Module 2: Students with Health and Sensory Impairments,
Concept 1: Students with Seizure Disorders (Epilepsy)
Summary:
In chapter 4 Woolfolk talks about a seizure is a cluster of behaviors that occurs in response to abnormal neurochemical activities in the brain according to (Hardman, 2014). Actual epilepsy is a spectrum of brain disorders so at times you will see the term epilepsies. People that have epilepsy have recurrent seizures, but not all seizures are the result of epilepsy. Seizures can take on many forms and are different in regards to length, frequency, and the types of movements involved but the two main types of seizures are Focal and Generalized. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, a focal seizure originates in one area of the brain and maybe conscious and may experience many different types of feelings. The type of body movement in a focal seizure is mostly in one area of the body. The individual experiencing the seizure might be in a dreamlike state and display repeated movements such as twitching, blinking, or walking in circles. Focal seizures are short and last only a minute or two. The other type of seizure is called the Generalized tonic-clonic seizures which involved both sides of the brain and contain uncontrollable jerking and last 2 to 5 minutes long and could possibly involved loss of bowel or bladder control. It is important to notice if a person is experiencing a seizure-like this that you do the best you can so the person doesn't hurt themselves. Move away from any objects that they could bump into during the episode. DO NOT try to restrain the person who is having a seizure, you just have to let it run its course. Not all seizures are dramatic. There are times where a person just loses contact briefly in which they stare, fail to respond to questions, drop objects, or miss what's been happening for the past 30 seconds. This type of seizure is called absence seizures and can happen right in front of you and you do not even know what is happening unless you are informed. (Woolfolk, pg 160)
Reflection:
I know it might seem odd that I picked Students with Seizure Disorders as one of my topic reviews for this week's readings but I have experienced two out of the three types of seizures while I have been a Teacher's Assistant. The first time I had ever witnessed someone having a seizure was a student I was in class with having a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with uncontrollable movements. I had no clue about the students' health history or what to be prepared nor did I know how to react when someone was having a seizure, I felt unprepared. The second experience with seizures was a student I had this past school year that would have a form of absence seizures. This time I was informed by another Teacher's Assistant about the students' health and what to look out for. Absence seizures were happening right in front of me and I didn't think nothing of it because it didn't last that long and it wasn't that dramatic like how I thought seizures would be. I chose to talk about seizures because I feel that is it necessary to know about them and the "do's and do not's" that go along with them. Hopefully, you will be more prepared than I was because it can be a scary scene if you don't know what to do.
Concept 2:Signed Languages:
Summary:
In chapter 5 Woolfolk talks about there being many different forms of signed languages used around the world, such as American Sign Language, Signed English, Lingua de Signos Nicaraguense, Warlpiri Sign Language, and Langue des Signes Quebecoise. Each one of these sign languages is distinct and not simply a derived version of a spoken language. People using Quebec Sign Language and French Sign Language cannot understand each other, even though the French spoken language is common to both countries. (Woolfolk, pg 189) A child that can learn both a sign language and spoken language can be very beneficial and does not cause any delay or confusion for the child. (Petitto and Kovelman, 2003)
Reflection:
Sign language has been something that interests me ever since I went to school down in Jacksonville, Illinois where one of the best-known schools for ASL in the country was located. A lot of my friends that were in the ASL program at my school went frequently to work at this ASL school and had nothing but amazing things to say. I had no idea that a deaf community existed until I was down in Jacksonville and it made me realize how unaware people can be. I think it is very important for people to become bilingual if they are able to be. I don't think it puts you at an advantage but it can help you when it comes to helping other people if their primary language isn't English or if you come across someone that has a hearing impairment.
Concept 3: Know Your Students
Summary:
In chapter 6 Woolfolk says, " We must learn who our students are and understand the legacies the bring. She goes on to also say that nothing we will read in any chapter on cultural differences will teach you enough to understand the lives of all your students. (Woolfolk, pg 254) Reading and studying are not enough. You should try and get to know your students and their families and the communities they come from.
Reflection:
PREACH Woolfolk! I can't tell you enough on how much I agree with Woolfolk on this! Getting to know your students on who they actually are as a person. I did not fully understand this in the beginning of my career when I started off in education as a Teacher's Assistant. I did the best that I could while working but never really tried to understand my students or where they come from. It wasn't until very recently that I started to learn what being a teacher is all about. It's beyond assigning homework and grading papers, we are literally everything into one title. Yes, we are teachers but we are case managers, coaches, counselors, that listening ear for some students, the brightest part of a student's day, the only stability that students might have in their life. Once I started realizing this, I understood that getting to know your students is a lot more than knowing their names and what classes they are in. It's understanding where they come from, what their home life is like, do they get a ride to school or take the bus, do they have enough money for lunch every day, were they able to brush their teeth and take care of their hygiene needs. This is what I believe getting to know your students is all about.
Summary:
In chapter 4 Woolfolk talks about a seizure is a cluster of behaviors that occurs in response to abnormal neurochemical activities in the brain according to (Hardman, 2014). Actual epilepsy is a spectrum of brain disorders so at times you will see the term epilepsies. People that have epilepsy have recurrent seizures, but not all seizures are the result of epilepsy. Seizures can take on many forms and are different in regards to length, frequency, and the types of movements involved but the two main types of seizures are Focal and Generalized. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, a focal seizure originates in one area of the brain and maybe conscious and may experience many different types of feelings. The type of body movement in a focal seizure is mostly in one area of the body. The individual experiencing the seizure might be in a dreamlike state and display repeated movements such as twitching, blinking, or walking in circles. Focal seizures are short and last only a minute or two. The other type of seizure is called the Generalized tonic-clonic seizures which involved both sides of the brain and contain uncontrollable jerking and last 2 to 5 minutes long and could possibly involved loss of bowel or bladder control. It is important to notice if a person is experiencing a seizure-like this that you do the best you can so the person doesn't hurt themselves. Move away from any objects that they could bump into during the episode. DO NOT try to restrain the person who is having a seizure, you just have to let it run its course. Not all seizures are dramatic. There are times where a person just loses contact briefly in which they stare, fail to respond to questions, drop objects, or miss what's been happening for the past 30 seconds. This type of seizure is called absence seizures and can happen right in front of you and you do not even know what is happening unless you are informed. (Woolfolk, pg 160)
Reflection:
I know it might seem odd that I picked Students with Seizure Disorders as one of my topic reviews for this week's readings but I have experienced two out of the three types of seizures while I have been a Teacher's Assistant. The first time I had ever witnessed someone having a seizure was a student I was in class with having a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with uncontrollable movements. I had no clue about the students' health history or what to be prepared nor did I know how to react when someone was having a seizure, I felt unprepared. The second experience with seizures was a student I had this past school year that would have a form of absence seizures. This time I was informed by another Teacher's Assistant about the students' health and what to look out for. Absence seizures were happening right in front of me and I didn't think nothing of it because it didn't last that long and it wasn't that dramatic like how I thought seizures would be. I chose to talk about seizures because I feel that is it necessary to know about them and the "do's and do not's" that go along with them. Hopefully, you will be more prepared than I was because it can be a scary scene if you don't know what to do.
Concept 2:Signed Languages:
Summary:
In chapter 5 Woolfolk talks about there being many different forms of signed languages used around the world, such as American Sign Language, Signed English, Lingua de Signos Nicaraguense, Warlpiri Sign Language, and Langue des Signes Quebecoise. Each one of these sign languages is distinct and not simply a derived version of a spoken language. People using Quebec Sign Language and French Sign Language cannot understand each other, even though the French spoken language is common to both countries. (Woolfolk, pg 189) A child that can learn both a sign language and spoken language can be very beneficial and does not cause any delay or confusion for the child. (Petitto and Kovelman, 2003)
Reflection:
Sign language has been something that interests me ever since I went to school down in Jacksonville, Illinois where one of the best-known schools for ASL in the country was located. A lot of my friends that were in the ASL program at my school went frequently to work at this ASL school and had nothing but amazing things to say. I had no idea that a deaf community existed until I was down in Jacksonville and it made me realize how unaware people can be. I think it is very important for people to become bilingual if they are able to be. I don't think it puts you at an advantage but it can help you when it comes to helping other people if their primary language isn't English or if you come across someone that has a hearing impairment.
Concept 3: Know Your Students
Summary:
In chapter 6 Woolfolk says, " We must learn who our students are and understand the legacies the bring. She goes on to also say that nothing we will read in any chapter on cultural differences will teach you enough to understand the lives of all your students. (Woolfolk, pg 254) Reading and studying are not enough. You should try and get to know your students and their families and the communities they come from.
Reflection:
PREACH Woolfolk! I can't tell you enough on how much I agree with Woolfolk on this! Getting to know your students on who they actually are as a person. I did not fully understand this in the beginning of my career when I started off in education as a Teacher's Assistant. I did the best that I could while working but never really tried to understand my students or where they come from. It wasn't until very recently that I started to learn what being a teacher is all about. It's beyond assigning homework and grading papers, we are literally everything into one title. Yes, we are teachers but we are case managers, coaches, counselors, that listening ear for some students, the brightest part of a student's day, the only stability that students might have in their life. Once I started realizing this, I understood that getting to know your students is a lot more than knowing their names and what classes they are in. It's understanding where they come from, what their home life is like, do they get a ride to school or take the bus, do they have enough money for lunch every day, were they able to brush their teeth and take care of their hygiene needs. This is what I believe getting to know your students is all about.
Wow, your experience with students having seizures does sound scary, especially not being prepared for it. What advice do you have on how to react when something like that does happen?
ReplyDeleteI agree that ASL is very interesting. I had an experience in a fifth-grade classroom where they had ASL buddies in the third grade. The third graders would meet with the fifth graders, and they would learn ASL together and talk to each other in sign language. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had, and that’s when I decided that I would do my best to learn ASL. Since then, I’ve been trying to teach myself from videos I find online. It hasn’t been easy, but it is definitely interesting.
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteLast semester my field placement was at Elim. One of my students had severe seizures. Luckily, she never had them during my time there. But, the teacher and all paraprofessionals in the classroom knew what to do in the event of a seizure. When this student would have a seizure they were very severe looking. My biggest fear while being in that classroom was that the student was going to have a seizure. I don't think my heart would have been able to handle it. I think it is important that students who are prone to seizures have an action plan. Everyone who works with the student should be aware of the action plan in case of emergency.
This past fall I took ASL at Trinity. I absolutely loved it! It has honestly been my favorite college class so far. My professor was deaf and it was so exciting to be able to communicate with him using ASL. I think that learning the basics of ASL will be so beneficial.
One thing I have learned from being in the classroom is student teacher relationships. It is hard to have a good relationship with your students unless you really know them! My field placement teacher last fall was a great example of this. When I would talk with her I could just tell that she knew who her students were, where they came from, what their home lives were like. I want to be able to know my students beyond the surface level.
Overall, this is a great blog! I really enjoyed reading everything you had to say.
Like you, I have witnessed seizures too. My brother had epilepsy, so I saw probably hundreds, if not thousands of seizures. I'm ashamed that at the time, when I was a middle school boy, I saw him as an embarrassment. He often had seizures in school, often accompanied by him wetting his pants and lots of attention. Eventually I came to understand how he could not help what was happening in his brain, and of course, he was a lot more embarrassed that I should have been. I changed my attitude, and I'm really glad I did, because when my brother was 13, he had a seizure while swimming in Lake Michigan and drowned. This hit really hard, but I knew that Mark was finally relieved and in the arms of Jesus. I now hold a special place in my heart for kids who have seizures.
ReplyDeleteStephen,
ReplyDeleteIn relation to your experiences, I have never felt fully prepared to learn about the kinds of seizures that may occur in our classrooms. As someone who is going into special education, this happens more often than we'd imagine. It is awful to think about these types of situations and I could not imagine being in your position at that time. It is so important that we fully understand every student's diagnosis before we have them in our classroom because of surprising situations like that one. In my field experience, I was able to sit down with the school nurse and discuss a lot of different roles she plays within different classrooms. She seemed so calm but I realized it was because she had so much knowledge on these medical diagnoses. We are in charge of these students and their safety is our first priority.
I am starting my first sign language class online this summer very soon and am so excited to learn some of the language! I had juggled with the idea of minoring in ASL so that I can work with students who are hearing impaired. It is something I believe I would be very passionate about but I feel as though I would have such a hard time understanding and becoming fluent in this language. Although I am still thinking about it, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed reading your post this week! Great job!
Hey Coach Reed
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear you were more prepared the second time you encountered a student having a seizure. My first teaching assistant job I was lucky enough to have teachers who over prepared me with information about the students I would be working with. This is such an important step. We are watching over peoples children so we need to be as prepared as possible. This goes into your last part about knowing your students. I feel like I mention this on every post I write but I can't mention it enough, building relationships is everything. I've worked a lot of jobs and when you are able to communicate clearly and comfortably with people, it makes the dynamic of that relationship so much better. I was kind of opposite of you for my first teaching assistant job, I didn't really know much about teaching strategies or classroom dynamics so I made it a point to get to know every student I can. I think it helps being a male of questionable race that most students aren't used to seeing but I used that as an opportunity and it helped a lot.
P.S. I've always been interested in sign language. I don't know if I'd pursue it but I like you bought that up!