I recently read about IEP’s in chapter two of our text book, and thought it did a great job covering what they are and how they can benefit a child who is disabled and/or has a learning disability. Because I am majoring in communication disorders, I will have to deal with many IEP’s and also learn how to identify a child’s disability and write an IEP that will help him/her progress in their general education. My brother, who is now 17 and a senior in high school, has an individual education plan (IEP) and benefits him very well. He does not have a disability, but has trouble paying attention in school and recieving good grades. I have no doubt he will succeed in life, but college is not in his horizon. He’s a great kid with alot of common sense and good work ethic, which, in my eyes, is all anyone needs to be successful in life. My parents put him on an IEP when he was in third grade and it has helped him as well as my parents. He gives it his best and recieves decent grades in school; which is a major relief for my parents. They worried about his grades constantly, creating stress for them and in turn my brother. I believe that if a child is in need of an IEP and has legitimate reasons to be on one, there is no better plan. The child gets to enjoy school just as much as his peers and also graduate with his/her class and possibly move on to bigger and better things such as college or the work force. Just because a child is on an IEP does not mean that he/she will not be successful in life; they will be! I said it before and I’ll say it again, as long as the child has good work ethic, common sense, and the self determination, he/she will lead a good life and conquor their success.
Archive for September, 2008
IEP’s
Monday, September 29th, 2008Paralympics and the Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team
Monday, September 22nd, 2008After reading Dr. Mandlebaum’s blog about the paralympics and visiting the site’s she provided for us, this struck my interest. I went to the You Tube site and searched “womens sitting volleyball,” and I must say I have alot of respect for Denise Van De Wall and what she does. What she does is nothing short of amazing! I had no idea there was anything like this, let alone a “paralympics?” It made me happy to see that people with disabilities have a chance to compete in volleyball and other numerous games. This just goes to show how determined and big hearted people can be; and not letting their disabilities get in their way of the love for their game. As I was watching a game of the womens sitting volleyball, I just could not believe this was even possible! And more so, the respect I give Van De Wall for taking on this opportunity and coaching these girls. It’s great to see someone from Bowling Green, Ohio taking the time and the awesome opportunity to coach this team; I have alot of respect for her and all the competitors in the Paralympics. Good luck to Van De Wall and her girls as they compete at Beijing in the womens sitting volleyball competitions. Bring home the Gold!
My thought’s on, “Rory O’Shea Was Here”
Monday, September 15th, 2008We recently watched a film in class that really brought into perspective, my views and outlook on people with disabilities. “Rory O’Shea Was Here,” proved to viewers that everyone is human and we all think, act, and feel the same; we all have emotions and deal with things differently; that’s human nature. I enjoyed this film not only because it had some funny scenes, but because it was based on a true story and portrayed Michael and Rory as any ordinary teenager wanting to have fun and rebelling against authority. Before Rory came to the institution, Michael had been there for a long time and enjoyed it because that was all he knew; the staff and other members were family to him. However, Rory introduced to him that there was more to life than inside the institutions’ walls. Rory was the first person to understand Michael’s communication disorder and what he was trying to say, so they became good friends and lived on their own without any supervision. They were just living their lives the way they wanted and having a blast together! Sure, there were times when they had their differences and argued, but who doesn’t. The end of the film was sad, but, as I said before, it portrays that everyone has feelings and everyone hurts. It’s the way life is. Overall, I thought this film was excellent, and did a great job of showing that people with disabilities are in no way different than people without. This is a film that I will definitely watch again and also recommend to other viewers.
Dustin’s First Blog
Monday, September 8th, 2008This is my first blog for my fall EDIS 231class. In relation to some of the other post’s I have read recently about high school experiences and students with disabilities; I would also like to take the time and share mine. I graduated from a small rural school around Van Wert, Ohio in a class of only 51 students. I grew up with these students and tried my best to treat everyone the same. One of my biggest pet peaves are people who do not give others the respect they deserve and take the time to get to know them just because they are different from him/her. We had a class for students who either had learning disabilities or were developmentally handicapped; and the teacher who taught this class did very well working/teaching with them. She would take them on field trips multiple times throughout the school year and would also volunteer them for different jobs that needed done around the school, such as: working in the kitchen, yard work, and helpiing our janitors when they needed help. However, there were a few teachers I had in high school that would frown upon the fact that they were granted more field trips and were alowed to “skip class” in order to work in the kitchen. They would make rude comments about the teacher and how she wasn’t doing her job like teaching the students history and/or other subjects. It was not easy to listen to these comments and many of my class mates would just laugh along with the teacher; which only made it harder. I guess the way I see it, these students need life lessons for working when they graduate from high school. I believe that these are much more important qualities to have than learning history or calculus. Am I wrong? I have alot of respect for these students because they love what they do in the school and it gives them a chance to get to know everyone else and make friends. And unlike some of my classmates and teachers, I have alot of respect for the teacher as well. She cares about her students and doesn’t lose contact with them just because they have graduated and moved on. She still, to this day, makes a point to go visit with them at their homes, or if they have moved away, call them. And to me that shows alot of character and profession in her and her job. They also come into the school to visit with her and some of the other teachers. In God’s eyes, everyone is the same so I treat everyone with the same amount of respect. By doing this I have made many friends throughout the years and I encourage everyone to do the same!
Hello world!
Sunday, September 7th, 2008Welcome to blogs.bgsu.edu by COBL. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!