Lesson 07

I am this close to giving up on this semester. After all of my stomach problems, we finally found an antibiotic and an anti-cramping medicine that works. So two days after getting all of that sorted, I woke up Wednesday morning with a throat so sore I couldn't swallow and a fever or 103. So I was back at the doctors and they gave me a shot right there because I needed antibiotics right away. They also gave me an IV of fluids because I wasn't drinking due to not being able to swallow. I went back every day this past week to get a shot and IV fluids. So I missed all of class this week. I just feel like everything is getting overwhelming that I might drown in it all. This class is already so hard and missing class is NOT good. I have missed so much.
This week we did a discussion board where we were asked to watch a couple videos. I watched one movie called "Educating Peter". It was about a boy with down syndrome who goes to school in a regular classroom. The video follows the boy, his fellow students, and his teacher. I found myself getting really frustrated because this boy, Peter, could be violent and really disruptive. I was getting angry that he was in a regular classroom. Just as I was getting angry, I realized how much the students were learning as they learned to tolerate him and help him in the classroom. Peter really did make progress and learned to adjust to the classroom atmosphere and even make friends. It makes me understand how important the special education program is and how much progress we have made.
In the chapters we talked about other health impairments and how to handle them in the classroom.
One thing they did in class this week that I missed was a game of Jeopardy for the laws and court cases. I studied it on my own and found it incredibly helpful.  I have tried to look at it every night.
Overall, I really do love everything I am learning, I am just frustrated that my body isn't cooperating with me right now. I have one semester of school left. I can do this. I got this.

Lesson 06

 So this week has been pretty difficult. Since this is a blog for a class about disabilities, maybe I should come out with my own. It isn't necessarily classified as a disability or under any kind of special education IDEA but it is something hard that I have to go through and it inhibits be from performing at my fullest. For about 10 years now I have suffered from a chronic intestinal illness. It flares up randomly and gives me excruciating intestinal pain. When this happens, I am usually curled up and can;t move until the pain subsides, which could take hours. When the pain is gone, I am usually left with a nauseated feeling that I put up with for days at a time. Unfortunately, this semester it has flared up more times than it has in a while. I have missed more class than I ever want to and that makes me really frustrated. I am missing out on learning opportunities. Getting the stomach flu last weekend set off my illness and this week has been really hard and I missed Monday and Friday. Fortunately, I was able to be in class on Wednesday and I absolutely loved the case study group work we did. I prepared for my role as the math teacher. The group of other math teachers was really helpful and they helped me come up with some ideas to help Mark that I hadn't though of before. This situation may have been fiction but I know situations like this come up all the time and teachers have to find solutions and accommodations for students. This activity helped me use the knowledge I have learn so far to help a student who was suffering in his education and ability to focus. Mark has many strong points and positive attributes but his teachers were failing to hone in on those and use them to help Mark. Instead, he was being forced to learn in an environment and in a way that caused him to feel inadequate and unfocused.
I learned so much from talking with my peers and getting their perspectives on Mark and helping him learn. Every group assignment we have done has been incredibly beneficial. I am learning to apply what we are studying, which is something other classes I have taken have failed to do.
As hard as things have been, I am learning A TON from this class and I am so grateful for the open mind it has given me. I am positive things will get better and I am excited to continue soaking up knowledge and gaining a passion for Special Education.

Lesson 05

This week one of my favorite activities was practicing our own IEP meetings. I was a social worker, which means my job duties weren't too lengthy, but I got to voice my opinions and give my input on what we should do for the child. My group definitely had some struggles of not knowing what to say or how to say it, but it was an incredible experience that helped me see what all goes in to deciding the needs of a child. My group was able to all work together to help each other out in their different roles. It is really nice how often we learn from our peers in this class. Every class period I feel like we are given the chance to teach one another.
This week was also the Friday my group was teaching the class on Specific Learning Disabilities. Unfortunately, I was really sick the morning of teaching so I wasn't able to be there. This was really hard for me because my group and I put a lot of preparation into this lesson and I hated not being there to support them and do my part. I know they rocked it though.
Researching learning disabilities was really interesting. We were able to find examples of all different kinds of disabilities. We found pictures of dysgraphia and dyslexia. One of my duties in the lesson was to find behaviors of learning disabilities and behavior management strategies. It was really heart-breaking finding that many children become aggressive, angry, shy, depressed, self-conscious, and sometimes even resort to self-harm because they are so frustrated by their inabilities and frustrated that they can't fix it. It is so important that teachers, parents, and even peers be aware of children struggling who may have a learning disability. We need to help them as soon as we can before it really affects them. I actually found an article that talked about how Equine Therapy has been used to help children with learning disabilities. This is what I want to do for my career so I was incredibly happy to know that this kind of therapy can help learning disabilities amongst other things.
Overall it was a good week and I learned so much. This class does still feel overwhelming at times because there is SO much information to know and remember.

Learning Disability Experience

For my SPED 310 class I had to do a simulation of a learning disability. I had to converse with people without saying any words with the letters "L" or "N". Oh my goodness this was so hard! We say an incredible amount of words with those letters in them. I went to Broulims and to Wendy's for this experience. I asked for help finding a few items in the store. I kept having to pause and think if the word I was about to say had L or N in it. The worker repeated himself a few times to make sure I had heard him because I was taking so long to respond. It was really embarrassing. I couldn't speak too quickly or I would say a word with the letters in it.
The drive-thru was hilarious because I wanted to order a small lemonade but I COULDN'T SAY THAT! I said something like, "May I have the itty bitty size of the sour juice." I won't lie, I was laughing a little. The drive-thru worker kept asking me to repeat my order and finally my roommate just told him what I wanted. It was really funny but also opened my eyes to how hard it would be to have a learning disability.
My aunt has Dyslexia and I know she gets very frustrated when trying to write and spell. Learning disabilities really effect a person and can be incredibly hard for the person who has it. This was just a small example, and luckily, I don't have to always talk like that. It proved the point of being aware of others and not judging someone who may come off as different. The whole time I was participating in this assignment, I kept thinking how nice it would be if everyone truly did think like the Savior. I wouldn't have felt embarrassed if those I was talking to were compassionate, loving, and tolerant.

Week 4 Lesson 4

      CASE STUDIES OH MY GOSH! I am so overwhelmed by case studies right now. There are so many that seem like they are the exact same as others. It is hard to differentiate them. I just have to figure out a system that works for me. Most of class this week was getting the case studies down and familiarizing ourselves with them. Today we had a group teach a wonderful lesson on speech and language impairments. I really enjoyed the activities they did to help us relate to speech impairments. The first one was to put a tongue depressor on our tongue and try to have a conversation. It was so hard! I kept getting so frustrated. I also had a gag reflex from the darn thing so I couldn't talk for very long (I didn't even have it far back on my tongue). This activity really helped me recognize the frustration that comes with not being able to communicate. Communication is such a large part of our everyday that we don't often stop to think about what it would feel like to not have that anymore.


     The group teaching really helped me to understand there is a difference between speech impairments and language impairments. I didn't realize this previously and it will be helpful knowing these differences as I work at the elementary school and for the future working with students. I have more knowledge in recognizing impairments and what I can do to help. Also, as frustrating as they are to learn, the case studies really are giving me knowledge about how to handle different situations in special education. I can look at different court cases and their outcomes to find solutions to what might happen in my own classroom.

      I really enjoy the group work we do in class where we match things together. It is incredibly helpful and a great time for the girls in my group to share knowledge and ideas on how to remember things. I feel like I didn't give a whole lot of input with the case studies because I was just feeling overwhelmed, but after all of us working together, I felt more confident in being able to memorize them.

Stuttering Experience


So, for a class assignment I had to pretend to have a stutter for a few hours. This is actually REALLY hard to think about and consciously do. I think my stutter became more real because I had to awkwardly pause and think about actually stuttering. It was pretty entertaining to see other's reactions. While doing this assignment I went to Wal-mart to grocery shop. I decided to ask a worker to help me find a few things. It was difficult not to laugh every now and then simply because I was trying so hard to concentrate on stuttering that I kept forgetting what I was asking for. The worker was very kind. He waited patiently for me to get all my words out and then directed me to each aisle.

A couple of times he would finish my word before I got a chance, thinking he was helping me out. It was nice. I also had a conversation with the worker in the checkout line. He asked me how my day was so I answered and asked how his was. It was a brief conversation and people in line behind me were staring pretty intently. That bothered me more than anything. I hate attention on me and I could feel them thinking, "What is wrong with this girl." It made me feel for those who do actually have a stutter. I hope I have never been someone who has stared and judged another for a difficult situation they are in. I will now be so much more aware and more understanding.

I also went through a drive through at Wendy's. That was pretty hard. The person taking my order kept asking me "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" It was frustrating and I know those with real stutters must get frustrated often that they can't communicate with ease as they wish to.
All in all, this was a very beneficial experience and it helped me understand a little more about something that I am fortunate enough to not have to deal with in my own life. I know I will be more compassionate towards those with any kind of speech impairment.

Week 3 Lesson 3

Wow. I am learning so much in this class. I didn't realize just how much of a fight special education rights have gone through. I know there is still room for improvement, but we really are in a good place. Schools are obligated to provide education for students with disabilities and they are obligated to provide for their needs.
I had no idea how many court cases have been brought up and how many laws have been made and revised to get us to where we are presently. I mean, there are a lot. And I am slightly overwhelmed that I have to remember all of the laws, but I am excited to educate myself.

This week we were asked to go through a few different IRIS modules. I really learned from these. I was able to think about how I would handle different situations that could realistically happen in a general classroom. Students with disabilities can create a lot of surprising situations that teachers have to deal with. It was good to really stop and think about what I would do and remember what I, as a teacher, am obligated to do.  No matter what, that child deserves an education and I have decided how to best give them that.

I feel that I have more confidence in myself knowing that if a situation comes up with a student, even in the after school program I work at, I can handle in a legally acceptable and appropriate way. I know the related services and supplementary service to suggest.

I think I helped my peers as well as them helping me this week. We really worked together on the activities in class and, together, we learned and memorized things for the test. If one of us couldn't remember a guideline or a service or a disability, another person would make up for it and we learned form each other.

This week has been filled with studying for the exam. I am memorizing all that I can and crossing my fingers I have completely absorbed the information by the time of test.