achildsfieldday-blog

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What is the autism spectrum?

Autism-

a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.

Autism Spectrum-

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a group of developmental disorders. ASD includes a wide range, “a spectrum,” of symptoms, skills, and levels of disability. People with ASD often have these characteristics: Ongoing social problems that include difficulty communicating and interacting with others.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/

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ADHD

Symptoms:

include limited attention and hyperactivity.

People may experience:

Behavioral: aggression, excitability, fidgeting, hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, lack of restraint, or persistent repetition of words or actions

Cognitive: absent-mindedness, difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, problem paying attention, or short attention span

Mood: anger, anxiety, boredom, excitement, or mood swings Also common: depression or learning disability

- After observing vincent for a few days I’ve hypothesized that vincent has ADHD based on these facts.

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Day 2 vincent

The second day of my internship Vincent was not there, finally on friday he was in class. I could tell from the minute I walked into the class that he was having a bad day. As we went off to lunch vincent was not listening, he was running in the halls and talking back to his monitor on the lunch line. When he finally sat down at the table and saw me sitting at the table he started to yell at me. He did not want me to be at the opposite side of the table. He started to push me off and he got very frustrated. We told him that if he wanted someone to do something for him he had to ask politely but he failed to listen. His aid then took him back to the class where he sat in time out for the remainder of the lunch period. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to fully calm down, but when we felt he was ready then went to recess. Recess was not any better and he just sat down at the computer for indoor recess. For the remainder of recess he failed to share the computer so when the kids complained we calmly explained to them that vincent wasn’t having a good day and that he needed to sit at the computer to calm down.

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Day 1 vincent

On my first day I introduced myself calmly to one of the little kids Vincent, but he wanted nothing to do with me. He ignored me and when his teacher told him to say “hello” to me, he said he was too tired. I decided that instead of forcing myself to converse with him I let him do his own thing and hoped that he may just gravitate toward me. During recess that day i watched him interact with the other kids. He was doing great until the second kid I intern with started chasing his jump rope. He got extremely frustrated and started yelling at this little boy. After reprimanding him and telling him that we can’t talk to our friends that way things got a little calmer. Unfortunately a few minutes later the same boy started to pull on his jump rope again and this time he started to flailing his arms and hit his friend in the face. This is when his aid took him into the principal's office and he was eventually sent home. In conclusion, from what i saw on my first day i felt that vincent has communication  issues and possibly anger issues as well.

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My first week!

After finally getting in touch with someone at Primrose I started my internship.I am now in Ms. Prisco’s class, where she has me shadow two kindergarten boys. Henry the sweetest little boy ever. He is on the autism spectrum and  he is obsessed with the carnival. he uses a talker, which is an iPad designed to express how Henry is feeling with a bunch of buttons representing categories and then with in those categorizes are the things he likes. Vincent on the other hand is very pushy and mostly keeps two himself. From what I've seen he has anger issues but he is perfectly fine with being around Henry. 

Monday- The two boys were a little distant towards me. instead of pushing them and making them feel uncomfortable I kind of let them do their own thing. I watched how they interacted toward the other kids. Lunch was easier for one Henry because he loves to be around other people and he loves being asked questions such as “what your favorite planet?” or “what is your favorite carnival ride?”  he gets son happy when he gets to answer them. Vincent likes to sit by himself and eat alone, not even his monitor can sit with him .At the end of lunch Henry is allowed to sit with him. recess was very easy for the both of them in the beginning. Henry played by himself which is what he likes to do and Vincent played with others to the best of his ability, at the very end of recess Vincent got and at Henry for pulling on his jump rope so Vincent got frustrated and punched him. 

Wednesday- it was only Henry because Vincent went home. He was having a bad day and couldn't handle himself.  so we went to lunch and Henry really grew on me. I was asking him all of these new questions he was excited to answer, like his favorite tv shows are Peppa pig and Sesame Street, I learned the dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, eris, haumea, and makemake,  and I learned that his favorite carnival ride are the swings. Wednesday we had indoor recess so I sat with him at the coloring table and I asked him what carnival rides I should draw and their colors. The talker is really interesting. it has everything you could think of, for example colors, flowers, food, family members, etc. After we were at the coloring table for a while we moved to the iPad table where he just sat by himself and played a math game. he was so satisfied so his aid and I agreed we should just leave him for the rest of recess. 

Friday- both of the boys were there again. Henry had pizza for lunch so we had to heat it up. Henry hates the microwave, and he saw us put his pizza in it and started crying so we quickly gathered his stuff and took him out of the room. I stayed behind while both boys went to the cafeteria. when I got to the cafeteria I gave Henry his pizza and he got so excited. Then I sat down at the table where Vincent was sitting, but I sat down at the complete opposite side of the table. Halfway through lunch Vincent started yelling at me to move and then he started pushing me. I didn't move because his actions were inappropriate and needed to learn that people won't do what he wants of he is mean to them and doesn't ask nicely. the rest of indoor recess was pretty much the same as Wednesday. the boys just went on the iPads and played their games.

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the set up

I have thought of some good ideas for my field day: 

Bird Seed Bin (Sensory). The bird seed sensory bin can be a fun way to get your child’s hands on nature. they will love feeling the textures of the seeds. Buckets, cups, shovels, etc.,  can be added to make the sensory bin fun last longer.

Rainbow Soap Foam Bubbles (Sensory) With soap, food coloring, water, and a hand mixer. It can be a good learning opportunity for children who have trouble remembering their colors. Also, kids will love mixing the colors together and seeing what other colors can be created.

Bubble Bath Toy Car Wash. This one is perfect for outdoors because it involves water. Fill a bin with water and soap and throw in some toy cars. the children will love washing the cars and we won’t have to worry about the water spilling because we are outside.

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Communication problems

my biggest set back was going to look at collages at the beginning of WISE I feel that it really delayed my process. After today I will be more proactive. The one teacher I have been trying to get in contact with has failed to respond, so Im going to go to the school and talk to the teacher in person. I hope this will show them that I am eager to work with them and very committed. 

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My big idea!

With my knowledge in working with children, especially ones with developmental issues, I started to think what a good WISE project would be. Since I have done research on children and special needs I feel that creating an environment that can accommodate all of their needs would be the most beneficial. 

the different learning styles are:

Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding. Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music. Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing. Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch. Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.      Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.  Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

some kids are not able to use these learning styles so they may need more time learning how to speak, walk, or write. My big idea would be to give these kids a field day that allows them to work on their developmental skills and also allow them to feel like the regular kids.