Week 6 Reflection

Reflection:

This week in class we focused on fathers and siblings in class. To prepare for these topics there were articles to read and a video clip to watch. I really enjoyed the articles we had to read, I felt like they gave some good perspectives and helped me learn more about how a father feels and how siblings might feel and why. As we were talking about these things I started to think about why this was important to know and sometimes I think we get in this mindset where we think "I am working with this child who has a special need, not his family" but what we need to realize is that helping that child means helping that family. In our future careers we will be working with the families of our students/clients that have a special need. We need to know how they may feel so that we know how to help them. I really enjoyed discussing these topics this week because now I have a better understanding as to why a family member might feel a certain way about that child or sibling who has a special need.

Weekly Quote:

"The more your children learn and understand about their sibling, the easier it will be for them to accept him or her." I really liked this quote when I read it to prepare for this weeks discussions. It helped me see that we need to remember that children may not always understand what their sibling or friend has and what it means, but if we help them learn about it and know what it is, they will be more understanding and accepting of the child.

HWD:

This week for my HWD project I got to looking through some blogs and came across one that kinda stood out to me that talked a little bit about a child with special needs that didn't understand why her older sister (going into her teen years) didn't want to play with her anymore with barbies and things like that. The mother of these siblings said it was heartbreaking to watch because her daughter with special needs didn't understand why this happened and had lots of tears about it until they could help her understand and start doing other things instead to help her adjust. In class we also talked about different relationships and siblings might not understand what it means when they hear that their brother or sister has a special need but if we explain it to them, then the relationship can improve because they will understand it.

Source: http://www.specialneedsmom.com/2015/05/what-every-mother-wants-for-her-child-simple-social-fun.html

Week 5 Reflection

Reflection:

This week we the thing that stuck out the most to me was when our guest speaker came on Friday. She said some really great things that can help us better understand the perspectives of families and parents of children with a special need. This guest speaker really helped us see that there are a lot of good things but also a lot of challenges that come from having a child with special needs. I think a lot of my peers in class learned a lot from this lecture and really enjoyed it. One thing that might have helped me learn better and prepare better was knowing what the speaker was going to talk to us about so I could come with a question to get an answer to.

We also talked about the grief cycle this week. We talked about how there is no rhyme or reason to this cycle because new things that are happening in life all the time that can create a new "cycle" or send the person back into a previous stage. We watched a movie clip from "Steel Magnolias" and had the chance to see an example of how the grief cycle can work. As I watched this I was able to think of different examples throughout my life where someone I know, or myself have been through a grief cycle of our own and I could see how every example I thought of had a different cycle; we didn't all go through the same stages in the same order. I really felt like this prepared me for my future career because as I learned about the grief cycle, I was able to realize that I will have to work with many families who will be going through this cycle as they raise their child with a special need.

Weekly Quote:

"We can accomplish amazing things by getting into their world." ~Guest Speaker
I really liked this quote and it is something I think all future teachers should remember. Sometimes I think it is hard so imagine how we can get through to a child who has a special need, but if we take the time to get to know each of our students and learn what things they like, then doing something as simple as putting a picture on a worksheet can help these students who has a special need. By getting into their world instead of expecting them to get into ours we can begin making a difference and help them get an interest in doing the work we want them to.


HWD Project:

As we talked in class this week about the grief cycle I got to thinking about how the grief cycle is incorporated into the relationships of families who have a child with special needs. As the family learns about different difficulties or successes with the child, they will be going through their own stages in the grief cycle at different times. This can affect the relationships in the family because if we are in different stages it may add stress and make it harder to communicate with the family and work on those relationships. Also this week, when the guest presenter came and talked to us it helped me see that the relationship between the parents can be stressful because the child requires so much work. Overall, I learned this week that even when times are stressful and relationships are tense, there are so many good things that can be seen too, and as the family works together to overcome those stresses and stages of grief they can build positive relationships with one another.

Week 4 Reflection

Reflection:

This last week in class we discussed a lot about Eco-maps and actually had the opportunity to do an Eco-map for one of our classmates that we didn't know very well. I really liked this assignment, and was glad we had the chance to work together and brainstorm different questions that we would ask to find out what support systems are available to the families we are working with. It was a really neat experience to be able to draw one of these maps and actually complete one because now I feel much more prepared to do these in the future when I am working with families throughout the future.

The Eco-map assignment was actually the one that helped me the most this week. Reading the material and watching the videos was a good start to learning about it, but actually having that hands-on experience made it much better and clearer to see how the whole process works. It also helped me brainstorm and get creative with ways to ask questions in the appropriate manner.

I think our class as a whole participated this week and helped one another learn these topics and how to do these Eco-maps. While we were brainstorming different ideas for questions I noticed that everyone I was sitting around were kind of bouncing ideas off of each other.

Quote:

"Love on another; love those you teach." At church today we were discussing how we can help others and one of my leaders said this and I really loved it. I feel like it relates to this past week's class because if we love one another and love those that we teach, then we can have their best interests at heart and know that we are doing the best things to help them. As a future SPED teacher, I need to have a love for those I teach so that they can learn and grow.

HWD Paragraph:

This week I was able to talk to a mother who has a child with a special need. We had a conversation and she said a few things that kind of stuck out to me about how their family works together with this child. The mom has been able to stay at home and raise her children, and the dad works. One thing I found very cool about this family was how each of them knew some techniques and things to help their brother when he was having a melt down, and each of the siblings tried to help him calm down again; but the mom of this little boy is sometimes the only one who can calm him down in different situations. I found this interesting because even in just one conversation I could see how this family all dealt in different ways and how sometimes different people could get through to this boy and help him calm down again.

Week 3 Reflection Post

Reflection:

This week we talked a lot about systems; social, cultural, and family systems. As I was reading through the different materials and things this week I found it interesting to see how these systems worked. It really helped me to talk about them in class, because I learned a lot about how society and culture as well as the family have an effect on everyone.

When we talked about the differences in social and cultural systems, I was able to see how knowing about this will help me in my future career. We talked about the medical and social models and how prevalent they are in our society today. As a future teacher in Special Education, this helped me really learn and start to become prepared to help my students by not just defining them by what they can't do, but helping them learn and do things that will help them be successful.

When we talked about family systems, I really found this interesting and I think it is so important to be prepared and know about these different systems so that I can work with students and understand how family plays a huge part in how a child may act or react in different situations. Thinking back on these systems and how they shaped me into who I am today, it is easy to see the effect that family has on a person. When we talked in class, it was really interesting to me to listen to different family systems and dynamics and to hear the responses of my peers.


Weekly Quote:

"We don't pee on people!" ~Sister Swenson. This really made me laugh in class, because when my little brother was born I was sort of the same way. I am number 5 of 6 kids and my little brother is 4 years younger than me. I remember when my mom asked me if I wanted a new baby I told her no. I was very adamant that I absolutely did not want a baby; she told me that we were going to have one anyways. I was not very happy about it until my mom told me that the baby would help me clean my room when he/she was old enough; that was the only reason I wanted to have a younger sibling. When I heard this quote it made me feel better that I wasn't the only one who didn't want a new baby!

HWD Project:

When we talked about family systems in class this week, I got to thinking about this project and my topic about family relationships in families who have a child with special needs. I learned that families who have a child with special needs are not exempt from the effects of a family system; they actually even have more to "deal with" so to speak. They not only are a family, but they have special circumstances and that family dynamic might be a little more strained on those families that have a child with special needs. It can be hard sometimes for everyone to get along and to understand why they are affected. When talking about family systems it really helped me see that a family with a child who has a special need really can be affected; and not just one member of the family, but the whole family. We talked about how the family system is like a baby mobile-- not just one thing moves when the mobile gets touched, the whole mobile is affected; this is the same in a family unit.

Source: Class powerpoint and discussion.