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Service - Learning Project Reflection Paper
Career in speech language pathology essay
Paper on the benefits of service learning
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I am currently a freshman at Oklahoma State University, majoring in communication sciences and disorders. I plan to graduate in May 2019 with my bachelors degree and then pursue a master’s degree and certification in speech-language pathology. With this degree I aspire to work as a speech language therapist in a nursing home. Before working on the service learning project component of this course, I did not have any experience working with people with disabilities. Through the service learning project I had the opportunity to volunteer with two programs that work with adults with disabilities. I volunteered with an adult education class program that provides adults with disabilities Adult Basic Education. The second program was the Faith Class, which is a Sunday school class for adults with disabilities.
Activities
I volunteered in the classroom of adult education classes held at the First United Methodist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma on two Mondays early in the semester. These classes were comprised of about fifteen adults of all ages with different disabilities. Each volunteer that came to the class was assigned one student to work with. Each time I attended, I worked with a young woman who had an intellectual delay, as well an orthopedic impairment.
At the beginning of each class the students had board work they were to copy down and answer in their notebooks. The board work required the students to write out the whole date and answer a question that correlated with that day’s lesson. I helped my student to complete this assignment by writing out the board work on a piece of paper in front of her as she wrote. This aided her in seeing how the letters were formed, so she could correctly write them in her notebook. The woman...
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...individuals in the Faith Class, I learned how to practice the People First Language in my everyday life. I often see many of the members from the class working in the student union. I stop and talk to them, as I would with friends that I have classes. with. I do not see the individuals in the class as people with disabilities that I teach, but I see them as my friends who help me grow stronger in my faith everyday. Even though the service learning project is over, I will continue to volunteer in the Faith Sunday school class every Sunday this semester. I am already dreading going home for summer break, because I want people to see the Faith Class members every Sunday. The service learning project has changed the way I view people with disabilities and think all people should volunteer with people with disabilities to gain more experience with People First Language.
Now, for a main question that crosses most people’s mind. How much money do speech-language pathology make hourly and yearly? As of 2012 the median pay was $69,870 and about $34 an hour. The reasoning upon having a median wage is when they take half of the workers of a profession earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10% have earned less than $44,000 and the top 10% made more than $105,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Even when some made the lowest they still are making pretty good money. Since a person now knows about the pay, job requirements, schooling and what speech-language pathologist is, now would be a good time to talk about the age groups that speech problems can happen in.
I also volunteer, assisting students with various developmental and learning disabilities complete their educational tasks (e.g. homework and test preparations). In the past, I’ve worked as a teacher’s aide in the Buffalo, NY public school system and as an undergraduate assistant in the Buffalo State Speech-language and Hearing Clinic. I plan to become a school-based SLP preferably in the Washington, D.C. area. I have great interest in working in the public-school system because I believe that it will allow me to reach and assist a large array of children with a wide variety of unique needs. I am particularly passionate about assisting children that come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds because I come from one myself. I also believe that children are often misdiagnosed with language or speech impairments because they use a vernacular that is different from mainstream English or because they fail standardized tests that are not culturally appropriate for them. Correspondingly, a child’s language or speech impairment can be overlooked because they use a vernacular that differs from mainstream English. As a school-based SLP, I will strive to ensure that all children receive the appropriate services they require, warranting that they become proficient communicators and will be able to use their skills to enhance their lives and contribute to society. Nothing will give me more gratification than to help children make greater use of their communicative
Throughout my life, I have found myself always striving to help others. This has been bestowed upon me since I was a young child. My brother, Justin was born with health problems. He had to be fed through his stomach from birth to he was five years of age. Because of Justin’s health conditions he was a lot smaller than kids his age. He was held back in school for a year and he was still eight inches shorter than the other kids in his class. With all of his ailments and his stature I felt that it was up to me, his big brother, to be there for him and defend him from anyone picking or ridiculing him. I later helped my mother teach second grade kids in Sunday school. This opened my eyes to a lot of learning diversities
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
By know the other people disabilities you will interact better and will help the disable student better transition to blend in the community. Not be afraid of the unknown. As much knowledge you have on the different types of disabilities, the better person you become and more effective
A mere two weeks passed by since the day of my arrival to my new home before the start of second grade. I struggled to learn basic phrases before the start of school, phrases such as “May I use the restroom?” and “What is this?” After timeless tries, my aunt, who already knew English, came up with an idea to write the phrases down on pieces of paper. I would have to hand the teacher the pieces of paper which matched what I needed in order to communicate with her. The idea made me feel embarrassed, but knowing that it was the only way possible for me to get my needs from my teacher, I agreed to the p...
There are several populations that interest me however possible preferences include families that deal with domestic abuse and those who are disabled. Working with families that have experienced domestic violence is an interest because in the past I had friends whose family was dealing domestic violence and the impact could clearly in all members of the family. Seeing the difference that was made by those who worked to help their family made this population a preference. Another population that is a possible preference is are those who are disabled. The interest to help those who were disabled started when a faculty called Edelweiss opened. Up to that point there had been no interaction with those who lead different lives than myself. Through the year that was spent volunteering the changes in those that had lessons became obvious. Being able to see the achievements of those who had lessons made it a continued interest. In the past couple of years a new side of this interest was shown. There is someone that is a close friend who is disabled because of seizures who has had trouble with employers. Seeing how she has been treated made it even clearer that this population needs help and has made it a continued interest professionally and personally.
I realize that it is ironic that I, of all people, am taking classes in American Sign Language and am a CSD major. Devoting my future to working with people who have communication and hearing disorders is more than likely going to present a unique challenge to myself due to my low vision, but I have
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 states that a person with a disability (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment (42 USC 12101 [2]). Students with disabilities experience specific struggles that negatively impact their academic and social engagement. However, their needs are often not met by higher education institutions in comparison to other student identities. This comes from the stigma in our society surrounding disabilities. Children are taught from a young age that it is inappropriate ask an individual with a disability about their experience. These children grow up to be adults who feel uncomfortable being around those who may have a disability.
An interest in the field of speech-language pathology was ignited in my mind and my heart at the young age of 9. It was career day in Mrs. Garrett’s third grade class and our school speech pathologist was speaking to the class about her profession. I knew at that moment that this was my calling. I was fortunate to have a support system that focused on helping my passion flourish, so my wonderful teacher arranged for me to spend a week with our school speech pathologist, during this time I was able to see how she helped students communicate. During high school, I was given the opportunity to spend two days per week volunteering with the elementary school speech-pathologist in our district. These experiences continued to shape my goals and dreams for the future. Unfortunately, my dreams soon came crashing down around me. As I prepared to apply for college, I realized that my parents had spent my entire college fund during a financial hardship. I was devastated by the setback, but decided to attend a community college instead, planning to transfer after two years. During my time at community college, I faced yet another setback, my parents were getting a divorce and soon I found myself without a place to live. Consequently, my grades and GPA suffered as I bounced
I was always the person to shy away from a disabled person because I didn’t know how to handle it. I always thought if I avoided them I wouldn’t have to face the truth, which is I was very uncomfortable with disabled people. However, since our discussions in class, reading the book, and going to the event my views on the disabled have changed drastically since then. I learned that people with disabilities can do the same things, if not more, that a person without disabilities can do. I realized that I need to treat people with disabilities just like any other person, like an equal. People shouldn’t be ostracized for something that they cannot control. Everyone should treat disabled individuals with respect, dignity, and concern. This is why from now on I will not shy away from a disabled person I will welcome them with open arms because they are no different than
Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they may omit, substitute, or even distort sounds, hindering their ability to talk. Students who lack in ways of expression have problems explaining what they are thinking and feeling because they do not understand certain parts of language. As with all types of learning disabilities, the severity can range. Two extreme cases of expression disorders are dysphasia and aphasia, in which there is partial to no communication at all (Greene, 435, 2002). Individuals can also have a receptive disorder, in which they do not fully comprehend and understand information that is being given to them. They can experience problems making sense of things. “Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning” (National Institutes of Health, 1993, p1). Whether children have difficulty articulating speech, expressing words, receiving information, or a combination of the three, there is no doubt that the tasks given to them in school cause frustration. These children experience anxiety when...
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,
This course not only gave me the knowledge I needed to understand students with learning disabilities, I was also able to empathize with these students through active participation in the sensitivity activities. Participating ...