Sunday, October 2, 2016

ECSE 421 Week 3

This week in ECSE 421 We focused a lot on the family and understanding the family in order to help the infants we will work with. In order to understand children with disabilities the class discussed our ADA projects. Each student did a different simulation on a particular disability. The insight I gained from each person’s statement was that they had time to reflect on how hard it would be, even though the simulation isn’t even close to what the actual person with a disability would go through.

The experience that helped me internalize and empathize with these infants and their families was on Friday when we each discussed our own family dynamics. It was really powerful to learn about the families and their subsystems and how these systems shaped the individuals in my class. It is amazing to me that with about 25 students in our class each and every family situation was unique. This will help me realize the infants I work with will all have unique family situations and their IFSPs need to be incredibly individualized and specific to that family. My peers impacted me as they shared these personal stories which allowed me to feel open enough to share my family story. They helped me understand how to be open minded when working with families in the future.

The resource that helped me break down the family systems was the power point that was shown in class. When I was reading about it I wasn’t able to categorize and internalize this information. The PowerPoint had bullet points that helped me simplify the family into spousal, parental, and sibling subsystems.

“…whether they have children with disabilities or not, families are unique and complex.” –Families, Professionals, and Exceptionalities Ch. 2

For my HWD project I have decided to research Early Intervention and jobs within it. I have thought about becoming an Early Intervention Specialist, so I looked up what that job entails. First of all I would need to graduate from an accredited school with my bachelor’s degree. Then I would be able to work with children through Early Intervention from birth to 5. An Early Intervention Specialist travels to preschools, homes, or kindergartens in order to work with the infant and their families. This is when they will create an IFSP individualized for the family.

Looking up this first job within early intervention has made me even more excited to get into the field. I hope to find more jobs so that I can broaden my horizons.


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