Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My essential question is "What is the best way for a speech pathologist to help a child with Autism?"

• My first answer was "Group therapy treats challenges in social skills that are present in a child with Autism" My second answer is "A speech pathologist can integrate a family-centered  strategy to help a child with Autism."My third answer is "Enhancing IEP goals depending on  their baseline".
• My best answer is my first answer because through my mentorship got to see speech pathologist using group therapy the most. I was able to form this answer around my mentorship and I felt that it outshines the other answers because I was able to find research and actually see it in action through my mentorship.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
My mentorship consisted of helping out during a group therapy, because of that I felt I had more experience seeing what is done in a group therapy. I also found a lot of research that made me more convinced of that my best answer was my first answer, like an article from the Cal Poly database titled "Teaching Pragmatics to language disabled children" and "An investigation of social Behaviors of primary school aged children"

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

At the beginning of the year, I changed my topic from health and safety to special education and I had a really hard time finding a mentor that would be willing to help me. I talked to Mrs. Ortega and some of my peers about the problem I had. Xena told me about Casa Colina and I ended up finding that they had a volunteer program. From there I met speech pathologist who worked their and I found my mentor.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

ʺGuidlines for Speech-Language Pathologist in Diagnosis, Assesment, &Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across the Life Span.ʺ American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2014
Littleboy, Lynda, Micheal Reed, and Jill Thompson. "Special Educational Needs in Early Years Care and Education". New York: Harcourt Publishers Limited, 2000. Print.

• This article was from the American Speech- Language- Hearing Association and I felt provided me with extensive detail on what a speech pathologist has to be doing when they are taking their patient through diagnosis, assesment, and providing treatment.
• This was a book that I thought was important because the care that speech pathologist can provide in the early years of the life of a child is a big impact that can help a child communicate; especially in a child with Autism.

Be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response.  It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.

Independent Component 2

 

 

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) Statement saying: “I, Diana Serrano, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component

Professor Rebecca Laubie helped me complete my 30 hours for my independent component. She taught an Introduction to Special Education at Cal Poly Pomona for the winter quarter. 



(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).  
 It is posted next to my mentorship log.

(d) Explanation of what you completed. 
I observed a college class for a quarter. I participated in the class as if I was part of it even though I was not able to enroll. I gathered worksheets, and PowerPoint's from the class filled with information and put them in a binder.  I kept a binder with all the worksheets and notes that were given to us during the class.

INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.  Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work. 

This was the top of the syllabus of the Special education class. The professors information was on it but I decided to crop it to keep her privacy instead I have emailed it to Ortega. Most of the 30 hours I did were spent in a classroom learning about how special education works and what services are provided to the children.

 

This was a slide from one of the power points and the binder that I put together where all the notes and worksheets that were given to me went. On top of the time I spent in class I spent time at home printing power points and arranging my notes in my binder.

 

This was the power point for the day we discussed communication disorder.

 

 

These were a few worksheet I received in the class I scanned them to be able to put them in this blog post. the original copies are placed in my binder for future reference.

 

 

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

This independent component helped me answer my essential question because I learned what a child with Autism can go through when they are in school and how a speech  pathologist is important in helping the child with anything that interferes with there education. My third answer to my essential question is that a speech pathologist can help a child with Autism by enhancing the goals listed in the IEP. By taking the class I learned what an IEP, and the process that it takes to develop. For example, I had read about what an IEP was and what it was like but it was a totally different experience having a professor that has worked as a special education teacher tell you what she had to do in being part of the IEP team and knowing the process of it. Reading about it and having somebody tell you about it is a totally different experience and I felt that taking the class was a worthy experience. During the course I learned about different ways special education teachers help children with disabilities and found that some of the strategies were similar to the ones speech pathologist use. Like, PECS (picture exchange communication system),  social stories, and Alternative ways of communicating (ipads, computers).
Grading Criteria 

• Log on a digital spreadsheet
• Evidence of 30 hours of work 
• LIA submitted to blog

World Autism Awareness Day

World Autism Awareness Day has been occurring yearly since 2007. April 2nd is the day when we light it up blue for Autism Awareness. This day is celebrated through unique fundraising and awareness raising events. At the place I volunteer we decorated the lobby to promote awareness.