Personal Narrative: Speech Therapy In The Classroom

I have distinctly applied for Special Needs Education because special education has always been what’s near and dear to me in the field of education. Being a special education teacher would be an inevitably rewarding job, in which I get to watch my students grow, as I celebrate their small breakthroughs and victories with them. These small breakthroughs and victories will improve over time and turn into giant leaps, which will leave a lasting impact and ultimately change the child’s life. Beyond just educating children with special needs, I aspire to educate the public about children with special needs and special education. By doing so, I hope to remove any uncertainty and fear the public has on this group of children. Not only do I want to impart knowledge on these special children, I also want to advocate for them, which is something that goes

Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Those with disabilities are no different they just have a different set then everyone else. I chose this project topic because in 5th and 6th grade I was part of a program called Peer Pals. Once a week during recess I volunteered in a special needs classroom. This work opened my eyes to the world of special needs and Peer Pals is one of the things I miss about elementary school. I realized that I needed to continue helping the special needs community. No solutions presented themselves and then one day the solution stared me in the face from it’s home in the Reston Community Center Program Guide. “Volunteer at the Adapted Aquatics Class,” I had found a solution to my problem.

This event happens once a year and takes place at our high school stadium. Special needs kids come from all around my community to compete in events that best suit their physical or intellectual disabilities. It is truly astounding to see a whole community come together to support these kids. At this past year's Olympics I volunteered as a peer buddy and my responsibilities included walking my buddy, Luke, to his different events and making sure he was having a good time. Luke won first place in the ball throw and second place in the 100 meter dash. I loved seeing how happy he was when he was handed his ribbons and I was so fortunate to have been able to spend the day with

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

I find myself reading this short paragraph over and over(above). My topic sentence makes me happy and proud. Going back to school was the best thing I have done. I chose to talk about going back to school to the “future employer” because it shows I am motivated as well as dedicated. This class has brought a lot to my attention. The mannerism that is expected in the “business world” is to speak and write well. It is extremely important to know how to write (type) a meaning full and proper paper whether it is for school or work. I have noticed a great impact in my vocabulary and writing skills. My boss told me on Monday he is impressed with the new docs I typed up for our new clients (with no help from him). I was not excited about this class

I've been clean from self harm for quite a few months now and I'm not sure how I feel anymore

As technology evolves, the traditional style writing classrooms should do so as well. Students are used to the typical routine, in which an instructor lecture and hands out assignments. However, is that really the most effective way of teaching for all students? Teachers neglect the fact that not all students learn the same way. In learning this, I propose some changes that could be made in order to increase learning effectively such as; the choice of physical work verses online work, communications and feedback to students, and essays.

After the first summer of volunteering, I was given a job opportunity to watch an 8-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy. It was my first time being one on one with a child with disabilities, but I couldn’t let that scare me away. My job responsibilities were to feed her, change her diaper, dispense her medication, and entertain her. When I started the job, she just had hip surgery; tears from her eyes became contagious to mine. Although, I sang to her every time she began to cry. Her smile would be from ear to ear and that brought joy to my heart that I could help her when she was in pain. I

In High School I was selected to participate in elective called IPIE (Instructional Practice in Education.) The elective allowed me to go over to an Elementary School to observe and help the teacher. I planned a lesson and my teacher observed me teaching the class. In the lesson, I taught was about a Rodeo. I would show the students a card and they would match the card up to the other card. If the card did not match I gave the students positive reinforcements I enjoyed the class immensely and the opportunity that I had. I helped the pre-K class. I observed the teacher and did what was asked of me. Throughout my life, I have worked with students that have special needs.

Starting my freshman year I joined Project Unify and began volunteering at the Special Olympics, working with intellectually disabled students to promote love and friendship through sports while also connecting them to the community. As a part of Project Unify, I was able to assist in encouraging inclusion and acceptance of students with intellectual disabilities in my school and the local area. I became an advocate for students with intellectual disabilities, reaching out to my peers to illustrate that they are not different than us and that the only divide that exists between us and them is one we create. We had campaigns throughout the school such as “Spread the Word to End the Word” to stop the hurtful use of the r-word. I took part in

When she replied back that she would love to have me help, my heart jumped out of my chest. I was so excited to be able to work with these kids. The first night of class I walked into the small waiting room of the gym and was greeted by Charity. She went through the list of kids on the team telling me of their disabilities. Our only girl had down syndrome and was nonverbal, Justin had autism, and Reece had severe ADHD. As the kids began rolling through the doors, my hands began to sweat. Meeting them and their parents made me anxious. I had never worked with special needs kids before. Then, we walked through the door the main part of the gym. It was filled with little girls in leotards and bars and beams everywhere with the smell of chalk in the air. I began to think I was more nervous than the kids in the class. We began to help the kids stretch and listen to them talk about what each of them wanted to do that night. Watching their excitement grow, my heart filled with joy. I remember the first thing we did was jump on the trampoline and as I helped each one do a flip at the end and seeing their faces after realizing they just did something they have never done before was the moment I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my

The class I am tutoring is a 3rd grade classroom at Palmers Elementary. Mrs Keri Shivle is the teacher of the classroom. I tutor Tuesday from 12:30 to 1:30pm. The times i'm in the classroom the students are always reading or doing an language art activity. The times i have been in the classroom i been working with three students. One is Jakiey and Lavonta and sometimes i work with Angeli. I do different things with them such as helping them with homework or reading to them and then having them read it back to me. We also play games such as vocabulary ones, phonics.

I would recommend incorporating narrative therapy into the intervention for the client Molly, who is eleven years old. The reason for this decision is because since the approach provides a creative way for clients like Molly to express themselves without feeling judged or misunderstood through various creative means including painting or creating poems. This intervention will consist of both deconstruction and reconstruction where the therapist will help assist Molly to turn her problem saturated stories into more positive ones, which will hopefully in turn help separate herself from the problems that she has identified herself as. Molly will greatly benefit from this form of therapy where the therapist will provide the client the opportunity

My decision and drive to become a special education teacher came with much thought and reflection. It was a cumulation of personal interests and soul searching; paired with motivation to create a career I am passionate about. I want to enrich the lives of students who daily enrich my life through their openness and continuously positive out look in life. My experience volunteering with special populations started when I was in sixth grade, and continued throughout high school. I was chosen by faculty to help during my elective period, in a special education class. Teachers and parents saw my sincere desire to help and contribute to each of these students. As years went on, and my education and awareness of special populations progressed; I took advantage of many volunteer opportunities to help with kids and adults with special needs. At CSU Chico, I volunteered at the Red Hen nursery which helped adults with disabilities join the work force. During my summers I spent time at a Camp Recreation summer camp which provided a fun and education filled camp experience for adults with disabilities.

As the semester comes to a close, my mind goes back to where I started. There are so many things I have learned and so many opportunities I was able to take advantage of. I am very thankful for these experiences and the many people I have had the privilege to meet during this semester. Though some of this learning was related to the courses I was taking, some of the learning was discovering things about myself.