This week in our class we had a work day
to focus on our family projects. As we were able to finish it up my group came
together and we understood the purpose of the IFRP. We are giving the family
valuable information that is easily accessible. What we could have changed and
done better in our project is edit our binders to fit the family’s current
situation. The family changed with each card and we hoped that we updated it enough
to adhere to their changing family.
The experience that helped me the most this
week was my HWD expert interview as well as the other group presentations. I
learned through my interview the importance of working with families and other
professionals. I also learned through other presentations that families come
from different backgrounds, religions, and have different mind frames. I need
to be unbiased when dealing with each family.
I am becoming well prepared to apply this
in my future as I am sensitive to the family’s needs. I will hopefully begin to
understand the importance of collaboration with the family’s and other
professionals.
My peers did really well on their family
presentations and helped me become aware of different disabilities. With them
being prepared they were able to teach me something new.
“It used to be that the
interventionist was expected to “fix” the child. The power comes as parents
learn that their child isn’t broken, but different.” –Sister Cranmer HWD Expert
Interview.
This week for my
HWD project I
did my expert interview with Jillisa Cranmer who is a faculty member over the
toddler labs on campus. She worked as a Developmental Specialist after getting
her undergraduate degree in Child Development. She later received her master’s
degree in Early Childhood Special Education. I have looked up to Sister Cranmer
as my faculty mentor as she has helped me in my education thus far. The
interview I did with her took place in person. She expressed her excitement
with me in sharing her experiences. The biggest thing she stressed throughout
the interview was collaborating with other professionals as well as the
families. When she was an interventionist she was expected to go into the home
and “fix” the child. The coaching model was not implemented until after she was
a Developmental Specialist. Looking back she understands the need and vitality
for the coaching model because it implements the interventions into the daily
routines.
I
appreciated her thoughts about families. She shared with me that easy families
are the minority. We are lucky to be receiving our degrees in Rexburg, Idaho
where families are open-minded and understand the importance of their child’s
development. Some families in Rexburg as well as around the country will not be
so simple to work with. I will need to be educated in tactics on working with
families and helping them have easy transitions as they work with and learn to
teach their child. I need to take into account that the parents are their
child’s first teacher. They spend the most time with them. If I want the
strategies to work when I am gone I need to make them comprehendible for the
parents. As I work with other professionals I need to understand that I will
not always agree. My opinion needs to be open minded, but Sister Cranmer said
that it doesn’t always mean I am wrong. Sister Cranmer loved working with other
professionals because she could really uncover the child’s disability and come
to a wider understanding through those who specialized in different areas.
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