Learning:
- I learned this week that I need to have more fun with my child and parent. Sister Swenson said that we are thinking of our interventions too clinically. What would we do if we went home and were to play with a nephew? How would we act? We should be more playful with our children.
- I learned that I should plan activities but still follow the child's lead. It can be awkward being in someone else's home and working with their child (who they know best). But, we need to be bold in our play with the children. Some examples of activities I could do with my baby are play peek-a-boo, roll a truck back and forth, and play hide and seek with his toys. We also are going to work on some sign language at our next appointment.
Quote:
- "Play at your appointment!" -Me.
Learning:
- This week I learned that it is important that we work to help the whole family and not just the child. Siblings, parents, and caregivers need help just as the child with a disability needs help. I also learned that we always want to fix things. And - that's great. But, a lot of the time we need to accept that there is a disability and that we don't need to FIX it. We need to work to provide accommodations. I also learned that when talking to parents about their child, we should speak positively and describe things behaviorally.
Quote:
- "It's amazing how your relationship changes when you say to the family, 'I don't know.'" Sister Swenson
- "When you're bored, you have to think 'What is my face doing?'" Sister Swenson
HWD:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7ai466toE
- The video above is really awesome. It explains what happens in the hour after birth (including nursing).
Learning:
- Last week we had our second home visit! I feel like I don't know what I am doing and it is awkward. Our boy did awesome at his goal! I've been thinking of ways to expand his goal so we have more to work on. He made so much progress in one session. Our goal was for him to bring mom a toy with a verbal prompt and gestural cue. And he did this several times! He just got tired of the activity after a while so we moved to a different location and time ran out soon, anyway. We worked on him bringing a toy over and handing it to someone without a gestural cue (and only with a verbal prompt) and he did it once or twice. It was great!
Quote:
- I can't think of a quote. A quote from my head that sums up the week is: "Babies learn fast."
Learning:
- This week, I learned about the importance of fathers and the perspectives of children who have siblings with disabilities. I don't think that it's easy for anyone in a family where there is an individual or are individuals with disabilities. And it's tough for each family member in different ways. So, maybe something I can learn from all of this is that I need to be patient with all my students and families. Everyone is going through the grief cycle in some aspect of their lives. I also need to be more intentional in inviting fathers to participate in their children's growth and education. I usually always go to the mother first...and I should be going to the mother and father, not just the mother.
Quote:
- "More people are choosing not to get married in the first place," I think Sister Swenson.
HWD:
- Well my HWD project was getting a little boring to me. I don't think there was enough of the "deeper" in my topic. I think it would AWESOME to be a developmental specialist or early interventionist any by switching my topic I am not saying that this job would be boring or unfit for me. I think I want to research nursing (breastfeeding). I am going to be a mom in the springtime and would love to breastfeed. So I want to research all about breastfeeding: how it works, how to do it, the benefits, what happens in the process with mom and with baby, and other things I don't know about yet. Here's an initial article I found: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/breast-feeding/art-20047138?pg=2
Learning:
- This week I had my first home visit! I completed the ASQ with the mother and father. Baby was there, too. I'm excited to work with him and this family! There's a lot coming in the next week. I need to write my first intervention plan and decide what we are going to do to help this baby in his development. I think I may administer another test...but I'm not positive. I'm a little overwhelmed with all we have to do in this short time. This first plan is just to find out the baselines or present levels of performance with the child. I need to form goals for the baby (a short and long term) before our next home visit to assess baselines. Also, I'm not sure how much I can say about my baby and family because this is online. So I won't say anything more specific.
Quote:
- "Have baby face mom." -Sister Swenson
Learning:
- This week, we learned about the grief cycle and how it plays a role in the parents and families of children with disabilities. It is amazing to me how this grief cycle is ever present. But, I also love how it is OK to be in this cycle. It's normal to feel anger, acceptance, denial, bargaining, and depression. I think as we learn to better recognize what stage we are in (or that someone else is in) we become more compassionate and come up with ways to move forward.
Quote:
- "Where are they at in the grief cycle?" -Sister Swenson
HWD:
Learning:
- We didn't have class this week for 340. But, I contacted my family about scheduling a home visit this week! They haven't responded yet. I was able to make a copy of the assessment that will be given and have an environmental checklist ready for the visit, as well. And - I wrote an intervention plan on a case study from the text! It was fun to think of strategies to use with really little ones to help them meet their goal.
Quote:
- "Do you guys know all that you're supposed to be doing?" -Sister Swenson
Learning:
- This week, we talked about family systems and the crisis cycle. I think my family is a closed system for most things. I was able to create an eco map for a classmate and see the many different relationships that play a role in her life. And, as she created an eco map for me, I was able to see the many relationships that play a role in who I am. And it was a good reminder that I have so many supports in my life. Throughout this past week, I also was able to recognize where I was at in the crisis cycle.
Quote:
- "Don't talk!" -Sister Swenson
HWD:
- http://work.chron.com/child-developmental-specialist-8910.html
Learning:
- The smallest things are signs of developmental growth in infants. When babies gaze at something, when their eyes follow something, when they make facial expressions, and when they whine - they are showing developmental growth and ability to express themselves. We write our first plans based on the children and case studies in the textbook within the next week. It'll be fun to come up with ways to help pretend infants meet developmental goals or milestones because we have to think small! Those little things, such as responding with a facial expression, show development and could be something we implement in activities to meet their goals.
Quote:
- "Maybe you go back next week - and he's rolling all over the place." -Sister Swenson
Learning:
- It is crazy how much our social subsystems affect our lives and who we are. The way that our parents interact, the way our parents raise us, the relationships we have with our siblings, and the relationships we have with others shape who we become. We discussed in class the different kinds of family systems we have. I realized through this discussion that the negative aspects of relationships with my siblings have left a lasting impression.
- Many people have different ideas of what it means to have a disability or an impairment. I think that many disabilities are treated as a medical condition and do need to be fixed. I see this with mental illnesses, such as anxiety and depression. I remember learning once that in order to better myself, I needed to be OKAY with having anxiety. I needed to accept it and know that I was going to feel anxious. There's still a sense of....the way I feel isn't okay and I want to fix it, but the first step was to say: "I'm okay knowing that I will be anxious."
- I never realized that it was so important to not only help the family and child (in early intervention) on their child's progress but also to treat all the systems of the family. And that (I imagine) is where community resources come into play.
Weekly Quotes:
- "Siblings are the longest lasting relationships we have." -Sister Swenson
- "Maybe you go back next week - and he's rolling all over the place." -Sister Swenson
- "You will never have success if you don't look at all the systems and treat them." -Sister Swenson
HWD Paragraph:
