturbed childhood. Within that unique childhood, there is a few things I can relate to like the resembles of Ellen to her parents, the lack of love and affection from her parents, and a fragile and feeble mother.
Addressing the needs of children in foster care has been an issue that has tried to be addressed in many ways. In 2001, approximately 300,000 children entered the foster care system, with the average time spent in placement equaling 33 months (Bass Shields, & Behrman, n.d.). Statistically, the longer a child is in the foster care system, the greater number of placements they will have, and instability increases each year (Bass Shields, & Behrman, n.d). I recently read a novel by a girl who was placed into the system at age two, and by age 12 she had already experienced 14 different placements (Rhodes-Courter, 2007). Stories such as this one are not uncommon in the foster care system, especially if the child is a member of a sibling group or
When I received special education services, peers and teachers were bothered. Peers acted diffidently because they knew I was “special”. The reason I used “special” is because to them, I was one of many special students in the school. Teachers looked at me diffidently rather then treating me like one of the other peers. Yes I had a disability, however they did not need to treat me diffidently. Robert was treated different in the story, the narrator was scared at first, he asked stupid questions, although Robert went along with it. Some of my peers and teachers were never supportive, I was known as one of the emotional students, because I was in the Emotional Impairment classroom. Just having that label was difficult to live back. It like how the narrator said “the blind move slowly and never laughed.” (Carver, Cathedral). Peers always thought EI students were unstable and violent, my thoughts as well. In sixth grade, a EI student bit the EI teacher, that is why I thought the same as my peer. Although now I was an EI student and now they thought I was that kid. By junior and senior year, I never was treated diffidently. The teachers and students understood that I was not emotionally impaired, I was just placed there on mistake, which I was. Although, I still had the label, which caused many opportunities to not become available to
She zoomed in on the moments that both built and broke down her and her daughter. However, the love and joy that being a parent still offers her is priceless. After, all if we don’t fall short, we did not try. My sister is now utilizing her reflection to assist her daughter in being a better mother. Now, as a grandmother to 2 kids, a boy 8 months old and a girl 3 years old, she can rectify her wrongs and demonstrate the rights. After all of her hardship her daughter has still managed to make her mother proud by living a better life then she did. Her daughter now has her own place, car and is attending college. Which goes to show, with all our parental failures, success was in the love and effort we
In todays’ society many Americans never think about our foster care system. Foster care is when a child is temporarily placed with another family. This child may have been abused, neglected, or may be a child who is dependent and can survive on their own but needs a place to stay. Normally the child parents are sick, alcohol or drug abusers, or may even be homeless themselves. We have forgotten about the thousands of children who are without families and living in foster homes. Many do not even know how foster care came about. A few of the earliest documentation of foster care can be found in the Old Testament. The Christian church put children into homes with widowers and then paid them using collection from the church congregation. The system that the church had in place was actually successful, and was continued to be used until English Poor Law eventually regulated family foster care in the U.S.
“I believe the best service to the child is the service closest to the child, and children who are victims of neglect, abuse, or abandonment must not also be victims of bureaucracy. They deserve our devoted attention, not our divided attention.” these are the words of the 27th governor of nevada (Kenny Guin). The world we now resign in is the outcome of the decisions man has made. A system in which were made to help those in need is now the obstacle preventing their success. In the article “American foster care system needs work” the authors state “On any given day, there are nearly 397,000 American children in foster care, according to a report conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That's enough to fill Tiger Stadium
When we meet a specific person; the first thing we notice is their appearance, and as we get to know them we get to see their personality and actions. It is how we get to know that person, and how we see a mental image when thinking of them. With this in mind, my two-year-old daughter, Kinsley, is one of the best things that has happened to me. Ever since I was younger, I could see myself having a daughter to nurture and watch grow into the person she will become. For example, she already has a distinctive appearance, personality, and actions that make her into her own little person. With that in mind, these are Kinsley’s personal appearance, personality, and actions that make her into her own distinctive person.
The fall of ’99 was the year of all years; Janine was in her last year of law school at Yale, and her adoptive mother, Nancy, had just phoned telling her of their family visit in the fall. Just then out of the blue she hears a knock at the door.
Any kid requires patience and care. Alan was a special kid that called for psychological treatment, treatment that wasn't offered in this small town. Since we both lived under the same roof for the past three years, I took it into my own hands to attempt to help him out. I was certainly not the most qualified person to help Alan, but being around him gave me the opportunity to advance on certain skills. I developed skills while taking care of him on my spare time. While taking care of him I attempted to
Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...
One day in the sixth grade, she showed up on my doorstep with heartbreak written all over her face. She burst into tears and told me her “world was falling apart.” I realized the situation was much more dire than getting into a fight with one of her siblings. Her parents were getting a divorce. At the time, I didn 't fully understand what she was telling me or why she was so upset over this, that is until the very thing happened to my family.
I was working at a camp and got into a conversation with a friend who has Asperger Syndrome about his experience with special education. He told me how long it took him to get into a program and how much those teachers had helped him to become the person that he was. The teachers were able to help him understand what he was learning as well as life lessons. He and other children with special needs at the camp I have worked at for the past few summers have instilled in me a stronger need to reach out to those in both special and general education classes. This was again enforced in the class “Intro to Special Education.” I was taught even more that school is not just about learning the information, but learning about yourself and how to grow in yourself. Each student is different and therefore each student must be seen as
For my observation experience I went to Southern High School in Harwood, MD. Southern High School has a special education department for the students with disabilities. The teacher that I met with for this classroom observation was Ms. West. In the classroom there were at least four assistant teachers that helped Ms. West throughout the school day. The assistant teachers helped Ms. West co- teach the class and were there to help the students if they needed extra help. The school also has a couple of student aides that come in to help the teachers and the students in the classroom. There were at least twelve students in the classroom. The students in the class had many different exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, Down syndrome,