In order to be successful in the world, a person must know the basics of reading and writing. Literacy is key in an evolving world like today. It all starts at the beginning of student-teacher interaction in the classroom. There is always an assignment or a teacher that makes an everlasting life changing impression on a student. Senior year of high school, the students in English IV are asked by the principle to prepare a research paper that they think they could apply to community service. Tons of students do their research on cancer, smoking, and obesity. I wanted to be different from the rest. I chose the topic, “The Importance of Early Intervention in Children with Autism”. This topic started a fire within me. It pulled me to learn more than I could fathom.
My younger brother, Jacob, is on the Autism spectrum. His whole life he has been in therapy. At the age of four, Jacob was diagnosed and had already been seeing a regular speech therapist. My family recognized his signs very early, and we acted instantly. Due to my family’s proactive attitude, my brother’s development is exactly where he needs to be or maybe even further. I wanted to do the same for other children
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I learned so much about the children who become affected with this disability. I learned about how I could make a difference in someone’s life. I went to my church and spoke in front of my congregation about being aware of the disability and how they could help the Autism community as well. I went to a preschool where there was a class of children with special needs and did a lesson on painting with non-conventional objects. We laughed, learned, played and had the time of our lives. I got to meet some amazing people in the Autism community through this opportunity. I made a difference, no matter how small, in these peoples’ lives. It was a truly eye opening experience not just for me but my whole
Hartmann, Ashley, "Autism and its Impact on Families" (2012). Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers. Paper 35. http://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/35
I have experienced firsthand the trials of a teenager living with a disability. Life is difficult, but I’ve learned if you stay positive and make good choices, things will invariably get better. I also plan to be a counselor each summer at the Youth Rally camp for those with bowel and/or bladder disorders, teaching them the importance of doing what they love and not letting their disability hold them
“Your child has autism spectrum disorder” are words no parent wants to hear. They are words that will instill fear, worry, and sadness. When parents hear this for the first time, they will have many questions. “Is there anything I can do to help my child? If so, what can be done?” Early intervention services; such as applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy before the age of three; can help improve the development of children with autism spectrum disorder. As an educator, early intervention is a subject teachers should be well educated in. It would be beneficial to the educator and the student, for a teacher to know and understand early intervention strategies.
I was responsible for implementing intervention for one child with autism, while also working with his typically developing sibling and interacting with their parents. Often times, this child had temper tantrums which taught me to quickly and effectively respond to his outbursts. This hands-on experience expanded my understanding as to how people adapt to a lifestyle when they have a family member that is not typically developing. Having the parents’ approval and trust in working with their child showed me the crucial importance of having a strong connection with individual
My step-brother was born with autism, but in some ways he is even more intelligent than myself. He has made me a better person and made me want to help others with disabilities in any way I can. In my lifetime I hope that we can eradicate the negative perception that is so commonly associated with mental disabilities. This change will not be brought by time; we can only bring an end to this delusion through education and exposure. It is my goal in life to one day start a charity to educate society on mental disabilities as well as ensure that people with disabilities can get the treatments and accommodations they need. We are all human beings. we all have flaws. No one has the right to feel superior to someone with a
Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.
Being in a school that brought students from various counties and cities with different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives, opened my eyes to seeing just how diverse humanity is. In a time when everyone is struggling with personal problems, I know how monumental a simple volunteer act can be. One of my favorite acts of service is tutoring. I tutored an elementary-aged girl for two years in Fort Lee and I will always remember those two years as the most fulfilling. Education is so precious, and children are the most open to it. Not only was I able to teach her math and reading comprehension skills, but how to carry herself as a smart and extraordinarily capable young lady. In return, she taught me patience and how sometimes you just need to approach a problem differently to see the
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned, and in turn, the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success.
Stephanie Lindsey the author of the article Autism and Education addresses some serious issues in the education system between the special needs students and the highly gifted students. Stephanie writes the article based off her children and how they are treated in school. Her son has autism, which affects his capability to learn, speak, and to train himself when it comes to bathroom use. Also never being alone in school due to him having a personal aid alongside him with special classes he is treaded with a different type of education. Her daughter on the other hand tests in the 95th percentile nationwide on standardized testing. She’s twelve and her capability of progressing information and taking complex ideas apart and putting them back together to form new thoughts is like no normal twelve year old. She reads entire novels, solves Sudoku puzzles, and also participates in her school
What is Autism? People are quick to label people as Autistic but very rarely understand what it means though they may nod their head and say "ohh makes sense". Autism - also know as ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder- is a complex developmental disorder affecting primarily ones communication and social interaction skills. Meaning they have difficulties communicating effectively or even at all. They struggle in social setting and don 't typically excel in social games or activities.
Children are like sponges, they absorb everything they see, hear and do. As teachers, our job is to mold them in becoming good citizens in today’s society. We all have that one teacher who motivated, inspired and made learning a fun experience. Those moments have stuck with us throughout life, we have given those teachers a high level of trust by showing us how much they care. Teaching wasn 't my childhood dream, however, life experiences led me to take that path. I currently work as a Sitter for an autistic child. I have been working with him for over two years now. Never have I worked with a child who has a disability. I have seen major improvement since being together, it brings me so much joy to see how much of an improvement he has been
In high school, I volunteered as a teen mentor with the local chapter of Teen Trendsetters, of which I was a founding member. Each week, I spent an hour reading and completing comprehension exercises with a grade 2 student who was performing below grade level. I acted as a role model and mentor, showing the young student that reading was important. Though my involvement with this organization and with early childhood literacy ended upon my high school graduation, my time as a teen mentor inspired an interest in supporting children who struggle with reading. I have additional experience with young students as a grade 3 classroom assistant.
I spent most of my time in a first grade classroom. In this classroom I observed the children as well as the teacher and paraprofessional. This classroom had children with special needs and that is why there was a paraprofessional in the classroom for half the day. What I observed in this classroom was how children with special need should be handle and taught. The teachers in this room loves her job and each student in her class. While in the classroom the teacher allowed me to help with children with their work, read to them and help them with anything else that they needed. During this field experience I got to give back to not only a school, but to a community that is very near and dear to my heart. I hope that I touched each student in a special way, because the students that I got the opportunity to help learn touched my
I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.
It was not until I saw the movie (before our class) “I Am Sam”, my thoughts about people with learning disabilities started to change. The movie changed my perception that mentally challenged individuals are strange by nature because they do not seem to understand when people talk to them and is different from myself. The movie showed me that they do comprehend information, have feelings as I do, and most importantly, that I have wrongly stereotyped their differences.