Graduation Speech : Special Needs

Growing up, it is easy to imagine the future playing out something like this: attend college, score that dream job, get rich, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. It all sounds pretty familiar, however many young adults find that life does not always happen so simply. There are horror stories everywhere. Students graduate, fail to find a job in their field as they expected, and are left feeling hopeless as their credit card and loan bills pile sky high. Take Paige Nichols for example. Paige grew up in a family that was well-off financially. Her parents were able to pay for her two younger siblings’ college educations and, like many middle class children, she was used to getting what she wanted. However, by the time it was her turn to go to college, her parents’ financial situation had gone downhill and she was left to pay for her education by herself. After four years she graduated with a business degree and $20,000 in debt to go with it. Her payment plan was set at $300 per month, and although she had jobs, she was used to living frivolously, and therefore only made the bare minimum payment of $50 most months. This left her in a position where she would remain in debt until she was 50 years old. A few years after graduating with her bachelor’s, she considered going back for her master’s in forensic psychology, something she had grown very fond of. However, since she was already inundated with student debt and could not afford to spend an extra

How are you doing? This is Will, the tall black guy you would sometimes see in service. I'm writing to say goodbye. My project in Carson City came to an end and I've moved back to Texas. Thank you so much for making me feel at home at Hope. Your messages kept me going while I was in Reno. God used your words to truly bless me and also show me where I need to improve. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye in person, but everything happened so fast.

Robert is eight years old. He enjoys playing Mario Kart, competing in tennis and is doing math at a 9th grade level. Also, he is autistic. Even with his disability, Robert loves being a normal kid. For him, school has just finished and it isn’t even noon yet. This is because Robert is home-schooled and has been for the past two years. The curriculum involving public education for those with special needs has been failing Robert since he began public school. Even though he excels in mathematics, he has a difficult time understanding proper grammar and sentence structure. Public schools were holding him back due to his lack of understanding literature, even though he could do math that was several grade levels above his own. With these

Hope you had a great summer! I don't know if you received the information on the two new referrals from FIT (Family Infant Toddler) program. They will be turning three in October. I will get consent for both asap. The names are Billy McCann (speech only) and Isalyn Paul (Down's syndrome). In addition, to these two there are three students I would like you to screen. I know we screened one of the twin girls in the spring, but I would like to screen both of the twins (Eden and Kayla Dock) for articulation, then I will put a referral in to Ashley for both. The other student is a kindergarten student, Rylee Chudwuck. The principal has asked for him to be screened for articulation. I'm not sure if you want to do the screenings

In response to your last email, I am willing to go school uniform and shoe shopping with Ms.Obach. This week I spent time explaining to Ms. Orbach, that I will not be working with her after this month. There are several things, I have been working on with Ms.Obach to prepare her for this transition. To name a few, she has had two Family Team Meeting that I set up. This month I have chosen to let her set up the meeting and email all parties she would like to attend. So, she can continue the monthly FTM(s) with on her own.

I want to thank you for listening to me yesterday afternoon. After a much needed soul search I re-evaluated my purpose for why I come to work Monday-Friday and my purpose is to serve kids. That’s my sole purpose and my only purpose. You asked me to send you the criteria for entering PASS. I gave you a hard copy of this information before school started, but will be happy to submit another copy to for your records. As an Aspiring Leader I know that I will encounter conflicts from both staff and students. My number one priority is to remain professional at all times. Next, find a positive solution to solve the problem. My solution to the problem that I brought to you on yesterday is this, do not give adults power to take away from the focus

Kaeden rested on his bed in somewhat of an odd position. His head was slightly crooked against the wall, a position that would later cause him neck pain, and while it was a choice he regretted every night when he was taken by the reigns of tiredness and he laid down just to feel that pain in the back of his neck, sometime moving through his muscles, venturing into his shoulder. He still always sat like that anyways. He had his right foot on the bed, supporting his leg to be in a position with the knee pointing towards the ceiling, almost like an upside-down “v”, with his left leg crossed, his calf resting on his knee. It looked and sounded uncomfortable, but for Kaeden, it was what he liked. He stared blankly at his laptop as he scrolled through

Marshall Elementary School is the home to fifth grade student, Sam. Sam has recently transferred in with his IEP in relation to Autism. At Marshall Elementary, Sam is in a general education classroom for all subjects except Art. His teacher has seen Sam struggling with behaviors throughout the school day. The special education teacher was assigned to study Sam’s behavior and identify when Sam acts out specifically.

Teaching students with challenging behaviors begins with understanding behaviors utilizing Culturally Responsive Instructions and strategies. Howard is a sixth grader that has been referred to the office six times in four month by his first-year teacher Ms. Anderson for his “insubordinations”. Based on Ms. Anderson observations Howard exhibits specific weakness in mathematics resulting in incomplete in-class work assignments and avoidance behaviors when asked to work at the whiteboard. Howard’s outbursts according to Educators Rick Lavoine students would rather be bad than dumb. Creating intervention plan will accurately document the function, and communication behind his behaviors. Howard exhibits behaviors that may be misconstrued as misbehaviors in the classroom at times.

On October 27, 2016, I observed the physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual development of Ella, a six-year-old female first grader, along with her younger brother, three-year-old Oliver. The observation was conducted in the children’s home in Sioux Center, Iowa. The children’s mother consented to the observation as evidenced by the signed consent form found at the end of the report. The father was aware of my prerogatives and was away at work while the mother was present in the adjacent room teaching violin lessons.

Hi Mrs.Reid it’s honestly the biggest pleasure to be in your class, and it’s obvious that you’re a great teacher. You already told us so much about yourself and I think it’s awesome how open you are with us. So, I wanted to return the favor by telling you probably the greatest memory I have in my entire life. I mean not that I lived too long to have tons and tons of memories but still this memory to me will never be replaced or memories it’s kinda like over a span of days you know what I mean? Believe it or not this story begins at my first job technically last job McDonalds while I was working drive-thru.

• What did you learn this semester about student affairs in higher education, how to be a better student affairs professional, and how to be a successful graduate student?

During my placement in Jemison Elementary in Chilton County, I was placed in a Special Education classroom with four students, a teacher and a teacher’s aid. They students range in grade level kindergarten to second grade. They also had very different disabilities. The reason they were all put in that classroom together was because developmentally they all were within the same range of development of one other. One of the kindergarten students has Osteogenesis Imperfecta. This means that her bones are very fragile and can break easily. The other kindergarten student is in the class because of his behavior problems. He has a hard time paying attention and staying on task. The first grader is developmentally delayed. She is very far behind academically due to the delay in her development. The last student is in the second grade. The reason behind him being placed in this classroom is very sad. When he was a toddler, he was run over by a vehicle, therefore now he is developmentally delayed due to the severe head trauma. The teacher and the aid have both had many years experience in a special education classroom. They were very familiar with the roles of a special education teacher. They had a strict schedule that they followed everyday. The very first day I was there I noticed that the students are very acclimated to this schedule and pay a lot of attention to how their day flows. This is very important because three of the four students do not stay in that classroom all day. They actually return to their general education classroom after morning instruction to receive the student interaction in a regular classroom with non-disabled students. I was amazed to watch how the students knew when and where to go at certain times of the day. The were all very schedule oriented. The atmosphere of the classroom was very bright and fun, but with that being said, the students knew who was in charge. My cooperating teacher (CT) had a very well developed classroom management plan. She had a certain way of doing things and her students were very familiar with her way of doing things. I found that very amusing. Her and her aid had a great relationship with one another. They

There are multiple things a student needs in order to succeed in college, one of which is a laptop. Throughout my high school career I constantly struggled because of this item that I did not own. When I needed a computer for school I would have to take long trips to the local library that provided slow connection and inconvenient hours. I constantly complained to my mom about not having my own laptop, resulting in her promising me one for my graduation gift at the end of my senior year. I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe that my mom was going to buy me my very own laptop. In order to be successful in college, I needed the best laptop out there.

It’s a great feeling when it’s not a struggle to attend class or a struggle to do your homework. To be able to attend class with enthusiasm to want to learn something new. That is the motivation created by knowing you’re were you are meant to be. So far my adulthood has consistent of a lot of experiences that I drag myself to do, out of need for money or need to get out of another situation. After two other attempts to pursue other educational goals I finally find myself where I feel I can be successful.