Today I came into school at 8:30 a.m. and sat for the end of a session with Ms. Black and two kindergarten students. She was working with them on copying shapes. They have trouble with visual perceptual skills, which is where the brain is able to take mental pictures, but how they perceive the image is different. After the two students left, three more came in, and did the same exercise. The difference between the kindergarteners and second graders was very large, and the second graders drew faces with the shapes and are able to take it a step further. After, I read a short story with two girls.
Then we had group, and worked on spelling and rhyming. We went over the 5 students’ spelling list, and reviewed the vowel pair oa. Next they played a rhyming game, which is a circle with pictures around it. A student chooses an object and puts it in the spot with the object that rhymes the object chosen.
I left group to work with another student because his teacher was absent today. The student has language and articulation problems with oral motor mechanism. I worked with him first on reading, and we read a book about a frog. Then we read through lists of words. Lastly, we played a few games of bingo.
I then observed while Mrs. Black worked with a student with autism. It was hard to get started at first because the student was having trouble focusing and not wanting to do work. He has something called disregulation, which is when it is hard for someone to be calm and relaxed. Instead, there is much turmoil in the brain. For instance, this student perseverated over earwax. Perseveration is when one is fixed on something and can’t shift to something else. During the session, the student became physically exhausted because he was emotionally in turmoil. If you are regulated rather than disregulated, everything is fine and balanced. Once Mrs. Black started doing the exercises, he began to focus and cooperate more. Mrs. Black often writes messages for him on the top of his papers instead of saying them. In his workbook he worked on word endings, -ful, -ing, -est, -en, and –ness.
Before I left we reviewed and wrote an IEP, and it's basically a review and description of the students learning strengths and weaknesses. It is reviewed with everyone working with the child including his/her parents. Mrs. Black showed me how the system worked on the computer, and explained to me the purpose, and how to use the specific website.
Then we had group, and worked on spelling and rhyming. We went over the 5 students’ spelling list, and reviewed the vowel pair oa. Next they played a rhyming game, which is a circle with pictures around it. A student chooses an object and puts it in the spot with the object that rhymes the object chosen.
I left group to work with another student because his teacher was absent today. The student has language and articulation problems with oral motor mechanism. I worked with him first on reading, and we read a book about a frog. Then we read through lists of words. Lastly, we played a few games of bingo.
I then observed while Mrs. Black worked with a student with autism. It was hard to get started at first because the student was having trouble focusing and not wanting to do work. He has something called disregulation, which is when it is hard for someone to be calm and relaxed. Instead, there is much turmoil in the brain. For instance, this student perseverated over earwax. Perseveration is when one is fixed on something and can’t shift to something else. During the session, the student became physically exhausted because he was emotionally in turmoil. If you are regulated rather than disregulated, everything is fine and balanced. Once Mrs. Black started doing the exercises, he began to focus and cooperate more. Mrs. Black often writes messages for him on the top of his papers instead of saying them. In his workbook he worked on word endings, -ful, -ing, -est, -en, and –ness.
Before I left we reviewed and wrote an IEP, and it's basically a review and description of the students learning strengths and weaknesses. It is reviewed with everyone working with the child including his/her parents. Mrs. Black showed me how the system worked on the computer, and explained to me the purpose, and how to use the specific website.
1 comment:
You continue to do a great job of putting specific details about your day into your blogs. Through your blogs, I have a clear sense of what you are experiencing each day. Regarding some other resources on autism (since you seem interested in learning more about that topic), here are some other sites to puruse (I learned about them from reading the Harvard Education Letter, September/October 2007 edition:
1. Autism Society of America: www.autism-society.org
2. Professional Development in Autism: www.pdacenter.org
3. "Effective Practices in Educational Programs for School-Age Students with Autism." Albany, NY: New York State Education Department, September 2003. Available online: www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/autism/effectivepractice.htm
4. A great book: T. Thompson. Making Sense of Autism. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing, 2007.
Happy researching and reading!
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