Promotion

 

The last week of school has wrapped up. Boxes of junk and mess surround the office waiting for a permanent home in the filing cabinet. Looking at my stuff, you'd think I had children of my own. Mr.Potato Head, colorful kid keyboard, magnetic puzzles, etc.

Today I am rewarding myself for successfully making it through Thursday's promotion without a tear. All my Big's and Little's who graduated are moving onto bigger things. The preschoolers/kindergartners were so angsty sitting in their cap and gown. I don't think it stayed on longer than a second... really. Change is usually a challenge for these kids, and wearing a gown (dress) for these boys was definitely a change. Watching them learn and do brave things is so fun. Each of them have grown in one area or another. Language is sprouting and that's what matters.

During the 6th grade promotion each student walked across the stage dressed to a T with princess dresses and mix matched suits. When they made their way across the stage, the college they plan to attend was announced. I pray, strongly pray, that those plans are dreams and those dreams become a reality. The cafeteria was shoulder to shoulder with no wiggle room full of family members watching their kids move on to the next chapter. A majority of these kids come from lower class working families with little to no time spent with them. So this my friends was a really big deal.

When the ceremony concluded I made my way around to give hugs and congratulate my wonderful sixth graders. Their eyes showed excitement to move on yet nervousness to leave consistent comfort. In that moment, I had to pray that God would hold on to them even when they're gonna be just down the street. I pray that He holds them now just like He's always held them before.

God doesn't leave us sitting still for long.. in two weeks I start seeing clients in the am and the pm. Thankful for the opportunity to take on more friends but sometimes we just need to take a deep, long, breath.

I had no idea in September what might happen in June. Opportunities blossoming and clients piling on. It will be a nice schedule change for the summer months. I can smell bbq's, taste watermelon slices, and tons of splashing in the pool. If only, just only, we can enjoy it while it lasts.

-Natalie

Highs & Lows

Oh goodness I'm lovin this coastal weather, are we in the central valley.. seriously? Fantastic is an understatement.

These past two weeks the schools have been underway with state testing. When I was young it was my favorite time of the year. An excuse to chew gum and eat unlimited snacks. Heck yes.

The amount of students I see during this time of year slows down due to testing. However; my older group of students make time to stop by and poke their heads in hoping therapy will take place. Today it did.

I see a group of three students who are all in 6th grade. They come in once a week for 30 minutes of speech and language therapy. At the beginning of the year they were quiet, and I pushed hard to get a word out of them. Homies musta been scared of their 5 foot 123lb blondie speech teacher.

It didn't take long for me to see the hearts in these kids. Genuine and loving, looking for time from someone who would listen and pay attention to them. I started allocating the last 15 minutes of speech to reflect on the good and not so good times in our lives. Which we later called Highs and Lows. You better believe I participate too.

Little did I know how much of an impact this was making. Word quickly got around to the school about our High/Low time and kids were stopping me in the hallways.. "Teacher Natalie, can I come to speech with ______".

Working in an area that has high poverty and hearing deep deep stories from the kids, makes my stomach turn. I take it in and remind myself to exhale. It's not easy and I'm not even living it. I'll be honest, I'm having trouble with the "ins" and "outs". I need more guarantees for these kids to know, actually know, that something greater than their lousy deadbeat parents is out there.

I've never known the struggle of not wanting to go home because of parents fighting, drugs, drama, abuse, going without electricity and water. How can you concentrate in school with all those situations and I'll never know why these young innocent kids were handed a brutal life. Because of that I use speech as a tool to teach life skills. For these kids and myself our High/Low time is beneficial and reminds us of the little things in life to be happy for.

The future for them might seem uncertain and blurry, but in the precious 30 minutes we take once a week, everything that almost existed snaps into focus for a moment. They feel hope peak in with a frown that turns into a smile. If anything... Thats what counts.

Handful of Happy

Today we did one of my favorite things. We attempted the zoo. And it happened. Eight, 1st - 3rd graders with Autism visited creatures they've never seen in their entire little lives. Or for some, are regular monthly attenders.Today was the best day for it. Even with the cloudy skies.

All the animal friends were out puttin on a boomin show or waiting for a scrumptious breakfast. One of us probably looked mighty tasty to eat.

 

 

My co-worker and I decided to call the day at the Zoo our Speech Day. Along the way we attempted to initiate conversation and describe various animals we came across. Lets just say... it went better for some than others. A majority of our students don't initiate conversations on their own or make requests and comment on the world around them. So, much prompting and modeling is given. On occasion it's a little awkward and feels like I'm talking to the trees, and that's okay too.

Amanda and I have a theory that it is our attempt to teach these kids how to learn in any environment we place them in. The zoo was perfect, comforting, and exciting for all. There were plenty of sounds to identify, animals to describe, and smells to distinguish.

Today was an opportunity for parents to join in on the zoo fun. I never quite know how it will play out. Today was flat out awesome. It was touching to see how involved these parents are and motivated to do what's best for their Little's. While in the restroom I overheard a mom talking to her son... even though he understands, it's difficult for him to verbally express. His mom asked him, "How do you feel?" his reply "Haaaaaaapppppy, Haaaaaaapppppy!" It made me light up. He was enjoying his day at the zoo and to top it off mom was there to share that joy with him.

Even with the cloudy skies and light sprinkles we still had a handful of happy today.

-Natalie

Marvelous Monday

Today was one of those days where my three alarm clocks just weren't enough, the largest cup of coffee at Starbucks didn't fulfill, and every song on the radio was slow when I needed it to be fast.

Yet I still got up, got ready for the day, and headed to work- cus that's what big people do.

A weekend consisting of 1 full day off (Sunday) just isn't quite enough to rest up. I almost need a rest day off of a rest day.

I quickly remembered a quote a fellow blog friend posted "Just when you're ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle happens." Wow. perspective is key.

So I packed up my box with wheels and headed on out to do some ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and Speech Therapy with 8 little kiddos.

I love it and I love each of them. To call what I do for a living a job, is pretty silly because it's loads of fun. We play, we talk, and we learn how to have appropriate behaviors. There are days though, like today that I am pushed and challenged. Today, 2 students into my day, the challenge began.

This little fella worked me. He worked me so hard I was sweating after 6 minutes of therapy. All behaviors were present today from head butting, biting, and aiming so perfectly to spit on my face definitely happened. I was more motivated by now then ever to see change in this kid. Expressing his frustrations do not come verbally instead it's through negative behaviors. And they were very evident today.

During task avoidance we ignore and continue to encourage appropriate requesting... for him it is writing on the etch sketch. My repeatitive pointing as a redirection for a request was ever so consistent today. The etch sketch is his best friend and extremely motivating for him. Whoever created it, is flat out a genius.

The 25 minutes felt like 2 hours today, constantly blocking and redirecting behaviors to make use of our speech therapy time. We got through it and I was reminded of why I do what I do. It's not for everyone but I definitely love it.

Of course once the session was over and he needed to switch stations it was not on his terms. Therefore; the transition was difficult. He would rather stay and "work" (play) with the super cool gadgets Teacher Natalie had and not move on to continue with his structured day.

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There are times when all we want to do is quit, take a day off, and pretend like everything else in the world is quiet too. But that's not reality. Sometimes just getting up in the morning feels like a big hill to climb, but ultimately when we keep our eye on the prize and push through, it's a win- win.

and trust me... you'll be glad you did :)

Happy Marvelous Monday!

-Natalie

New Beginnings

Lately I haven't had an opportunity to blog because of late night thoughts being scattered elsewhere. So much to write about and no words to format those thoughts. By the time I get home and showered from client drool, runny nose stains, and boogers, I'm ready to just sit on the couch and watch TV.

I went through a interview process a little over a month ago. Three interviews to be exact. After waiting a week, I was called and offered the job. The following Monday morning I began training. All like that!

Now that my training is complete, I currently have my own caseload of kids. It's insane how much my language has changed towards my family and friends. The verbiage we use is much different and a whole lot shorter in the workplace then at home.

Family members think I'm a little crazy.

The type of work that I do is considered ABA... Applied Behavior Analysis. We go into homes and incorporate therapy to children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders. It's one of the only Evidence based therapies for Autism. We use highly structured techniques that teach kids how to learn in a classroom environment and in everyday situations such as dinnertime or the neighborhood playground.

Goals for the children range from communication to toileting and everything in between. The intent is to create a developmentally appropriate and comprehensive curriculum for each client. Some of these kids get up to 30 hours or more per week in therapy.

One of the many goals we work on is eye contact... When someone is talking or your name is called to make appropriate eye contact with the person who is speaking. This can be very difficult for spectrum kids to master, whereas for a typically developing child it comes natural.

Over the past few weeks I have learned a ton about each client. Every child with Autism is different. Some whose problem behaviors we are replacing with socially acceptable behaviors and others just increasing language and gross motor skill. It's been fun and challenging figuring each kiddo out to make the sessions as successful as possible.

So that's what I've been up to in a nutshell.

Check out Life with Greyson and Parker for a parents perspective of how ABA has made an impact in her sons life.

What's something that has made an impact in your life?

-Natalie

Not just Speech

Last Friday was a bittersweet day. As I sealed envelopes, packed up, and turned in keys leaving a school that I worked at for 2 years. It wasn't the typical last week of school for me with parties and nothing to do. I worked more the last week of school than I did all year. Paperwork that is.
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines... all due by June 15th.

I threw an ice cream party for all the kiddos who participated in speech therapy for the year. It's so funny watching kids and their preference of ice cream. At one point I wanted to shout, "It's a sundae for cryin' out loud, just eat it"!

All in all it was a sweet goodbye to the students I had for 2 years, 6 months, or recently added. They're all special and will be missed.

I knew I wouldn't be at this elementary school forever, but my one and only goal was to touch the lives of these kids in a positive way. I wanted to teach, train, and mold these kiddos into young men and women even if I was only there for a short time.

We worked hard together, some days were rougher than others, but when I pushed them, they knew it was because I knew they could. We talked at speech, and we talked a lot. Some days it would take everything to elicit a sound or word. You'd see me jumping around and praising galore, and at other times I would be so excited I'd cover up my tears of joy and they'd ask, "Teacher Natalie, why do you gots tears?"

They learned what praise was and knowing that it's OK to reward oneself with a snap, crackle, pop. (our handshake)

They learned that to do something great it takes hard work and time- that day will come.

They learned that anything is possible, but you need to allow your powerful brain to go there and just because it isn't easy doesn't mean it isn't possible.

We worked hard, we played hard and we knocked the crap out of the last two years in speech. The kids can feel it, they can feel their improvement and if anything they feel more important as little people.

I was lucky and I am grateful for the awesome teachers I worked with, the school psychologist I shared a room with, the office staff that I bugged to no end, and of course our fabulous principal. A school wouldn't be a school without all of you! So, THANK YOU for teaching me!

Have a great summer!
-Natalie