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.