Daniel+Carr



My name is Daniel Carr, and I'm in the part-time MAT program. I moved to Southern Oregon to be close to my talented and creative family (see above) in order to play lots of music with them. We have a family band that travels all over Washington, Oregon, and California playing concerts and dances. I also play music in pubs/restaurants three nights a week in Ashland with local musicians. My day job is working with children who are English Language Learners at Jefferson Elementary in Medford. I love my work, and I get to make a difference in children's lives daily.

The kind of teacher I hope to become is the kind that many of my teachers were: creative, kind, and passionate. My goal is to become a teacher who takes the time to be present with children, is able to recognize their gifts and name their strengths. I want to learn how to do what is right, not just what is prescribed. I want to learn how to support the 3rd grader who can't read, as well as challenge the one who is already reading novels. I want to learn how to integrate music, movement, storytelling, nature, language, and technology into lessons in compelling ways while meeting common core standards.

My biggest fear about teaching is that it will difficult to maintain my ideals when I get into the classroom. I'

As far as learning differences are concerned, I've recently started to make connections between my personal learning struggles in ways that will make me a more compassionate educator. This quarter I began a new math class online that is causing me headaches daily. I often have to read and re-read the same passage over and over again, and I often still don't get it. It's like reading a foreign language. As I'm staring frustratingly at the incomprehensible text, I am reminded of students with learning differences and how frustrated they must feel.

I'm excited to be in this class and learn from someone who has valuable, first-hand knowledge and experience to share. I'm interested in making my classroom an awesome place for kids who would otherwise experience significant challenges in schools. I know this class will add to my teachers toolkit, and I'm open to learning as much as I can.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS
I chose speech and language disorders as my Wiki topic because many kids I work with go to see a speech and language pathologist, and I realized that I knew very little about what they were being seen for. Specifically, I was interested in finding out the range of disorders under the speech and language umbrella and how they effect the children I work with. I hope to provide you, the reader, with a quick and clear overview of my findings.

Speech and language disorders are similar in that they both impact a student in the area of communication. Speech problems deal with the oral-motor mechanisms involved in speaking, whereas language disorders refer to a range of problems that effects student's ability to use and understand language itself. Examples of speech disorders include verbal apraxia (inability to use mouth and jaw to produce understandable speech), articulation disorders (improper pronouncement due incorrect placement of lips, tongue, or teeth while talking), disarthria (weakened oral musculature), dysfluency (stuttering), and disorders of the voice itself. While these disorders do not necessarily impede students language comprehension, language disorders, by definition, do. Examples of language disorders include auditory processing disorders (difficult processing auditory information), expressive language disorders (difficulty constructing sentences or retrieving words to communicate effectively), receptive language disorders (difficulty understanding language), and semantic-pragmatic disorder (difficulty understand the meaning of sentences and appropriately using language in interactions with others.

__**TOP 5 things I learned while studying**__
1. Many speech and language disorders are heartbreaking; the ability to communicate easily is something that most of us take for granted, yet for so many children their speech and/or language problems cut them off from those they love or make them objects of ridicule at school.

2.Speech and language pathologists do great work and have to be highly-skilled in order to work with all of the different kinds of problems kids have.

3. There are many kinds of speech and language disorders, so it is worth knowing the various kinds and there characteristics (see video links below). To understand the basic differences won't take long.

4. For many speech and language disorders there are no known causes.

5. Speech and language disorders are often, though by no means always, associated with disorders such as hearing impairment, down syndrome, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and/or cognitive/intellectual disabilities.

TOP RESOURCE:

I chose this resource because it is the mother of all resources and contains quality links to numerous other sites. I love that it is based on collaboration and sharing; helping kids with disabilities should not be done with an eye towards profit. This site contains free data collecting and reporting forms, lesson plans, an IEP goal "bank", a "this works for me!" message board, a speech swap meet to exchange games and equipment, a page with free materials, a regularly updated blog with great tips, technology information, and as mentioned above, a comprehensive page of resources related to speech and language pathology. Furthermore, this site is designed for both the SPL and the classroom teacher. [|www.Speakingofspeech.com] //FIVE STARS//

I don't want to stray from the assignment too much, but I believe the aforementioned site was the very best text-based resource I came across. Rather than overwhelm you with other sites, the rest of my resources I'm going to post as short videos on specific speech and language difficulties. In my research, it was these videos more than anything that helped me grasp the different disorders and their human dimension. Each video will be introduced with a short explanation of the disorder and it's symptoms, and it is my hope that after viewing these you will have a better sense of and connection to students who suffer from these disorders. (Note: the list is as comprehensive as I could make it, though I wouldn't be surprised if I missed something.)

Verbal Apraxia
Verbal apraxia is a disorder that impacts a child's ability to perform movements of the mouth and jaw to produce comprehensible speech. Children with apraxia can understand words fine, they just can't reproduce them easily.

__//Here is a four-year-old girl with verbal apraxia://__ media type="youtube" key="tYmm23EPXjU" width="425" height="350" //3.75 STARS//

//Signs of verbal apraxia:// May only be able to use specific consonants Changeable vowels: "hog" first time, then "hug" Changeable consonants: "maybe" To "naby" or "ayee" Discrepancy between listening abilities and productive speech. Simplifies words by changing the sounds: "Big crack" "Ig ak" Single words can be clear, but longer sentences become progressively difficult to understand. //Treated:// Intensive, repetitive one-on-one training to improve muscles and coordination, starting with simple sounds and working up to words and sentences.

ARTICULATION DISORDERS //What it is:// Articulation disorders have to do with an inability to properly pronounce certain sounds due to improper placement of lips, tongue, or teeth while talking. Common examples of articulation are what's referred to colloquially as "baby talk", that is, pronouncing r's in immature ways, putting y's in place of l's, and lisping.

__//Her////e is a seven-year-old girl with an articulation disorder who has trouble with her r's://__ media type="youtube" key="6Pw6_tHmztk" width="425" height="350" // 3.75 STARS //

//Treatment// Treatment involves retraining the mouth using visual and tactile clues. If the problem is severe, the speech language pathologist will use successive approximations until the desired pronunciation is obtained.

** Phonological disorders: **
Unlike articulation problems, children with phonological disorders are physically capable of producing correct sounds, but can't do so because they have difficulty grasping how to put the sounds together.

//Signs:// Errors are consistent. Cluster reduction "Clue" becomes "Coo" *mine" turns into "ine" Velar fronting "gut" turns into "tut" moving the sound from back throat to the front of mouth  Difficult to understand by anyone but parents

//Treatment:// Drilled in correct patterns Rules taught explicitly and repetitively. Pairing words like "block" "lock" and teaching to discriminate Stuttering is a disruption in the regular flow of speech caused by the repetition or elongation of words, syllables, or sounds. Most kids have some degree of dysfluency, usually between ages 2 and 5. However, those with dysfluency have a markedly higher degree of stuttering. Normal stuttering sounds something like, "let's go to go the park," whereas stuttering would sound more like, "let's ggg to the pppp ark." Stuttering is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as tics of eyes, body, and/or face.
 * Dysfluency or Stuttering: **

Good, short segment on stuttering: media type="youtube" key="Lj2IsxxCSS8" width="425" height="350" 4 STARS. Informative with a human-dimension.

Nina G, the Bay Area's ONLY stuttering comedian: media type="youtube" key="3DZKO0717Vs" width="425" height="350" // 4.5 STARS // Really, really worth watching!! Nina G is funny, sharp, and courageous. She makes fun of the people who make fun of her, and in the process sheds light on the deeply unsettling way people who stutter are treated by the media and many fluent people. She is inspirational and tough.

Help Me to Speak: media type="youtube" key="M_jqQmIQ8FY" width="425" height="350" //4.5 STARS// Touching documentary that is all on youtube. Watch the first few minutes and I guarantee you'll be hooked.

//Treatments:// Modify the environment Teach coping skills Give more time to respond to questions.

** Voice disorders **
The voice of a child with a voice disorder does not sound right for their age or size. This could be the result of vocal irritation, inflammation, infection, reflux, benign growths on vocal chords, trauma, overuse, hypothyroidism, a cleft palate, premature birth, and environmental factors like smoking. Signs of voice disorders include repeated loss of voice, a speaking level that is either too loud or too soft, hoarseness, and frequent pitch breaks.

(Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good videos on voice disorders)

** Auditory Processing Disorders **
Auditory processing disorders refer to problems with any number of the processes that go into processing auditory information in the brain.. It is important to note that someone with an auditory processing disorder in most cases is not hearing impaired.

Great explanation of APDs starting at 2 min 30 sec. in: media type="youtube" key="T_1JsZjrweY" width="425" height="350" // 4 STARS //

Can't block out external distracting noises. Hard time following directions that have more than one step. Acts as if they are hard of hearing, asking repeatedly for information. Has a hard time pinpointing the location of a sound. Has a difficult time telling the difference between certain sounds.
 * //Common symptoms of auditory processing disorders are:// **

Modify the learning environment to reduce distracting sounds and/or increase the sounds that are desired. A speech language pathologist will help with increasing a student's memory and ability to distinguish sounds, as well as strategies for coping with the disability.
 * //Treatment:// **

** EXPRESSIVE AND RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE DISORDERS **
//AKA specific language impairment//

Expressive language disorder relates to a child's ability to put retrieve words and construct sentences to communicate effectively. If the child has difficulty understanding language, than the problem is receptive. These problems exist independently of nuerological, emotional, social, and other physically rooted problems. Here is an example of expressive language disorder: media type="youtube" key="BnRNeDtme0g" width="425" height="350" // 4 STARS //

**//signs of expressive language disorders://** delayed babbling difficult retrieving words hard time with pronouns and articles and verb tenses Doesn't use "be" or "do" verbs Difficulty learning new words

**//Sign for receptive language disorders://** doesn't seem to listen doesn't want to hear storybooks read out loud repeats questions before answering them doesn't get idioms Doesn't respond appropriately to who, what, where questions.

[|SEMANTIC PRAGMATIC DISORDER] Ran out of time. This last disorder impacts one's ability to understand and comprehend the meaning of language. Read more with the hyperlinked text above.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Community-Based Learning Project For my project, I observed a student teacher in the SPED program work with students in Cathy Carraway's resource room at Jefferson Elementary in Medford. Observation notes: I am sitting at a table participating in a socialization board game. There are three children, all of whom have different emotional needs. The boy, we'll call him Neil, has difficulty interacting with peers, is easily upset, interrupts, and doesn't use free time appropriately. One of the girls, Shana, quarrels with other students, is quick to anger, and doesn't respond well to feedback. She often throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. The last girl, Megan, has mild autism. She giggles often, replaying over and over again a funniest home video she saw the week before, and when she is not, she puts her fingers in her mouth. She often reaches over and tries to touch my arm.

As we start playing, Megan reaches out to touch my arm. The student teacher quickly tells Megan that she needs to maintain appropriate physical contact. Megan stops and starts sucking her thumb. The teacher catches this, too, and reminds her to stop. We keep playing, and when it becomes clear that Neil is going to win, Shana starts to complain. The teacher lets her speak and get her feelings out, acknowledges her, and then moves on without fuss. During the game students are given actions to act out, one of which being high-fiving another person. Neil keeps on getting this action, and at first all he wants to do is high five me (I used to work in his classroom). We encourage him to choose other students, which he does, reluctanctly at first--then with gusto--as we give him positive feedback. As we keep on playing, Shana lands on an action that asks her to dance. She crosses her arms, sticks out her lips, and states, "I don't wanna dance!" Just then, another aide in the room comes by and says to Shana, "let's do a pirouette, I just taught Megan how to do one." The aide asks Megan to get up and pretty soon they are both spinning around like ballerinas. "Come on Shana," the aide gently prods, "join us." Shana sticks her lip out further and slinks down further in her seat. Just then Neil jumps up enthusiastically and shouts, "I can do it!" Neil spins uncoordinatedly around twice. Soon, we are all standing up, pirouetting awkwardly on the linoleum floor. Shana breaks out in a smile, "fine," she says, and joins us in our spins.

media type="youtube" key="puKS5cXppZs" height="315" width="560" Reflections/learning:

I didn't really realize how much paperwork (or computer work) went in to be a SPED teacher, that is, until I was sitting in front of Cathy Carraway's computer as she explained to me the process of changing IEPS. I'll be honest, I still don't really understand the process, but I could tell that it was a lot of work and was very time consuming. Spending time in her classroom I gained a sense of how busy she is; Cathy has a large caseload, holds meetings every day with teachers and parents, and travels to classrooms to evaluate students.

I also realized that a lot of teaching techniques that are beneficial for SPED students--pacing, visuals, building background knowledge, predicting--are great for a lot of ELL students as well.

Specific teaching tips I picked up on:
 * Give plenty of wait time when asking a question
 * Slow down the pace
 * Vary the rewards for positive behaviour
 * Organization and consistency are the keys to success