Field trip reflection

Reflection on Barb Retenbach

“Be open and appreciative of neurodiversity.”  This quote during the lecture with Barb and Lois stands out to me and makes me think realize what a vast variety of minds I will encounter in my time as a teacher but also in life.  We are all different people encountering different individuals every single day.  Do we ever stop to appreciate the diversity that any one person may bring into our lives…how they may change our way of thinking and doing life?

Barb is a remarkable and humorous woman.  Through her writing and an hour of actions and interactions the other night, she widened my appreciation for people who use facilitated communication.  Because I watched the video, I had been introduced to the various ways in which people with autism can communicate, but seeing firsthand was another experience entirely.  I have to admit that I was a bit nervous and felt ill-equipped to interact with Barb, if that is what we were to do.  I have little experience working with people with autism, specifically those who use facilitated communication, but I was also excited to learn more and to gain tools and strategies.

Something that struck me was the ways in which Barb used the word, “normals.”  She refers to those of use who do not have to use facilitated communication or who do not have autism as “normals.”  It seemed odd to me that she would refer to us as such when her “normal” is defined in such a different way.  She talked about how the world with autism is a good thing…how “normals” don’t take the time to enjoy things in the same ways that those people with autism may.  We may hurry through life, jumping from task to task (the fact that I say “task” in the first place is a good example of how things are measured in “have-to-dos”) and oftentimes do not give ourselves the luxury of enjoyment.  Barb does life deliberately and meaningfully, albeit in a very different way that what many of us are used to.

Barb’s rules, that we need to be “open,” “part of the solution,” “informed,” “mindful” and just be ourselves seem like such simple ways to approach life, yet we fail to do so in so many ways.  I reflect upon the various ways in which I could be all of these things in better ways as a teacher and as a human.  I reflect upon my current practice and have already begun to practice some of these things in my daily interactions with students, paying careful attention to those who may need the extra care, kindness or understanding on any given day or in any particular situation.  I was blown away by Barb and Lois and will be ordering Barb’s book for a more extensive understanding about her but about others with autism I will surely encounter in my life.  

Field Trip

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see Barb and Lois. I have some experience with students with autism, but I don't have any experience with nonverbal students. I thought that nonverbal really meant no noise/no sounds at all, but Barb is verbal, she just doesn't use verbal expression to communicate. I think the entire presentation was helpful as a model of how to appropriately and respectfully interact with someone who does not communicate in a conventional way. Lois and Barb obviously have a rapport that extends much beyond a professional relationship and so they are very practiced and comfortable with this, but there are still a lot of lessons to take away from observing their interactions.
I was surprised first of all by the amount of time it took in order for Barb to type things. I had though surely if she coauthored an entire book and was continuing to write, that even though the communication was facilitated it would not take that long. But her communication wasn't just that she was simply typing, she had to have assistance focusing on the typing and be adjusted and have contact with Lois at all times while she was using the keyboard in order to finish a thought. The process seemed very involved and I had no idea it was complex. I'm interested in what it is like when Barb is writing with the whole team that she said helps her on a regular basis.
It concerned me that I might not yet have the tools to identify what communication method might work for a student who is nonverbal because meeting Barb showed me that it can be really hard to figure out whether or not someone can understand you and communicate with you - it obviously was a long process for her family and physicians to get to that point.
I strongly agreed with her thoughts on the way that people have evolved and what purpose autism plays in the role of human evolution. I've had the same thoughts for a long time but I hadn't been able to really put them into a concrete statement of any kind, but the way she put it was very eloquent.
I have heard of hoaxes associated with assisted communication before and am glad that Barb took steps within her own life to prove to others that she was not the victim of that kind of deception, however it is heartbreaking to hear that her brother is still suspicious of her and doesn't want to communicate with her any more. In our own encounters with students who are nonverbal, as teachers we need to be prepared for that kind of reaction from students' families and learn how to mediate between student and family if necessary.

I think we all got nervous about asking questions because we all had some but didn't know whether or not we should ask because they didn't seem important or seemed too trivial or we were worried about taking up too much of her time - and I think there are a lot of these sorts of questions and anxieties related to talking to nonverbal individuals which we have to learnt to navigate more smoothly.

Some scary stats

Just buzzing around on cnn.com and came across an article on Arne Duncan's ill advised comments last week. In the followup, the article goes onto state that;

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, between 28% and 40% of four-year college students have to enroll in at least one remedial course to learn content and skills they should have learned before earning their high school diplomas. It goes up to more than 50% at community colleges. Worse, according to a U.S. Department of Education study, only 27% of students who needed a remedial math course completed college. For those who took remedial English, only 17% eventually graduated.

How scary is that? Full article can be found at
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/19/opinion/porter-magee-arne-duncan/?iref=obnetwork

Getting to meet Barb and Lois

This evening I attended the presentation and Q&A session with Barb and Lois. Because we have discussed Barb so much in class and because I have read a fair amount about her and watched some of her videos, I felt as though I knew what to expect when meeting her. I also had about 100 questions which I wanted to ask. I think what surprised me most about meeting Barb was the time and effort it took on her part and on the part of Lois and her aid in helping to have Barb's voice heard. When one reads her writings or listens to them, they flow so nicely, and are so succinct, that I think I envisioned her typing away on a keyboard knocking out 100 words a minute. Obviously this is not the case, which causes me to be in awe of her all the more. What frustration she must face on a daily basis, with all those words and thoughts built up in her head, and only a slow dripping faucet with which to express them.

In terms of what I took away from meeting Barb which might relate to my teaching, I would say that it should give all of us, regardless of whether we are working in special education or not, extra patients. If someone so bright and willing to engage is prepared to work tirelessly in order to communicate their thoughts (Barb took 6 years to write her book!!) then we as educators can surely take the time to facilitate this communication. I also feel horrible for the many thousands of autistic individuals who do not have access to the therapy and technology to which Barb has access too. How many brilliant minds are out there locked in a jail cell or down a well, yearning to be heard?

I think my assumptions were initially contradicted on this subject last year when I watched a video on another autistic individual, a teenage girl, who once having access to the technology, like Barb, began demonstrating just how much they have going on inside their brains. I'm not not sure what my assumptions were prior to that, since I truly didn't understand autism. Maybe I thought they were all slow. Maybe I thought there was no way for them to communicate - I don't know. What I do know is that Barb is a shining example of how, with the help of educated professionals and modern technology, disabilities can fade into the background. 

A few other thoughts:

I wanted to ask Barb, "if a magic pill existed which would immediately transform her into a "normal", would she have wanted to have been given that pill as a child". I think I know the answer, but I would have liked to have asked it all the same. 

I can understand why there might be some degree of controversy surrounding the use of facilitated communication, and this ties in with what Barb said about her relationship with her brother. Although I don't know the circumstances, I have the feeling that Barb's brother probably believes that Lois is doing a lot of the "talking" for Barb, and that maybe she is overemphasizing Barb's abilities.  I might consider this also, except that you (Elizabeth) know Barb intimately, and my trust in you precludes that possibility for me.

Lastly (and this shouldn't be taken as a lecture from anyone who attended tonight, just me being me) I was a little frustrated that no one else asked any questions of Barb. This remarkable woman took the time to come and speak to us, yet no one had questions?? As I said above I had 100 questions, but decided after my 2nd to email her rather than hold everyone in the room. Sheesh I guess that did sound like me telling you off fellow students :o Oh, well, ya'll will get over it (=

Okay well this is me signing off. This has been an absolutely awesome class, and everyone (students and Elizabeth) were a big part of that. Thanks for helping to make Wednesday nights an adventure for the last 5 months - good luck teaching!!!

The "Hive" Classroom

As I'm reading through your papers...I thought some of you would like this graphic on classroom culture. It connects to some of the beliefs you are stating in your personal theories of learning.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-e-smith/the-new-classroom-a-vesse_b_4343454.html

Awesome way to teach kids history! (seriously)

I'm sure this was meant as a joke, but the more I think about it the more this really would resonate with today's youth considering the media rich world they are growing up in. This is fairly ingenious. I doubt anyhow will see this post since we're done posting but I those it was super cool.

http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6650094/facebook-news-feed-history-of-the-world-world-war-i-to-world-war-ii

Field Trip Reflection – 11/21/13

Josh Justice is a Counselor/Therapist in the Johnson County, Kentucky school system.  He works for an agency that services students with behavior and psychiatric issues. The children he works with have IEP’s and most have and IQ of around 75.  He has worked in the program since August 2011, alongside a Psychiatrist. Their goal is to help students progress to the point of discontinuing their psych medicines.

One of his students was very aggressive in elementary school.  The student stabbed a teacher.  After working with Josh in the program, this 4^th grade student was able to achieve 3^rd place in the Accelerated Reader Program.  He had a complete personality shift. Some of the strategies that Josh used with this student consist of: consistent structure, utilizing a behavior chart, calling three times a day, relationship intervention, after school programs, reinforcement schedule, and a token reward system.

Josh also implemented Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to change the relationship between the caregiver and the child.  This involves the caregiver responding to good behaviors and reinforcing it. The student should be praised for doing well in class also.

Josh uses a stopwatch when the student starts misbehaving and he will keep the student after school.  He describes his position as, “a job one does with passion, not for a paycheck!” He is a strong believer in communication with parents and developing rapport with them. Students are with him in the summer and the program includes many fun activities and home visits.  They frequently play Xbox games together and this nature of relationship changes the dynamic of the student-educator connection.  A student will learn best from a teacher that they like and respect.  He feels it is extremely important for him to remain involved in the student’s life and the lives of their family members by default. The teacher and student can achieve great progress when they work together as a team and support one another.

To achieve success in his program, Josh applies an extremely high level of dedication to his role. His life maintains flexibility and he is always available for the students.  He does not have a wife or children of his own.  He finds the most pleasure in watching his students’ progress in their program.  He enjoys the time he spends with them and is constantly focused on helping them improve.

I was impressed with Josh’s level of dedication and commitment to his profession.  He talked a lot about his students, and did so with a great deal of passion. I was also impressed with the level of fulfillment he receives on a personal level, from seeing progress in his students.  I would like to have had an opportunity to meet him personally and talk about his experiences.  I believe that he would have even more interesting stories to tell. He does some beautiful work and has changed the lives of many students.  It makes me happy to know that there are people like him in the world, and I will strive to model his dedication in my own position.