Final

Has anyone else started the final? What do you think so far?

Christmas break

Is anyone going anywhere exciting for break? In going to Atlanta and i couldn't be more excited to see the family.

End of the semster

Ive never been so excited for this semester to end. Its definitely been a rough one, but i will miss this class. This is the first class ive actually felt like ive clicked with and has gotten me excited for my future. Ive been truly inspired by your passion on being a teacher and hope that one day i can inspire students like you have me!

Crunch Time!

It is that time again! Coffee, Gatorade, late night snacks, endless pandora stations and all nighters!......HAPPY DEAD WEEK EVERYONE :)

Auburn/Alabama

I don't know if everyone had the opportunity to see it, but the ending to the Auburn/Alabama game was one for the ages. If you haven't seen it, you need to look it up ASAP

Thanksgiving

I don't know about you guys, but I ate WAY too much food. The best part of the day besides the food and seeing my family, was the amazing nap afterwards. It was too nice.

Simon Birch!

This is my absolute favorite movie! The movie is about Simon who has multiple disabilities and is made fun of by many.  He has one friend named Joe.  Simon Birch shows how one person can have such an affect on the world and on others if they are just given a chance! You have to watch it and tell me how you like it! :)

Sheldon cooper

My little brother has Aspergers and as we have learned in class this sometimes means brutal honesty. If you watch the show The Big Bang Theory then you know that Dr. Sheldon Cooper is possibly the most brutally honest person on the Earth. Yesterday I learned that my brother loves the show and his favorite character is Sheldon because he has noticed that they are very similar in how they interact with people. Now all he needs is a PHD when he turns sixteen and we will have our very own Sheldon!

Finishing STRONG!

I loved Emily's thought about "finishing strong."  Here's the updated schedule for your reference and planning. 

Date	Time	Activity
Sunday, December 1	Midnight	All November blog posts submitted.
Monday,  December 2	6:00 p.m.	Class - chapters 15 & 16.  Come prepared for individual, pair, small group and whole group activity.  It will all be included as we ensure we're learning the critical aspects of these two chapters.
Monday, December 2	9:00 p.m.	After Class OPTIONAL Language Project Review Anyone who has questions about their projects, their transcriptions or analysis is welcome to gather with Mrs. White.  We’ll grab a cup of coffee or bite to eat and go over any questions or the work you’ve completed up to this point on your project.
Friday, December 6	Midnight	Language Project Due
Saturday, December 7	Noon	Final Exam Opens
Wednesday, December 11	Midnight	Final Exam Due
Monday, December 16	Noon	All grades will be posted

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone's had a great Thanksgiving day! Mine has been filled with family time, and eating entirely too much food! But that's how it's suppose to be, it's crazy that next week is dead week and the following week is finals! This semester has seriously flown by. Ready to finish strong, see you all Monday night!

Hunger games

Who has seen the second one yet? i absolutely loved the first one and im trying to finish the second book so i can go see it!! Any fans?

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always my favorite holiday, not only because of all the amazing food but i get to see all my family and nothing makes me happier then to see them. Sadly this year i dont get to go home for thanksgiving because i have to work on Thursday all day. so my family is going to come visit me on friday so i can at-least see them. Im not really that upset im working because i know by doing this i gave one of the older moms that work with me a day to spend with their family and cook for their kids.

Class is cancelled tonight!

Hey guys, Dr. White sent out a group text that she is stuck in traffic on her way back from Louisville and can't make it to class. So class is canceled. Have a great Thanksgiving!

what's everyone doing?

Thanksgiving break is coming up, thank God. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and always has been. It's one of the few that everyone gets together for in my family. So I will be enjoying good food, good football, and good company with family in Virginia. If anyone feels the urge comment and let me know what you all are getting into.

-Justin Bivens

Ready for snow?!?

According to the weather channel, we're supposed to get some bad weather. Seems like I'm the only person who enjoys the snow. Anyone else looking forward to it? Hopefully it holds off so I can make it home for thanksgiving break. Hope everyone enjoys their time off! Be careful traveling! 

-B 

English Learners

As you read through this post regarding third grade assessments and English Language learners what thoughts and questions come to mind?

Instructional Suggestions for ELLs: PARCC Assessment Task (Part 2)

Monday, Nov 25

Class on Monday, the 25th will begin at 6:45 instead of 6:00.  I will be in Louisville speaking at the Council on Exceptional Children conference in the afternoon.  The final session concludes at 4:45.

We will also be switching the final two chapters and doing chapter 16 on Language & Cultural Considerations this week.  I encourage you to review the resources in Blackboard and the chapter prior to coming to class.

We wrap up November this week which means I'll be looking forward to reviewing all of the blog posts for the month.  If you've not shared some of your personal thoughts, reflections on classes or commented on a peer's post, now is the time to do so.

Thanksgiving Break

I'm so excited Thanksgiving break is finally so close! I can't wait not only to have a break from school but to spend time with my entire family and eat lots of yummy food.  Hope everyone has a good break :)

Family

Two of my brothers and one of my sisters are homeschooled by my step-mom.  This past week I was able to go over and help her out since she also has an 8 month old baby on her hands.  It was awesome to see them learning so well and seeing how my step-mom choose to teach them.  Although homeschooling is probably not the decision I will see for my future kids, I understand why she chose to do so and how it helps the children.

My family

Watching the video about Keith Jones made me think about my cousin Timmy. He has had cerebral palsy ever since he was born. He is now almost 50 so he has faced a lot of discrimination during his lifetime especially growing up when lots of people were still ignorant about disabilities. He was adopted and my aunt and uncle didn't know he had cerebral palsy when they adopted him, the adoption agency even told my aunt and uncle that they could return him. How demeaning is that? That you could return someone like a toy someone didn't want at Christmas. My aunt and uncle refused to give him back and raised him. They fought hard for him to be able to be included in schools. They fought the board and the government and he ended up being the first kid with disabilities in his school district to be included. This story has been a huge factor in determining my career path and I wouldn't trade him as my cousin for the world.

Veggie Soup

So, I've always been raised to eat veggie soup with roast as the meat. Recently I discovered that hamburger works great too! What meat do you all use in your vegetable soup? I thought about trying turkey burger.

One Week!!

One week until we finally have Thanksgiving break. I don't know about you all but I definitely am in need of a break! Not to mention, this is my favorite time of the year. I love getting together with my family, playing games, laughing, and just enjoying each other's company. Oh and did I mention all the foooodddd!!!!! After thanksgiving dinner, we always stay around my nanny's house until the morning hours playing rook. It's a family tradition.  Its something so simple like playing cards that makes me realize how blessed I truly am. I absolutely love my family and the time we share together. Do you all have any traditions or family events your family does around this time of year?

-B

Cheer Competition

This weekend the team I coach competed at a competition in Lexington. All my girls are 11 and under. During the middle of the routine, one of my girls feel in her round off backhandspring and broke her arm. It was just dangling!! We had to pull her off the stage and her parents took her to the ER. By far the scariest thing that's happened to me since coaching those sweet girls. The team kept on going, and performed their best. I was so proud of them!!

Test 3

After finishing test 3, I feel it was the hardest one we've had. I don't feel confident at all! I don't know if it's because we only had three classes over the content, or if it just wasn't "clicking" with me. I couldn't really understand what Mrs. White was wanting out of the questions.

How do you all feel?

Language Project

I have conducted my language sample. Now, I am trying to decide if I want to analyze semantics or pragmatics. Any suggestions??

-B

Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor Briana Precious!

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) corrects brain-injury.

Keith Jones Featured in Film Including Samuel

Impacts of TBI on Memory and Functioning (+playlist)

Substitute teaching

At the school I work at I have had two amazing opportunities the past couple of weeks. I have gotten to substitute teach preschool as an aide and I have gotten to substitute first grade all by myself. It was definitely an eye opening experience to how language and pragmatics is involved in teaching. The way I talked to the  preschoolers was a lot different than the way I talked to the first graders. The discipline methods were also a lot different. It was really awesome to see that I could handle being a teacher even if it was just for a day. I really loved this experience and I am very grateful for the opportunity.

Language project

I really enjoyed doing my language project and actually analyzing what the child is saying and looking in depth on the conversation.  It is something that I have never done before and it was really neat!

Service

I like to do service projects. One that is very close to my heart is God's Outreach, they are a food bank in Richmond that provide groceries to several families in the area. They are doing God's work everyday. If you are looking for a place to volunteer or donate, please check them out! When you volunteer you get to directly interact with the people you are helping which is really great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoeZAXUZbqQ
When I get bored or think about changing my major, I always look up videos to remind me of why I choose this calling. This video made me rethink about the teachers that are in this field and why they are there. I always ask a teacher after observations: Is this what you want to do? Do you LOVE being here?

I mentioned yesterday in class that I attended Louisville Central High School, which also The Great Muhammad Ali also went to high school. They quoted in the youtube video "As a high school student, many of my teachers labeled me DUMB... I could barely read my textbooks"

That statement with me raised questions. Why did your teachers let you graduate? Why didn't you receive the help you needed? Some teachers just want to pass a student to give the student or "the problem" to the next teacher.

But that's all I wanted to share. (:

The sweetest video

http://www.godvine.com/You-Need-to-Hear-What-a-Little-Girl-Says-About-Her-Brother-With-Down-Syndrome-4188.html

Praxis!

 Has anyone had to take the Praxis 1 test yet? I am nervous about it and I have to take it on Thursday!!!! I don't use math anymore so I am horrible at it. Everybody say prayers and send good vibes for me because I don't want to have to spend another 85 dollars to re-take the math section :)

Question 10

I am having difficulty on Question 10 on the online assessment.  Maybe I am overthinking it, but I am having a hard time understanding what exactly the question is looking for.

Amazing Video!

My question from class

What is the greatest challenge or need for students who are deaf as it relates to semantics?

Language Projects

It was really interesting to me when I collected my language sample how much I miss out on when I am having a conversation with a child normally. I guess I never had paid that close of attention to the little details and what they use in their language. It was nice to really pay attention to what they were saying and what that means in regards to the development of their language.

Texting - Language - Communication

I was very intrigued by how John McWhorter discusses texting in this,  TED-Talk Texting.   Found the connections between his Talk and our course content interesting!

UK

Im so excited for this season! This is by far my favorite time of the year. Who else is a Cats fan on here?

Sports

Sometimes i really miss playing basketball for many reason one it kept me in awesome shape two this was one thing me and my dad could really connect on and share together. Nothing makes you love something more then when you can share something you love with someone you love. I also loved the way it helps you build character and helps you learn how to work as a team which is something everyone should know

Halloween (a little late)

I hope everyone has had a great weekend so far! Did anyone dress up? I was laura croft and a pirate what about you?

War

Conflict. Its everywhere no matter if it is over the remote or over something a little more serious, but no matter what there is consequences. Earlier there was a conflict in a city named Covington over something as little as $90 but there was a bigger consequence then needed, a boy named Dasean Peterson got shot and killed. Its so wrong how easy it is to take someones life away from them. This boy was only 19 years old and had so much going for him. Yea, maybe he was doing things he souldn't of been doing but I don't think that had to lead up to death no matter what the situation is.  My heart goes out to everyone who lost a son, a brother, a friend, aud a father. RIP Dasean Peterson

Halloween

This year for Halloween, I am dressing up as a college student and studying my life away. How fun does that sound?!

What are your alls plans for Halloween this year?

Pigeon Forge Ferris Wheel

This past weekend my family and I went to Pigeon Forge for a mini vacation. While there, I got to ride the "new thing" in Pigeon Forge located at The Island, it as a 200ft Ferris Wheel. It was so much fun!!

Question

What pragmatic challenges will a child with blindness face?

question on teaching

I have always viewed special placement to have it's ups and downs. From where I am a psych student, I think of everything we study from a psychological perspective most of the time. One of the main things I thought of was the study that showed how a teachers expectations of students, directly influenced their success in the classroom. with that being said, I feel like their is a bit of a self empowering drive for students who have disabilities but still attend regular class rooms. I feel like this is something teachers need to be very aware of. Since watching the video in class and seeing that girl with autism accomplish so much, It made me think about her teachers. We mentioned not making special needs students mascots. So my question is how do we go about teaching someone with disabilities in a regular class room? To what degree can teachers and even students in a regular class room setting, cripple special needs students?

I just feel like it is very easy for teachers to be over rewarding, and in turn lower the potential for academic growth in students.

I had a class mate in sixth grade who had mild autism. He was extremely mathematically minded, but he never put too much effort into it since he was already making good grades. When we had big tests we invited him to study and he always said he didn't need to. He did well but I feel as though he could have gotten better grades. He was praised very much not only by the teacher but, by me and the rest of my class mates as well. I still keep in touch with him, and when he moved to south Carolina he really excelled in school. This is mainly why I ask, because I started wondering how much we affected his performance by our expectations.

I don't know if the book addresses the class room environment, in regards to students as well. I just figured experience would be a better teacher on this topic.

Question

What is the single greatest factor to consider for development of language skills??

My Question

What 2 changes have led to the greatest changes in deafness/deaf education?
In class we dicussed that the 2 changes would be the cochlear implant and newborn screening. The cochlear implant allows deaf children the opportunity to hear and therefore be able to better communicate. Newborn screening, just like many other things, allows for early identification. The earlier something is identfied, the sooner you are able to accomodate and improve upon.

...

During last weeks class, I had a question pop in my mind. Why do some deaf children go to schools like KSD and others go to public schools? Is it just based upon what the student and parents want?

My Question

What impact could a cochlear implant have on language development, educational outcomes, and instruction?

We discussed in class what a cochlear implant consists of and the many different perspectives people take on involving the subject. According the book, cochlear implants can improve auditory perception and spoken language production. Although this procedure is looking at a lot of improvements, for many successful cases many studies show major improvements in language skills, especially involving young children who have received the cochlear implant. However, these students may still fall behind other hearing students and need further support enhancing their language skills.

Taking these into consideration, the cochlear implant can have positive and negative impacts on educational outcomes for the students. The studies provided illustrated that the students with the implant scored lower than their hearing peers. There are many different factors that can affect the outcome of an cochlear implant such as age of implantation, parental interaction, etc.

Cochlear implants do not make the individual necessarily hearing. Although, it does provide them with enhancements toward their hearing impairments. It is important to focus on spoken language skills, but implementing manual approaches are just as important for language development. There is no single approach that identifies with all problems involving hearing loss.

I hope this helps! If you would like to refer to the book. I received my information from pages 240-241, and 250.

My question from last night

 What are the 2 most significant factors in the educational performance of students who are deaf or HH?

Observation

  I had the opportunity to observe at my old high school in a special ed classroom. Before this it had been 11 years since I had been in at that school and I had a little anxiety upon entering that building. It is amazing how much things had changed. I went into this classroom and automatically knew I was going to observe something great. I had never had any intentions of teaching in a high school setting, but after this observation I may actually consider it one day! I had such a great time I stay for almost 2 and a half hours! I am hoping to be able to student teach somewhere close to home, but I will do what has to be done as I am finally following the dream I finally discovered!

Question

Identify appropriate interventions to use students who have:
1) mild    2) moderate    3) serve    4) profound  hearing loss.

Question

List the most significant factors to consider when identifying/ choosing communication and instructional decisions?
- Being open minded
- Parents ideas and opinions
-Every child is different and needs different learning techniques
- What makes the child learn more and reach maximum potential

Question from tonight's class

My question was, "What factors contribute to the reading difficulties many students who are deaf or hard of hearing face/experience?"

I would say that the physical aspect of children who were born deaf are instantly set back from children who aren't. I would think it would be due, mainly to the fact, that we learn language at an early age, just from being exposed to hearing it so much.

Observations

When I did my observations I did it in a special needs room at a local Elementary school in my hometown.  Here are some different communication devices that were used in the hour that I was there.  There were various items used such as touch screen computers, i pads, timers, 3m projectors, Monday morning communication papers, power link that you can use to plug in electronics and they can set timers so they can work the electronics with just a dial, and various other communication devices.
 IPAD

Finished with Observation

Last week, I finished my required observation hours. I was very sad to say goodbye to my third graders. I have become very close to these students. It has been an amazing experience to interact with third grade and Daniel Boone Elementary. Everyone at DBE was very welcoming and friendly. If you ever need observation hours this is a great school to go to.
-B

New Job

Very excited to share that I will be starting my new job Monday. I have been hired in the student services department and I am very excited to become more involved with campus life.
--B

Almost so happy I can't stand it!

   It is very true that great things come to those who wait. I have a two year old happy kid, I am engaged to my best friend, and I know for sure what I want to do with my life; teach. Four years ago I would have never thought I would be where I am now.

Getting ready to apply for a new job

  I have been an assistant manage at Circle K now for at least six years and I am ready for a change! First I have to get CPR certified and I am going to apply at a place that helps people with FMD participate in daily functions. I am ready to move on to bigger and better things and I am excited!

Operation Christmas Child

  Hello I forgot who it was that was doing the operation for Christmas child. I am still wanting to donate some items. Just let me know what is needed:)

Fall Break

It's awesome how productive you can be when you actually sit down and take the time to focus on what needs to be done.  I'm the queen of procrastination but I have been so stressed and overwhelmed with school the past few weeks that I wanted to enjoy my fall break, so I checked off everything on my to do list for the entire week before last Friday so I finally could have a weekend with no school work or worrying about what had to be done and it felt so awesome!

Observations

`This semester I have been assigned to get my field hours in at Mayfield Elementary.  It is a very different experience for me and although at times it is very rough, I am thankful to be able to experience a different school setting and students than I am used to.  I believe that being in a school system that struggles so much will help me a great deal in my future career path as a teacher.

Changing my major

I've been struggling lately with what exactly I want to do for the rest of my life and all I know is that I want to teach.  I don't know what grade. I don't know what subject. I just know I want to be with kids everyday and I want to make a difference but figuring out all the other stuff is the hardest part.

Relating class to real life

A few weeks ago we discussed the different stages and ages of children when they typically reach certain milestones.  My brother is almost 8 months old and hasn't started crawling as a typical 8 month old would.  I have a cousin who is a week younger than him and she is very much ahead of him in all aspects and it is something my dad and step mom have been talking about for a while now, and are even considering taking him to get it checked out to make sure everything is alright with him. We are all praying it is just a minor setback and that nothing serious is wrong!

My Observation

I went to Shannon Johnson elementary school today for my observation. I observed an SLP and her student teacher, a graduate student at EKU for Speech Pathology. I loved every second of it and I am going back next week. It was really cool seeing concepts we have learned in class done in real life. I observed three groups of 2nd graders and 3rd graders all with a variety of language problems and disorders. Some children had a hard time with the "s" sound or the "e" sound while others had a hard time with the "th" sound/. Some of the children were more severe than others. Some of the children also probably had other disabilities than just a language or speech disorder. I also observed that they used a lot of positive reinforcement and implemented a rewards system which I think is really important not only for behavior management, but for learning. At the beginning of the day I got to sit in on a literacy group which I thought connected very well to our class discussions. I can't wait to observe again next week!

Homecoming Week

As Fall Break slowly comes to end, I would like to invite you all out to our events on campus!
Wednesday: Baking for Boobs & Battle of Sexes.
Thursday: Date Auction (we auction off males and all the money goes to breast cancer research).
Friday: Fashion Show (I would LOVE for you all to come out and support me. The show is $5 but I have raffle tickets for a $1. If we pull your name you will win a free ticket into the show.)

Form Analysis Exercise

Language Sample from Class Activity
STUDENT: Good job. You are very smart. What are we going to do today?
CHILD:  Play play-dough. (1)
STUDENT: Okay. Well what do you want to make first?
CHILD:  Uh uh a snowman. (2) A black snowman. (3)
STUDENT: A black snowman?
CHILD:  Yes. (4)
STUDENT: Okay, can you help me make it?
CHILD:  Yes yes, I can help. (5)

Brothers

Last night in class when we were talking about Behavior and Emotional Disorders I was thinking of two of my little brother. One name Micah and other Diavon. Micah is a sophomore in high school and Diavon is 18 years of age. Diavon we think is bipolar. He will flip on everyone around him when the time comes. Micah has a conduct disorder. He has gotten better. Micah has been on and off of medication. He is now in some regular classes in high school and finds enjoyment in cooking. Micah still has his days but he has gotten better over the years.

Race for the cure!

This past weekend I ran in the 5k race for the cure! All proceeds go to breast cancer research, which is really cool! I ran it with a few of my sorority sisters! It's such a great cause and we had a great day! 

A healthier me

I have been working out everyday and eating super healthy, because I want to be healthier and  I want to live a new lifestyle. I have been doing this for a little over a month and have already lost 8 pounds! I am super proud of myself for sticking to it and not giving up. I have never lasted his long with being healthier. I had always been health conscious, but last year when I took Nutrition, my eyes were opened and that's when I started being healthier, but it wasn't until the start of school this semester that I got fully into it. I have more energy and I just feel better about myself.

Observations

I am so pumped to start observations soon. I am been in contact with a few SLP's and I can't wait to see how they interact withe their students and  I can't wait to decide where I see myself as an SLP. I am going to be observing a wide variety of ages and disabilities. This will give me a look into how to adjust teaching to fit a certain child. Every child has different needs, strengths, and weaknesses. I think this is important to know if you are going into the education field. I also will be observing in different counties, it will be neat to see how this changes teaching from school district to school district.

I am currently participating in the Ironman Challenge.  It is the whole month of October and you have to bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles, and swim 2.4 miles.  It is making me push myself and step out of my comfort zone, but I am really enjoying it.  Getting up at 6:30 am to swim has been my biggest challenge, but in the end it will all be worth it.

Language Project Practice - Form Analysis

Here is an excerpt from a language sample.  Read through it.  Add a comment to ask a question or answer one of the ones at the bottom of this exerpt.

Josh: Can I play your iphone Selisa? (1)

Me: No, you have you mommy’s iphone to play with.

Josh: Do you have games?(2) Can I play? (3)

Me: No, I don’t have games.

Josh: Oh. (4)cause you’re a girl.(5) Huh?(6) Well I can show you the boy games please. (7)

Me: No, that’s okay I don’t like to play games.

Josh: I can show you da girls games then.(8) Then we can play it. (9)

Me: No, how about you play on your mommy’s iphone? I can use my phone.

Josh: I don’t wanna play her games no more. (10) Her was mean to me.(11) I dont like bein trouble.(12)

Form Analysis 

1. Which utterances are transitive? 
2. Which are intransitive?
3. Which are equative?
4. Name a grammatical morpheme in the sample. 

Mom eating breakfast in Chennai, India



Wanted to share with you a picture of my mom who arrived in Chennai, India this evening, which was 3:30 a.m. local time.

She is there on a mission trip for the next two weeks.  She will be visiting missionary friends who work with a local Bible College there as well as churches in several of the villages.

She'll also do some traveling and will fly home from Delhi. 

For those of you who are folks of faith and are prayers, I'd appreciate any prayers you might say for her safety and well being while she is away.  Prayers also that the group would bring encouragement to those with whom they will be visiting.

Thanks all!
Mrs. White

Ruby :)

This dog is the love of my life and is currently recovering from her second knee surgery in 1 week. which is absolutely heartbreaking to see her in so much pain. Its amazing how much of an affect a dog can have on your family and how devistating its loss can be. Ive had her since i was in the 6th grade when my parents made me transfer schools in the middle of the year, i was devistated and i just remember coming home everyday after school and holding her and crying about how i just wanted to go back to my old school, its amazing how much you go through with your pet. She will always have a huge part of my heart !

Maddie :)

Words cant even explain how much this little girl means to me! every summer i go live in atlanta to be her nanny. She was adopted and struggles with alot of emotional damage and since she has no siblings she thinks of me as her older sister and its had such a huge impact on my life. A ten year old girl has taught me so much about myself and just finding the good in any situation. She has the prettiest soul then any person i know and i wish i could spend more time with her.

My life the past month.

Well this first month of school has been a complete domino effect of stressors and one of my biggest by far was i got evicted from my house in only 10 days!!! i had a birthday party and my landlord ended up showing up and video taping the party and didnt even give us a second chance and there was no damage done or anything. I still havent talked to him physically since  the night of my party and hopefully never will. Now im happily in a 2 bedroom on shamrock and i couldnt be happier. It has been a struggle everyday but slowly but surely me and my roomie are getting it together!

The two reasons I chose my career path

Everyone has their certain reasons as to why they chose the career path that they did. I have two amazing reasons that I picked to be a Recreational Therapist with a minor in Special Education and their names are Michael and Jessie! Michael is a boy with Down's syndrome.  I met Michael when I was 10 and I still remember him like it was yesterday.  He was the first kid I ever taught to play soccer.  Jessie is my beautiful cousin.  I have loved her with all of my heart since forever! Jessie was born with Cerebral Palsy and is unable to walk, talk or feed herself.  She is very much responsive and she knows exactly what she wants.  You ask her a question and her face lights up.  Being around these two amazing individuals changed my life forever. These two helped me choose what I wanted to do and I can never tank them enough for the amazing impact they have had and continue to have on my life!

My Roommates!

The thing I have come to accept in the Special Education is everyone's learning styles, personalities and all around being is different.  Not one person is the exact same.  I have come to notice this even more not just in the classroom but also outside of the class room.  I live in a house with 3 other girls and we are all so different in so many ways.  The first one is Hillary.  Hillary is the most laid back person you will ever meet.  Nothing phases this girl besides sports.  The only time I see her worked up is when she is playing basketball or volleyball.  She is one of the smartest people I know. She was valedictorian at her high school and is now studying to be an Occupational Therapist.  The second one is Jenna.  Jenna is also extremely smart and works really hard.  She is involved in just about everything.  The girl never takes a break.  She also plays volleyball with Hill and is studying Criminal Justice.  Last but not least is Krista.  Krista is completely different.  She is very hard working, very involved and unbelievably clumsy! She is also crazy smart and loves school.  I have been best friends with her since high school and she has been the same since day one.  She is hopeless romantic with a range of emotions.  She is studying pre-med biology.  We are all so different but we have some of the same qualities.  We are all great friends and I couldn't have asked for better people in my life! :)

About me

Hey everyone! Sorry I'm behind on the blog but my name is Emily Lowe and I'm a senior majoring in speech therapy. I'm from Richmond and I'm super close with my family. In the picture above is me with my 11 year old sister Martha, she's my little baby! Speech therapy has been a passion of mine ever since my Dad was diagnosed with throat cancer my sophomore year of high school. He had to re learn how to swallow properly and talk. After getting to know the therapist that worked with him really made me want to work in the speech therapy field one day. So that's a little bit about me, I'm really enjoying the class so far!

 

My two favorite things :Fall and family. 

This was a unique communication setting for me because this was my cousin Ella's first real exposure to fall and Halloween. She was learning lots of new words at the pumpkin patch like "corn maze", "pumpkin patch", "apple cider", and "apple orchard". It was interesting to see how she said those words and her learning process through it. 

My Mom

My mom is my favorite person in the world is my Mom.  She is the person I always go to for advice and I tell her everything.  Some kids are embarrassed by their parents but I never have been.  She was always the "cool mom" as my friends would say and always gave me a great amount of freedom.  This is something I feel like is very key in parenting because if you are too strict on your kids, they will rebel.  I never really did any of that because she always trusted me and I never wanted to disappoint her.  She's the strongest person I know being a single parent and I know raising me hasn't been easy and for that, I admire her so much.

Music

As stated before I love music! Over the past years I have seen more than 30 bands in concert, and I keep adding to the list! I go to as many concerts as I can, and Just this year have been to warped tour, secondhand serenade,ZZ Top, Anberlin, Brand New, and next weekend A Day to Remember (who is my favorite,and will be my 5th time) who is also playing with All time low and pierce the veil. I'm not sure if any of you know any of these bands, but they are all great. I listen to almost every type of music and am slowly crossing off each band to see on my bucket list.

This summer..

I volunteered with the Madison County Special Olympics and I got to help train the track and field athletes to prepare them! I was stationed in Olympic town however, and did not get to watch all of them compete, but many of our athletes brought home gold and silver! It was a great experience. One my friends and I's favorite athletes was this young man. His mom is amazing and has him involved in almost every sport and activity! I volunteer with bowling now and other things when I do not have work (which unfortunately is not very often anymore).

Test1

What did you think of the first test?  I found some questions to be difficult.
A few I could not remember from class. Thought I'd see what everyone else thought.
Have a great week!

-B

AXL

This dog is by far one of the coolest dogs in the world. I've had him since he was a puppy and he literally loves anyone who he sees. I still wish he was just the little puppy he once was but he is still the man.

Fall

It is officially my favorite time of the year. You know the weather is perfect whenever you can wear shorts and a sweatshirt and be perfectly comfortable. The best part of this time of year is deer season and I look forward to bow season as much as Christmas. Heres one reason why...

Observations

During my time in the classroom so far this year, I have noticed many things and had the opportunity to see a diverse group of children. I am at Madison Middle in a 6th and 7th grade special education classroom, but I am in a collaboration setting for the majority of the day. All the students have a ton of personality and it's nice to see them develop everyday.

Coaching

This month I started as  an assistant coach on the Centre College softball team. I have played baseball since I was 5 years old and have been carrying a bat since I could walk. The transition from baseball to softball is taking me a little while to fully wrap my head around but I look forward to learning more about it.The head coach is someone I have gotten to know in the past year due to my younger sister moving to Boyle County where his daughter goes to school, and he is also a football coach and teacher. The minute he offered me the job I took it. It has been a blast.