tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14372475074946626892024-03-14T10:08:42.213-06:00Eliminating the Box"I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical.<br>It goes from top to bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people." (Eduardo Galeano)Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-15697572305352660472021-12-28T03:43:00.000-07:002021-12-28T03:43:03.071-07:00A New Home for My Blog... <p> Come on over and check it out: <a href="https://eliminatingthebox.ca/blog">https://eliminatingthebox.ca/blog</a></p>Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-90107941522968517002018-08-13T01:15:00.004-06:002022-10-30T09:21:12.514-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 7 (Norms)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Erica is introduced in Chapter 7. From my understanding, Erica and Harold will eventually connect and get married and then the book will follow the rest of their lives together. Erica does not come from as stable or as afluenct a background as Harold and so creates the opportunity in this chapter to dig into the impacts that social-economic status (SES) has on development and personality.<br />
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Erica comes from a mixed-racial family with her mother being Chinese and father being Mexican American. It also seems that her mother experiences mental health issuse that create osilating periods of stable middle-class living and unstable lower-class living. In the lower times, Erica takes on an adult role as it appears that her mother becomes entrenched in the world of addictions in these times. Her parents are not married but both parents and both are actively involved in her life in a sporatic way. This chapter gives a glimpse of her in her elementary years trying and failing to get into a charter school followed by another glimpse as she gets closer to high school when she once again pushes to get into a charter school. At this point she succeeds in getting in, although in an unorthodox way.<br />
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Weaved into the introduction of Erica, this chapter addresses several SES-based differences: parenting approaches, language exposure, stress hormone levels, impact on internal narratives...etc. The chapter also introduces the concept of "emergence" while explaining the theory of the charter school that is being developed in Erica's neighborhood. This is a topic that is always fascinating to me as it represents the need to always dig deeper than what we can first understand on the surface level. At one point in the chapter, the author makes reference to the fact that the brain itself is an emergent system and gives the example of how the idea of an apple is not contained in a single neuron but rather emerges out of the firing of a pattern between millions of neurons. This circled my thoughts back to Chapter 4 and the mention of how with continued exposure to concept the subtleties of the understanding improve. Thinking beyond something as concrete as an apple, it speaks to how as these connections grow and change, the physical structure of our brains actually also change. To me it really speaks to how you can look at some concept today and see it completely different from how you saw it last year or a few years ago (or sometimes even yesterday). It isn't just that you have gained more knowledge but that the physiological make up of your brain has changed in ways that have different neurons firing together around the concept. For me this speaks to the need to be intentional about trying to connect what is new to what we already know; to take the time to engage with new information that is coming to us... and even to take the time with old information because there are probably experiences between this exposure and the last exposure that change the way it makes sense.<br />
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Below I have included the visuals of what jumped out at me while reading this chapter. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see.<br />
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Following the presentation of the idea that poverty is an emergent system, the author goes on to explain how the charter school felt they could then address poverty by surrounding the person living in poverty with a different culture so that they aborb the new habits of thought and behaviour.. and that you are conscious to keep surrounding them so they do not slip back into old familiar ways. As I read this, I found myself quite uncomfortable with the approach, particuarly given the informaiton shared earlier in the chapter about some of the child rearing approaches that we seem to be starting to realize are important like having time to play freely, being surrounded by extended family, playing with peers of different ages...etc. As I read this chapter I kept thinking back to a Ted Talk that I recentely watched about community builders that I'm going to share below. It seems to me that there has to be better ways than approaching it from building a "counter-culture". </div>
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<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-50453888330306280342018-08-11T23:45:00.002-06:002022-10-30T09:22:02.635-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 6 Part 1 (Learning)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This chapter is framed around Harold's senior year in high school. The content in the chapter is a bit overwhelming jumping from the social structures in high school to the adolescent brain to contemplating what learning is and stepping the reader through the steps of a discovery project. I wasn't sure how to organize it all and in the end I decided to do a summary but keep the idea of doing a second post on this chapter sometime in the future open. I would like to dig a bit more into all the inforamtion that was presented as the author stepped throught he project that Harold completed. I also feel that I need a bit of time to let that part of it marinate because it speaks to the kind of learning that I don't remember ever experiencing in school although I have experienced it many times since. I found myself thinking about and connecting into concepts related to the "<a href="https://deeperlearning4all.org/" target="_blank">Deeper Learning</a>" movement a lot.<br />
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Another thing that jumped out in the explanation of the process was the amount of time that was used to gather and interact with information before moving on to a final product. I was fascinated with the idea of taking the time for the conscious and unconscious components to come together. In many ways, it reminded me of the process we went through in the Self-Reg Foundations course. There was thinking and learning happening throughout at the conscious level but there was also all this stuff happening below the surface at an unconscious level. As we carried through the program some of that unconscious stuff started to come up and connect to the conscious. We talked a lot about an "embodied" understanding.<br />
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Which brings me to the final insight about this chapter (for now) and that was that the personal component of the project that Harold did. Knowing a bit about how the brian works the making connection with the content part makes sense to me as it reflects the building of neural connections. It was great to see that the end goal though was not just to connect all the various pieces of informatin but but also connect to them to one's own life. That, to me, seems to be the piece that then leads to the statement that the learning experience ends up changing all future perceptions of the world. The idea makes me question even more what the purpose of education should be.<br />
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Below I have included the visuals of what jumped out at me while reading this chapter. I feel that I will, at some point in the future, come back and do a second post on this chapter but for now I'm going to move forward. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see.<br />
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In closing to this post, I want to add a couple of thoughts about "imitation". The line "much of learning is throuh imitation" really jumped out at me while I read this chapter. All of the books that I have chosen to either go back to and re-read or read for the first time have a theme tied to what happens consciously and unconsciously in our brains. Imitation is one of those things that happens unconsciously a large portion of the time. It seems particularly when the imatition is tied to something that we view as a "negative behaviour". I see this often in how accepted an individual will be in any given setting. When the adults embrace that student for who they are and just seem to naturaly modify the environment to ensure everyone is actively involved you see the children doing the same. We often look for ways to teach to the cognitive part of the brain through "direct instruction" and although this is important, it seems it can be counter-productive if our actions are teaching the opposite. It seems to me that the old saying "actions speak louder than words" is so important and tied to this idea of our conscious and unconscious brains. So I end this with a great graphic that I recently stumbled across... </div>
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<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-80619075204262881252018-08-10T18:28:00.002-06:002022-10-30T09:22:19.584-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 5 (Attachment)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This chapter was loaded with information and also sparked a lot of thoughts and connections for me. This post might be a bit all over the place as I try to sort through it all.</div>
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This chapter starts with a story of Harold and his mom (Julia) engaging in the process of trying to get Harold to do his homework during his grade 2 year. The following video shares the story... </div>
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As I started to read this story I found myself immediately putting on my "Self-Reg glasses" and looking at the situations through these lenses. <a href="https://self-reg.ca/" target="_blank">Self-Reg</a> is a framework for understanding stress and managing tension and energy. One of the foundational premises of Self-Reg is that our many body systems are always working to maintain a state of balance. Stressors are simply those things that require our body to burn energy to return to a state of balance. We can organize those stressors into five domains - biological, emotion, cognitive, social and pro-social. When our systems get overstressed we are unable to do tasks that can quite easily do when not stressed. The story at the beginning of this chapter illusstrates an overload of stress as Harold starts his homework that is eventually resolved by his mother connecting with him and, in so doing, bringing down his stress level to the point where he is finally able to engage in his homework. Although Self-Reg is not mentioned at all in this story it is a story that I cannot separate from Self-Reg in my mind so when I made my notes I combined the two. </div>
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The second half of this chapter goes on to explore attachment and attachment styles. It speaks to the impact different attachment patterns can have on one's life. Several times throughout this section, the author does state that although attachment forms working models that we operate from, trajectories are fluid so people are not bound by their original attachment style. This is an important, and hopeful, point. I've included the highlights of the different attachment styles in the summary visuals below.<br />
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During this chapter, I found myself coming back often to the orignal reason I started reading this book. It was tied to a Dr. Stuart Shanker lecture on resilience at the Self-Reg Summer Symposium (2018) that I listened in on through VoiceEd radio. In that lecture, Dr. Shanker made a statement about how some children come to school securely attached and then become insecurely attached and then others come insecurely attached and become securely attached. He questioned the why of this. I releived to hear him say this as it is something I have seen over and over again in my personal and work life. During the lecture, Stuart Shanker talked about the idea of "fragile secure attachment". Through his lecture he built toward a balanced red brain/blue brain definition of resilience and spoke of the impotance of the dyadic brain within that. It seems that we are coming to a time when we will no longer think of brains in isolation. There seems to be a move toward research that looks at how brains are interacting with each other rather than just how they are functioning in isolation. We are talking about behaivours that arise out of a network of brains interacting with the environment and with each other. We are no longer thinking of brains as passive recievers. The implications for this are exciting, particularly for education. I felt I needed to include even just a glimpse of this connection to what struck me from Dr. Stuart Shanker's lecture even though it might take some time for me to understand or articulate the magnitude of the thoughts (consious and unconsious) it sparked. </div>
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Below I have included the visuals of what jumped out at me while reading this chapter. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwAifgpYLZf5bUuNZI8FVZCHNsHnakJSebfFwEZNrCRc41U6NYt8aD-JN2zlLODCxMaxyVM5UdyJ9QhhFE6FFVjZnxuYCAbeXdXqn4hm8yavCPLxyS2FjhUEs0X2HR-Xw_ROqqez1tryY/s1600/Social+Animal+5a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="910" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwAifgpYLZf5bUuNZI8FVZCHNsHnakJSebfFwEZNrCRc41U6NYt8aD-JN2zlLODCxMaxyVM5UdyJ9QhhFE6FFVjZnxuYCAbeXdXqn4hm8yavCPLxyS2FjhUEs0X2HR-Xw_ROqqez1tryY/s400/Social+Animal+5a.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-14328730781905521692018-08-06T11:16:00.003-06:002022-10-30T09:22:28.067-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 4 (Mapping)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0hABQJAhe6GA5Gei23tggEZYVqaHIA5CmrxCPqtE3Sply3pEvdo8sOtmnLiaPCrSwQdH_wGUpVrnJaUiiDdNPw1cD9xfpUjWbG1gFgJYPBxbD_3U9BY1PqxunmzeJrWL4_HhRpIsCJG/s1600/socialanimal.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="374" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0hABQJAhe6GA5Gei23tggEZYVqaHIA5CmrxCPqtE3Sply3pEvdo8sOtmnLiaPCrSwQdH_wGUpVrnJaUiiDdNPw1cD9xfpUjWbG1gFgJYPBxbD_3U9BY1PqxunmzeJrWL4_HhRpIsCJG/s200/socialanimal.png" width="155" /></a></div>
Chapter 4 of this book follows Harold through approximately the first five years of his life and examines how his thinking evolves over the course of that time. This chapter made me think a lot of the work that I do with students with complex needs as it explores how we create mental maps, the emergence of imagination and the development of narative skills and thinking. Although language is not mentioned, I found myself wondering often how important verbal conversation is to all of these developmental steps and what might be missing for the child that does not develop speech.<br />
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I found that commentatry in this chapter often made me think of a recent webinar that <a href="https://twitter.com/sheldonerin" target="_blank">Erin Sheldon</a> delivered to our Alberta Complex Needs Community of Practice that can be found on the <a href="https://arpdcresources.ca/consortia/complex-communication-needs-ccn/" target="_blank">Resources the Complex Communication Needs Population</a> website. It is webinar number 13 on the list of webinars. In this webinar, Erin speaks of the link between language and cognitive development and highlights the conversations she had with her older daughter in helping them to build their conceptual knowledge. She then goes on to explain educational approaches that can be used with students who have complex communication needs to ensure that they are able to assist them in developing their conceptual knowledge. </div>
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As I read through I also found myself thinking about how important it is to facilitate the devleopment of both imagination and narrative skills. These are often skills that do not get considered very much when working with students with complex communicatoin needs. Each fall, the <a href="https://cieducation.ca/" target="_blank">Alberta Council for Inclusive Education</a> hosts a provincial conference. This past year, <a href="https://twitter.com/klhowery" target="_blank">Kathy Howery</a> and I did a presentation on Mental Health and Students with Complex Communication Needs. The presentation was framed around research into the lived experience of using a communication device that Kathy had done for her Ph.D. One of the key take aways from the presentation was the importance of supporting students to develop narative skills so that they are able to tell their stories. Our lives are complex and being able to understand and tell our stories helps to make sense of the complexity. Being able to understand and tell one's story also positions one to be able to understand and advocate for their needs. As I read, I put on my "to do list" a need to go back to the CCN Alphabet posts that I started sometime ago and at least do the N post, focusing in on narrative development.<br />
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Below I have included the visuals of what jumped out at me while reading this chapter. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see.<br />
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-35684927136664329462018-08-04T22:54:00.003-06:002022-10-30T09:22:35.562-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 3 (Mindsight)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0hABQJAhe6GA5Gei23tggEZYVqaHIA5CmrxCPqtE3Sply3pEvdo8sOtmnLiaPCrSwQdH_wGUpVrnJaUiiDdNPw1cD9xfpUjWbG1gFgJYPBxbD_3U9BY1PqxunmzeJrWL4_HhRpIsCJG/s1600/socialanimal.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="374" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0hABQJAhe6GA5Gei23tggEZYVqaHIA5CmrxCPqtE3Sply3pEvdo8sOtmnLiaPCrSwQdH_wGUpVrnJaUiiDdNPw1cD9xfpUjWbG1gFgJYPBxbD_3U9BY1PqxunmzeJrWL4_HhRpIsCJG/s200/socialanimal.png" width="155" /></a></div>
As mentioned at the end of my last post, I am jumping up to Chapter 3 for this next post. In Chapter 3, one of the main characters, Harold, is introduced. The chapter covers information from conception through to his first months of life and examines how the brain is formed throught these times.<br />
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I have chosen the books on my list with the intention of looking at them through the Self-Reg lens. For several years now I have been on a journey to learn more about Self-Reg. At first the quest was tied to wanting to find an anwer to "behaviour management" but as time has gone on it has become about concepts so much larger - healthy development, human flourishing, creating an unconscious sense of safety, reducing barriers to learning through disarming the fear response, nurturing relationships, individual and collective resilience...etc. I believed when I started to dig that the digging would be finite; That at the end of it all I would have a neat cognitive package. Instead I discovered that there was so much that was happening under the surface of our consciousness. It connected to the part of me that has always been a problem solver; The part of me that has always wanted to dig down one layer deeper on the question of why.<br />
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As I read through this chapter, I was reminded again and again of the beginning of the <a href="https://self-reg.ca/learn/online-courses-with-dr-shanker/level-1-certification-self-reg-foundations/" target="_blank">Self-Reg Foundations Course</a> and learning about secondary altriciality and the inter-brain.<br />
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Secondary altriciality in its most simplified explanation simply means that when a baby is born their brain is not fully developed. This equates to our babies being born completely dependent on others... really "fetuses outside of the womb". Because so little of the brain is developed a birth, it continues to develop beyond birth and how it develops is dependent upon the child-caregiver relationship. This chapter addesses some of what is critical to healthy brain development and although it doesn't directly reference the development of regulatory skills, it hints at it often. The chapter also references the many of the sensory experiences but does not step in to the process of the sensory systems integrating. Perhaps this will come up in the next chapter?<br />
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In reference to the inter-brain, because the baby's born is so underdeveloped in the first months of his/her life, the baby relies on the primary care-giver to serve as an external brain that will help to regulate the baby's physiological state. This chapter discusses a lot of the mechanisms that serve to connect the parent to the baby but doesn't reference much the attunement so the parent is able to read their baby's cues and help to regulate them until their brain develops the ability to self-regulate. It's interesting the interplay between it all - the baby being born with what it needs to draw the connection, the parent serving as an external brain, the caregivers shaping the baby's brain, the caregiver's brains changing themselves in response to the new relationship with the baby. It speaks to how deeply connected we all are and how our brains really do not function in isolation. It speaks to how every interaction serves to change our brain ever so slighting and then potentially drastically over time in relationship with someone.<br />
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From the teaching perspective, this chapter highlights several of the "roots of cognition". I am including a visual that I made some time ago when reading <i>The Learning Tree </i>by Dr. Stanley Greenspan here as this chapter triggered that connection for me. The idea of behind the learning tree is that often the challenges we see students having in education (those that are within the branches and leaves of the trees) are connected to something that needs to be strengthened either at the roots or up the trunk of the stem. The trunk of the stem represents the social-emotional learning continuum that is references in Floortime. I found the model helpful in that it makes you stop and think below the surface of what you are seeing. From working with students who often experirence bariers to learning it has me thinking about what happens when those roots are not fully developed and about how to ensure that we continue to work on the ones that may need more attention.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">From time to time I might link to another book or lecture. If I do this visually, I will include a link picture like the one on the visual above. Below I have included the visuals of my what jumped out at me while reading this chapter. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see. </span><br />
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... And just because this video is too cute I'm going to include here in connection to the last information on in this chapter around how laughter is a comoponent of connecting as well as something that often comes forward in pattern finding moments. Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-49982771268945939662018-08-03T16:03:00.001-06:002022-10-30T09:22:43.179-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Chapter 1 (Decision Making)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Set in the middle of a the story of a young couple's first date, Chapter 1 digs into the idea of "decision making" and shares research and thoughts on how we make decisions. The information reflects an understanding that the brain is built upon experiences and that those experiences impact any future decisions. It also speaks the importance of "emotion" in the decision making process. Emotion was not explicity defined but it seemed to reference mroe our bodily sensations (somatic markers) rather than what we traditional think of as emotions. The theme that I kept seeing over and over again is one of the importance of the brain-body connection.<br />
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I was also fascinated with the research that was referenced around examining the decision making process in people who have had brain injuries that impact that their emotional processing abilities. In these situations, the people were unable to make decisions even though they could engage in all the cognitive steps involved in the decision making process (listing the options, analyzing the options). The conclusion made was that without the unconscious referencing of "emotions" that we do in the decision making process, making decisions is not possible.<br />
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There was reference in this chapter to people rely on reason alone to make decisions engaging in self-destrcutive and dangerous behaviours. Emotion and the abiltiy to feel other people are important in making sound decisions. As someone who at times can be acused of being overly-emotional, this idea sits well with me.<br />
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My visual summary of Chapter 1 is below. There is much more than this in the actual chapter but this reflects the concepts that jumped out at me and the way that I see them connecting. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_wHaDbw3Va7DFV1MrRzxJzXm20TzwVBI-brlTtE0Uy7A_e2Gkmx0F0dNwwOsPy27qyJ4FrZd_vps3beivf7N7gC_W3-aXopalkXjqLSW89DOhsa2QuLMXjgfjJ4rJHlXrD17LVkgd8_B/s1600/Social+Animal+Ch+1a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="913" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_wHaDbw3Va7DFV1MrRzxJzXm20TzwVBI-brlTtE0Uy7A_e2Gkmx0F0dNwwOsPy27qyJ4FrZd_vps3beivf7N7gC_W3-aXopalkXjqLSW89DOhsa2QuLMXjgfjJ4rJHlXrD17LVkgd8_B/s400/Social+Animal+Ch+1a.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Note that my next post about this book will be on Chapter 3. Chapter 2 is simply a part of the story that the book is told within. It carries the story through the first months of the marriage of the parents of one of the main characters (Harold). </div>
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<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-68289587706436411572018-08-02T13:45:00.004-06:002022-10-30T09:22:51.042-06:00My Reading Thoughts, Summaries and Connections: The Social Animal by David Brooks - Introduction <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGzz9LzIKxrLEsBLR4106WO9w2E5cFvQnzeYpfzHG7G7WsvMuCULfoPfoflxAEVUu0ukZcEl8lz9lZfBw4v0RESwQlDrnNZs9JuFNg5tsCr4UKhFgmOUYlkCHArDxmPy02dUgkym0de18/s1600/socialanimal.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="374" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLGzz9LzIKxrLEsBLR4106WO9w2E5cFvQnzeYpfzHG7G7WsvMuCULfoPfoflxAEVUu0ukZcEl8lz9lZfBw4v0RESwQlDrnNZs9JuFNg5tsCr4UKhFgmOUYlkCHArDxmPy02dUgkym0de18/s200/socialanimal.png" width="155" /></a></div>
I heard about this book while listening in on Dr. Stuart Shanker's talk on Resilience at the 2018 Self-Reg Summer Symposium. As it is quite challening for me to this symposium, I was thankful that VoiceEd Radio broadcast several of the speaker presentations as part of their <a href="https://self-reg.ca/voices-of-self-reg/" target="_blank">Voices of Self-Reg</a> series.<br />
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This talk was fascinating as it wrapped the Self-Reg lens around the concept of "resilience". I have found along this Self-Reg learning joruney that I circle back often and, in those times, concepts get reworked. The key message that I took out of this particular lecture was that our aim is the "blue-brain" (pre-frontal cortex, rational brain) and the "red-brain" (limbic system, social-emotinal brain) to be in balance. Much of my focus to this point had been on those times when the red-brain had taken over to a negative point of fight, flight or freeze. I was fascinated to hear that the blue-brain functioning alone would also result in a negative personality profile (i.e. narcisism).<br />
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The whole lecture left me wanting more and, as I so often do after hearing Dr. Stuart Shanker speak, I went back to the list of books he mentioned while he lectured to consider if any of those books could wet my thirst for more. <i>The Social Animal </i>by David Brooks is one of the books he mentioned during this talk and when I read the summary of it on Amazon I felt confident that reading it would allow me to digger deeper into what I had begun to think about while listening to this talk.<br />
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I am finding each chapter of the book full of things to think about. The book is frame by telling the story of two individuals from birth (actually before birth) through their entire lives. As the story unfolds the author adds in relevant information. The challenge for me is the same as everytime I read a book... how to pick out and summarize the relevant pieces right now. To do this, I am going to experiment with a version of "sketch-noting". I tried at first to do it with pencil and paper but found myself getting too caught up in trying to cretae a perfect drawing (which I am along ways away from). I will continue to play with that approach but for not I wanted to explore just summarizing with a combinations of visuals and words using technology. My summary of the introduction is below. Clicking on each graphic should make it larger and easier to see.<br />
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I found myself nodding my head a lot while I read this introduction as it reinforces so much of what I've been learning since first starting to dig into a deeper understanding of the brain. It really speaks ot how unique each of brains are and how they are shaped by things that we often completely unaware of. I was also fascinated by the idea of gaining a deeper understanding of what is required for "human flourishing". I'm looking forward to continuing to read, explore and share related to this book. </div>
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-38721447566630555412016-08-13T11:11:00.004-06:002017-08-18T23:43:37.691-06:00CCN Alphabet: Language of Control <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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To get this series going again, I have decided to jump around the alphabet instead of follow alphabetical order. I wanted to share that in case anyone is wondering what happened to the letters F through K. They will come. As I am completing posts, I am linking them in the original post in the series which can be found by <a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/06/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-to-z-what-im.html">clicking here</a>.<br />
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The idea for this topic comes from the book <i>Enhancing Communication for Individuals with Autism: A Guide to the Visual Immersion System </i>by Howard C. Shane, Emily Laubscher, Raif W. Schlosser, Holly L. Fadie, James F. Sorce, Jennifer S. Abramson, Suzanne Flynn, and Kara Corley. The information on the Language of Control and the language functions that reflect the Language of Control comes from this book and the thoughts and ideas are a combination of some of the thoughts and ideas from this book as well as ideas from other sources and my experience. I also wanted to think through how to use core boards or the individual's core based language system with some of these ideas.<br />
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Often we tend toward using visual supports from a "behaviour management" perspective. It's important to not get too caught up in this as it can serve to inhibit spontaneous communication. Rather, but we should reframe this and look at visuals and language supports from a self-advocacy and opportunity for expressive and receptive language growth lens.<br />
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As outlined in the book mentioned above, the Language of Control is related to "control functions" that allow the individual to influence his or her surroundings by inspiring others to act. These functions are (1) protesting and refusal, (2) organization and transitions, (3) requesting, and (4) directives. These functions are controlled based rather than conversational in nature because their goal is to influence the behaviour of another rather than to initiate a conversation exchange.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Protesting and Refusal:</i> </span></b>According to this book, protest is a "behaviour that expresses objection or disapproval of an activity, event or person", while refusal is a "behaviour that expresses rejection of an object, activity, or event suggested or initiated by another person." Most children have a non-symbolic way of communicating protesting and refusal so the idea is to work toward a more symbolic (and often adaptive) way of protesting or refusing.<br />
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The language of protest and refusal is rooted in core words. The core words that are associated with protesting and refusal include "all done" or "finished", "stop", "no", "more", "help". "Take a break" is an important phrase that should be taught as well. <br />
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When working with students around the language of protesting and refusal we should (1) explicitly teach the words, (2) model the use of the words. and (3) ensure that the words are always easily available to the individual.<br />
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When we teach core vocabulary we need to do it "during meaningful interactions throughout the school day" (<a href="http://www.project-core.com/about-project-core/">Project Core Website</a>). At 12:15 of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryda0ViRekU&feature=youtu.be">this Dynamic Learning Maps PD video</a> there is a great demonstration around directly teaching core words to a group of students. I will be posting a separate post soon with some ideas around strategies for teaching the words included in the language of control. Modeling the use of the words is related to reading the individual's cues and modeling the language around it. Example: Modeling the capitalized words without expectation that the student will say them: "It looks like you DON'T LIKE that and that you are ALL DONE." Ensuring the words are easily available to the students means having their system there but it might also mean having these specific visuals available in different ways (i.e. having them tapped down to a work space or included right on a visual schedule).<br />
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Although protesting and refusal are primarily about expressive language, it is also important to be aware of the times when one cannot immediately honor an individual's protest or refusal as being able to cope with this requires receptive language skills. Visual supports such as first-then displays, timers and countdowns, a "surprise" visual, and social stories can be used to facilitate receptive language. To be effective, there may need to be some explicit teaching around these. Ideas related to that specific teaching will be included in the blog post mentioned above.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Organization and Transitions: </span></i></b>This book defines organization as "the act of arranging elements into an orderly, functional structured whole" and transition as "the process of changing from one state, stage, activity or environment to another." Memory, attention, time management, problem solving, initiating, sequencing and prioritizing are all skills that are important to organization. Developing these skills cannot be done without also developing the receptive language understanding that is necessary for the skills. The visual supports that we put in place for the underlying skills can also serve as an opportunity to work on language development.<br />
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Specific things we should be thinking about when teaching organization and transitions includes completing multi-step directions, sorting and organizing materials, following a schedule, understanding and using measures of time, moving from a preferred activity to a non-preferred activity or vice versa, dealing with changes in familiar routines, dealing with a delay in receiving an anticipated item or activity and tolerating unexpected events.<br />
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Again, we need to think about the language that is important and ensure that we are teaching, modeling and making symbols available. We should consider (1) prepositional words like "in", "on", "away", "up", and (2) time-related words like "first", "then", "later", "wait"...etc., The action and descriptive words outlined in directives section below overlap in to the area of following schedules, sorting and organizing.<br />
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There are a lot of visual tools that can be used to support receptive understanding in this area. We need to be cautious that our primary goal with these tools is not that of compliance as that can have va very negative impact on language and communication growth. These tools will be furthered explained in another post but they include things like visual schedules (including learner constructed schedules), first-then visuals, countdown boards, task or activity schedules, social stories, video modeling, and symbols like "surprise" or "wait".<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Requesting: </b></span></i>Requesting is defined as "expressing a desire for objects, activities, people, affection, attention, recurrence, assistance, information and/or clarification."<br />
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When thinking about requesting, we need to be cautious around believing that there is language understanding if an individual is using a scripted phrase like what would be used in PECs. A scripted phrase is no more meaningful than a single work and doesn't represent generative language. As this book points out, PECs focuses primarily on requesting but there is little opportunity for language development as it consists of mostly nouns, it uses carrier phrases rather than generative word-by-word language, and the individual words represented by the symbols are not actually taught.<br />
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As we expand requesting skills, it is important to also focus on descriptive language as having descriptive language allows an individual to request things that may not be represented in their system or are not directly in sight. This doesn't mean we make the individual describe everything they are requesting, but rather that we embed descriptive approaches naturally so that the individual is coming to an understanding of these words through seeing them modeled and used in natural contexts.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Directives: </span></b></i>Directives is "explicit instructional language used to control the behaviour of another." Underlying a directive is an implicit understanding that a specific order or command will be carried out. In regards to the "language of control" we are looking at the ability of the individual to expressively give others directives. This does involve receptively understanding the language of directives.<br />
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This book outlines the most common directives as being either control based (sit down, quiet, no running), routine-based (get, open, put away, stand up), instructional (cut, circle, point), or play-based (roll, throw, blow, pop). There are many opportunities for teaching vocabulary and generative language (putting words together to create meaning) within directives. Understanding and using verbs, prepositions and descriptors is particularly important. Many of the most important words are included in core language lists. It's also important to recognize that not following directions may be related to receptive language (understanding of what these words mean as individual words and in combination with other words). Not following directions may also be related to things like attention, memory, or inability to organize multiple steps. or just being too overwhelmed/stressed in the moment to be able to follow the direction. When an individual has difficulty with following directions we need to step back and think about weather we are properly scaffolding.<br />
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This book offers suggestions around teaching directives by moving from video modeling of the directive to a static picture from the video to incorporating symbols and putting them together to represent the directive. As I read through it, I was thinking of some ways to modify it and embed it with teaching of core words and/or Predictable Chart Writing.<br />
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Another suggestion they offer related to play is to create topic displays that allow the user to manipulate symbols in to phrases or sentences. I could see the value in this but as I read through it I also thought about the need to move it over to modeling on a language system so that the words that were being used didn't just disappear when the activity was done. This is also got me thinking about incorporating the idea in teaching core words and/or Predictable Chart Writing.<br />
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You can advance these topic displays from simple statements to more advanced by adding in different elements. If used, they recommend using them around highly motivating activities. I'm including pictures of how a "Bubbles" topic display could be expanded over time. Note that there is a line on the side included to "comment" on the activity. As well, these displays can include a "sentence strip" at the top that is either color coded or not in which the symbols and be moved up to create a phrase or a sentence.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Final Thoughts: </span></i></b>The communicative functions outlined here are far from the only communicative functions that individuals should be learning but they are important ones to learn in the middle of learning others. As mentioned at the beginning these ones are very restricted in regards to learning conversational skills. </div>
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Ultimately, being explicit about teaching students the language of control positions them to active agents in their lives. It is also important and important step in social/emotional development that positions individuals to engage in organizing and problem solving as if one is unable to consistently exercise control over their own life they will become passive and helpless and are at an even greater risk for abuse. </div>
Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-18099937281478578582016-07-04T09:28:00.002-06:002017-08-18T23:50:45.978-06:00Pittsburgh AAC Language Seminar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week I traveled to Pittsburgh to attend a Pittsburgh AAC Language Seminar (PALSS) to learn more about core vocabulary, descriptive teaching, language development and the use of Minspeak language systems. The seminar itself was held in the Semantic Compaction Systems (SCS) office in Pittsburgh and all seminar attendants stayed in SCS guest houses. The days were filled with learning and the evenings with time to process, socialize and connect. It was both an incredibly learning and a wonderful social experience.</div>
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As with any learning experience, it will take me some time to piece together what all this new information means when converted in to practice. There was definitely a lot that applied specifically to Minspeak but there was also much that can be applied more generally to thinking about language development for students with complex communication needs.<br />
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<b><u>The Goal is Language Acquisition</u></b><br />
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The emphasis throughout the seminar was about focusing on language acquistion when working with individuals with complex communication needs. We spent some time looking at <a href="http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:brown&catid=2:uncategorised&Itemid=117">Brown's stages of language development</a>. We looked at how we can support students with complex communication needs to go through the same stages of language development as those without... moving from saying single words (juice, mine, again) to combining two words (more juice, that mine, go again) to adding in more clarity through development of syntax and morphology (more juice please, that's mine, let's go again).<br />
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We also looked at core language. This was not an new concept to me but it is always good to have it reinforced how important it is to focus in on a limited number of high frequency words that can be used to support communication in all environments.<br />
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I walked away from the seminar thinking about how important it is to be aware of language development when working with students who are at various stages of using AAC. A few ideas that I wrote down to explore, think about, revisit or refine include the following. There may be future blog posts on these.<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Communication-Circles-With-A-Little-Help-from-My-Friends-2560408">Communication Circles</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Out-and-About-AAC-in-the-Community-2560404">Out and About Groups</a> - A couple of years ago I was doing a few communication circles. This year I didn't do any. After going through the activities we did at this seminar, I'm thinking it's time to start them up again.</li>
<li>Recasting - We talk about modeling at a lot but in this seminar there was an explanation of both modeling and recasting. Recasting is about taking what the individual has said and saying it back a litter further along the language development continuum.</li>
<li>Using <a href="http://www.minspeak.com/teachers/documents/IconFamilyTrees.pdf">Icon Family Trees</a> for Interventions - We spent a bit of time with this and I would like to further explore the idea as there are a lot of rich connections that could lend themselves to some fun language intervention activities. </li>
<li><a href="https://store.prentrom.com/literacy-through-unity-words-84-location">Literacy through Unity</a> Curriculum - I want to get my hands on this :).</li>
<li>Use of materials from the <a href="https://aaclanguagelab.com/">AAC Language Lab</a> based on stage of language development. I need to go back and revisit this. </li>
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<b><u>Promoting Success in the Classroom</u></b><br />
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I really appreciated that there was time dedicated in this seminar to what supporting a student who uses AAC looks like in reference to curriculum (program of studies). We spent some time looking at the <a href="http://rastresources.com/wp-content/themes/wpbootstrapnew/assets/pdf/Teaching%20Methods/The%20Descriptive%20Teaching%20Model.pdf">Descriptive Teaching Model</a> (DMT). With this approach, rather than programming key terms from different curriculum areas, the key terms are used as part of the question and then core vocabulary that is on the device is used to answer the questions. This was not entirely new to me as we have done a bit of it but going through and looking at it again reinforced for me the importance of tapping in the curriculum to support language development.<br />
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We also spent some time looking at Blooms Taxonomy and thinking through how we could answer questions or have discussions using core vocabulary at every level of Blooms. This was an important reminder to not limit communication to the lowest levels of just recall as if you have core words,the vocabulary is there to do it all.<br />
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<b><u>Motor and Cognitive Automaticity</u></b><br />
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We spent time doing hands on learning with Unity 84. What was most interesting with this is that towards the end of the seminar, we were asked to "sky talk" and say some of the things we had been learning throughout the two days. After only a small amount of time practicing, we were all able to go to the general area that was needed to say a variety of different words. Because we were using the same standard 84 icons that were always in the same spot to say all these words, we had learned the general or specific area of almost all the icons.<br />
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Although I understood the premise of having a minimum number of icons that you combine in different ways to make different words, it wasn't until we did the sky writing without the device there that I realized how much I was relying on both the repetitive motor planning and the associations of the symbols to the words to become automatic. It was also interesting to note that some will rely on both the association and the motor plan while others will just rely on the motor plan.<br />
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<i>Note: The seminar, lodging and meals are free and there is support for travel as well. They are held monthly. I highly recommend the experience. <a href="http://www.minspeak.com/PittsburghAACLanguageSeminarSeries.php#.V3SSSbgrK00">Click here</a> to find out more. </i>Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-6691251575935543202015-12-24T06:56:00.002-07:002016-12-29T15:47:06.500-07:00One Word 2016 - With It's early. Just past 5:30 a.m. This has always been my favorite time of day. For the most part, the world is still quiet and asleep and it's easier to connect to one's thinking.<br />
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The beginning part of the 2015-16 school year brought with it many changes both personally and professionally. </div>
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My son began high school. This is his last transition within the school system and it went incredibly smoothly. I'm seeing him continue to grow and blossom and am realizing how quickly he has grown up which just makes me cherishing the times that we are together all the more. At the same time, adulthood is looming and I'm thinking often now how I can support him to transitioning to an adult life that is his own.</div>
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My job hasn't really changed but it changes each year simply because the students I work with and the classrooms I work in change each year. This means each year, I see both a bigger picture and a more focused picture. There are exciting steps forward and frustrating new barriers that need to be figured out that present themselves on a regular basis. </div>
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Each year for the past several years I have spent some time during Christmas break reflecting and looking forward... not so much because of the "new year" that is ahead of us but more because it seems to be the first time that since the beginning of September that I have time to step back, catch my breath and think a bit. It's a great time to analyze how things have gone in the first months and where they might go through the rest of the school year. Each year as I reflect on this, it seems, on some levels, that the vision becomes less and less defined... and on other levels that it becomes more focused. </div>
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As my job has evolved and Mikey (my son) has grown up, I am coming to realize more and more that parenting, teaching and living are not actually about having a lock-step plan that I can be perfectly implemented. I thought that would make things predictable and that predictable equated to "safe". I thought that it was the kind thing to do to try to head off any problems and hurdles before they happened. I thought that it would make the path smoother. </div>
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I'm not sure if I would have come to understand things differently if I had stayed in my own classroom where I could continue to set it all up before hand; Where I could design and script learning and life experiences in a way that I decided was "right". I no longer can do that as I am not the classroom teacher. In the middle of struggling with this and with questioning how I support Mikey moving forward in to adulthood, I began to more deeply understand the opportunity that is embedded in how things have evolved and changed. </div>
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A few years ago when this journey of shifting away from a self-contained approach began, I believed we would see better social and academic outcomes for the students if they were included in general education classrooms and activities. I believed that the peer group that exists in the general education setting meant that there were opportunities and experiences in the general education classrooms that could not be created in self-contained settings. I believed that we would work harder at figuring out modifications, communication systems and assistive technology in a general education setting because it was necessary for participation in that setting whereas in in a self-contained setting you can just shift gears and do something different that the student can already participate in. All of this has proven to be true in the years that have passed... but there have been other things that have emerged through the process. </div>
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Which brings me to my one word for 2016... and the word is simply "with". I have always believed it is critical to listen to the students that we are working with. I have always believed it was important for them to have a voice. I have always believed that the end goal was tied to such concepts as self-determination, autonomy, empowerment. But working with students in spaces that are "not my own" and the fact that my son will need to leave the sheltered world of school in a couple of years deepens my understanding of all of it. It helps me to see not only that we need to work with (rather than for or on or to) the student but also that all of us in the student's circles need to work with each other. </div>
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Empowerment, self-determination, autonomy are not actually about independence. It's about community and relationship. Community and relationships create safety and the conditions for thriving. Being empowered isn't about who builds the path so much as it is about who directs the building of the path. Being empowered means that when things go in the wrong direction or roadblocks present themselves protective factors exist to get through, around or even to turn in another direction if that is what makes sense in the end. For anyone, disability or not, our strongest protective factor is the web of authentic equal and understanding connections to and around us. When we operate from a standpoint of working "with" we are building a web of connections. When we operate from a standpoint of doing "to" or "for" or working "on" we are building a top-down set of single, often unequal connections. </div>
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So my word is "with" and this year to stay true to it, I'm aiming to blog about it on a regular basis :). </div>
Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-88841873127904024702015-07-27T10:15:00.000-06:002016-12-25T09:20:08.431-07:00CCN Alphabet: Engagement <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><a href="http://www.cea-ace.ca/sites/cea-ace.ca/files/cea-2009-wdydist.pdf">What did you do in school today?</a></i> is a document that summarizes the information on a multi-year research project on adolescent student engagement that was completed by Canadian Educational Association (CEA). In this document, engagement is defined as "the extent to which students identify with and value schooling outcomes, have a sense of belonging at school, participate in academic and non-academic activities, strive to meet the formal requirements of schooling and make a serious personal investment in learning. For the sake of the study, engagement was broken in down in to three components: (1) social engagement, (2) institutional engagement and (3) intellectual engagement. To be fully engaged in school, a student must experience all three types of engagement. We need to be intentional about facilitating all three types of engagement for students with complex communication needs (CCN) as there are potential barriers that may be experienced in each area.<br />
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Engagement, in general, means participating actively and with understanding rather than being passive in a process. Being able to communicate (use of expressive language) and comprehend (use of receptive language) is a necessary condition for active participation in all three components mentioned above. Being able to understand and impact the context that the communication takes place in is another necessary condition for engagement.<br />
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More barriers to effective communication exist for people with complex communication needs than for those without. This means there is an increased risk for communication breakdowns. When communication break downs are not resolved, the result is often not feeling like one has control over the situation and this results in disengagement or passive involvement. We also have to question if break downs are often not resolved if that act of putting words into the world is actually communication at all.<br />
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One of the goals we often aim for when supporting people with disabilities is "active participation". Even "active participation" can boarder in to passive participation if it is about participating in an activity that is set up and directed by someone else. If we aim past participation toward connecting and contributing, we are aiming at something that is generative, collaborative and co-created. When we are contributing, what we produce is different as a result of our input. Isn't this more of what communication actually is? The challenge then is how do we work with students who have CCN to move along the continuum from presence to contribution. If this is where we are aiming, supporting the development of communication using a robust language system is a necessity.<br />
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The three areas of engagement mentioned in the <i>What did you do in school today?</i> study can apply to any activity or setting. When we focus on developing the combination of the communication skills needed for social, academic/institutional and intellectual engagement in any setting we need to do it in a way that these skills will not impact only that setting but can be transferred across settings. Below are a few more of my thoughts related to each of these domains of engagement in the school setting specifically but the same concepts can be taken and carried over to any setting.<br />
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<b>Social Engagement</b> relates to a sense of belonging and meaningful participation in school life. Students who are socially engaged participate in extra-curriculars and have positive relationships with peers and adults.<br />
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Developing the communication skills necessary for social engagement involves focusing on pragmatics - which involves the understanding of the social use of language. <a href="http://complexneeds.org.uk/modules/Module-2.4-Assessment-monitoring-and-evaluation/All/downloads/m08p080c/the_pragmatics_profile.pdf">The Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication Skills in Children</a> is a tool that can be used to focus the work of facilitating the development of the communication skills needed for social engagement. The advantage to using a tool like this is that it involves conversations with the people who are interacting on a regular basis in natural settings with the child/student. This means we can focus on what team members can do to make communication attempts more effective and satisfying... which ultimately will result in increased engagement and development of social communication skills.<br />
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<b>Academic (Institutional) Engagement</b> relates to participation in the formal requirements of schooling. Students demonstrate academic engagement through the completion of assignments, attending classes, completing work needed to accumulate credits needed for graduation...etc. The reason for re-framing to "institutional" rather than "academic engagement is that the concept of thinking about the formal requirements of participation could then be applied to other settings. While understanding and functioning successfully withing the context of the institution is important, it is only one small part of the picture. We need to be careful not to think about only this piece when aiming for "participation" or else we are really just sitting on a rocking horse...<br />
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The communication skills required for academic (institutional) engagement can at first appear to be rooted in rote repetition. It is important to think and facilitate beyond just repetitive routine communication as the communication skills required for academic (institutional) engagement must be applied to the many other institutional settings that one must function in to survive and thrive in our world. When thinking about facilitating the development of communication skills, we need to always remember that communication is generative and the skills that are learned should be transferable.<br />
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Developing the communication skills necessary for academic (institutional) engagement involves focusing on literacy skills as literacy allows for communication across space, people, time and medium. There will be more on literacy in other posts. It also involves communication for the organizational tasks involved in thriving in institutional settings and the communication skills that are required for self-determined learning. The Bridge School in California has put their <a href="http://selfdetermined.bridgeschool.org/">Self Determination Program</a> up on their website. Their <a href="http://selfdetermined.bridgeschool.org/getstarted/adapted-model">adapted self determination model</a> focuses on the unique components and activities needed to support development of self-determination with AAC users.<br />
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<b>Intellectual Engagement</b>, for this study, is defined as "A serious emotional and
cognitive investment in
learning, using higher order
thinking skills (such
as analysis and evaluation)
to increase understanding,
solve complex problems, or
construct new knowledge." Intellectual engagement requires thinking and thinking is the processing of language. When learners engage intellectually, they need to be intentional about connecting and using knowledge, experience, and strategies they have or are being exposed to.<br />
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The presumption of competence for people with complex communication needs is connected to the belief that these are students who can engage intellectually. All too often, this is a population that is not given the opportunity to engage intellectually due to some of the traditional beliefs about educational approaches for this population. This begs the question of how one could develop language if they aren't intellectually engaged. The way we design learning experiences matters when we are aiming for intellectual engagement and language development. We need to think in terms of frameworks that provide structure and some level of predictability but then within those frameworks, we must ensure variety and opportunities for interaction and generative communication. If we are pre-defining and scripting everything before it happens, this is not possible.Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-70500937642014534442015-07-26T19:25:00.000-06:002016-12-25T09:21:35.416-07:00Alberta Summer 2015 Course on Supporting Literacy for Students with Low Incidence Disabilities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over four years ago, I received the book <i>Children with Disabilities: Reading and Writing the Four Blocks Way</i> as one of the resources for a provincial community of practice I was involved in. The book was the answer to this nagging feeling that there had to be a way to think about "real literacy" for the students that I was working with. So that year, with PODD training behind us and this book in hand, I began the process of shifting toward comprehensive literacy instruction with the students that I work with. Toward the end of that year, I traveled to Toronto to go to a week long course with the authors of the book, Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver. I returned home and began the process of implementing what I learned, but the fact that we were also shifting from self-contained to inclusive practices meant that there were times in the next couple of years where decisions about priorities had to be made. After two years of experimenting, I felt we were in a much better place to take a more systematic approach to things and so, last summer, I went to learn from Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver again at Camp ALEC. I returned from that camp not only fired up about literacy, but also fired up about core vocabulary and ensuring that students have a language system that allows them to more deeply engage in literacy learning and life in general.<br />
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As this past year ended, I was feeling like we were now on the right path and then the opportunity to see Karen and David again, this time right here in Alberta, presented itself. I have just returned now from spending another week learning from them and am once again excited to put what I've learned in to practice. I am sure that it will take me some time to fully process all that I've learned but for now I am just going to share my thoughts around the things that most resonated with me at this point immediately following the course.<br />
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<b><u>It's All About Language and the Connecting Arrows</u></b><br />
Last summer, when I was able to interact with proficient AAC users, I came to better understand the need to focus on language and communication as a larger part of the picture than what we had been doing. Last week the diagram that is presented very early on in each course and speaks to how speaking (AAC), listening, reading and writing develop in interaction with each other with language permeating every aspect of learning spoke more loudly to me. It was interesting that the statement was made that as time goes on, there is an increased understanding that "the arrows" are what is important about this diagram because that perfectly reflects what I've been discovering over the last few years of trying to put this in to practice. I also find it interesting how language sits as the heart of what thinking and learning are and that I was well in to my teaching career before I ever thought intentionally about language. <br />
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<b><u>A Deeper Understanding of Emergent Literacy</u></b><br />
The first course that I took was focused on conventional literacy and so when I returned, I started immediately to try to implement the conventional components with students who were actually at the emergent level. Through the next couple of years, I researched and modified to try to create programs that were more geared toward emergent learners.<br />
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Last summer, at Camp ALEC, it became much clearer to me what emergent and conventional programs should look like. I have a couple of students though who would appear to be "conventional" because they know all of their letters and a whole lot of sight words and can even sometimes answer rote questions from 1970's reading programs. The problem is, these students do not engage in generative writing or just talking about books during shared reading. They are literally lost for words in these situations... either because they are just coming to be able to use their communication system in a generative way or because they have a history that doesn't include any exposure to this type of generative approach to learning. <br />
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The statement made this year that emergent literacy is connected to opportunities to actively engage and construct meaning over time with print really resonated with me and confirmed much of what I had been thinking through this past year as I backed up with some of these students to working on the emergent, rather than the conventional, literacy "to do every day" list that was shared during both this course and last year at Camp ALEC. I walked away with more clarity around the idea that for students at the emergent literacy level it is about us creating these opportunities for engagement so that all the foundational pieces can be in place before we focus in on the conventional level.<br />
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<b><u>Universal Design for Learning and Students with Significant Disabilities</u></b><br />
I have posted quite a bit in the past about UDL so really appreciated that there was time dedicated to speaking about what it means to apply UDL concepts to planning for instruction for students who have significant disabilities. Ultimately, applying UDL concepts to this population of students works against the traditional behavioural approach that has been taken in special education and requires a paradigm shift.<br />
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UDL is founded on the idea of learner variability and an understanding that the learning process engages three different brain networks including the recognition network (the what of learning), the strategic network (the how of learning) and the affective network (the why of learning). To design learning that addresses learner variability means ensuring that there are multiple means of representation (recognition network), multiple means of expression (strategic network) and multiple means of engagement (affective network). Traditional approaches to teaching students with disabilities is not rooted in a multiple means approach as it is often about rote, repetitive learning of the single task that is currently being "mastered". This approach looks at the what of learning in isolation of the how and the why and often involves some type of extrinsic way of motivating students. The shift to thinking about repetition with variety to ensure multiple means of representation and expression and to focusing on engaging students by focusing on the functions of literacy can be a pretty big paradigm shift when looking at how education should work for this population of students. <br />
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Ultimately, I was just thrilled to be sitting in a room where UDL was being discussed with explicit focus on students who seem to often to be left out of the UDL discussion.<br />
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<b><u>Supporting Communication</u></b><br />
This is one that I came back from Camp ALEC last summer understanding much more deeply but the work that we did with core boards during the workshop last week got me even more excited. David and Karen have been doing work around developing core vocabulary boards that will be available to everyone that can be used as a bridge for those students who need a way to communicate but do not have a comprehensive language system. For a better explanation of this, check out the <a href="http://dlmpd.com/dlm-core-vocabulary-and-communication/">module on core vocabulary from the DLM Professional Development</a> website. During the week, we used the core boards a few times to engage in different literacy activities and it was great to see just how much conversation could be generated with just the first 40 words. The bottom line is that being able to engage in conversation during literacy activities does not have to be restricted to answering yes/no to lists that have been generated. I went in having a pretty good feel for the power of core but being able to engage with it during the week has me even more excited about it as I could see how it can be used in creating back and forth interactions and in developing much needed skills related to being strategic with the words that are available.<br />
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One other important statement that was made during the stretch of time that we were playing with core in one of the activities is that it positions us as communication partners to really support the student and ask questions to understand what they are trying to say. This moves us away from the idea of not responding until something is said in some predefined format and toward authentic and meaningful communication.<br />
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<b><u>Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development Website </u></b><br />
I wanted to end this post by including a piece that I was very aware of before taking this course but came to better understand how it can be used in implementation during the course. So much of the information that David and Karen present at these workshops is now available to anyone online for free through the Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development website. What a goldmine this is for people who were in the position I was in four years ago - feeling like there was so much more to what literacy instruction could be for these students but not really confident about how to make that happen. Now, all it takes is to go to the <a href="http://dlmpd.com/">Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development website</a> and begin working through the modules they have there. The great thing from the implementation standpoint is that a person can work through the modules on their own or use the facilitate module resources to work in a group through the modules. This also opens up opportunities to go back and relearn the things that have been presented or have something to pass on to those who want to learn more about any component of a program that we are trying to implement. It's such an amazing resource!Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-62276654203715763082015-07-08T19:00:00.000-06:002016-12-25T09:20:57.041-07:00CCN Alphabet: Descriptive Language <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Vocabulary is critical to language development. Without sufficient vocabulary, it is hard to understand others or to express your own ideas. We expand vocabulary by exposing children to words and their meaning. With people with complex communication needs we sometimes get stuck in focusing a lot of our effort on nouns simply because nouns represent things that we can touch or point to or match an object/symbol to. <br />
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In education, we often think of noun-related questions as the "easiest" questions as they require only "simple memorization". This noun-focused approach to teaching is known as "referential teaching". Referential teaching/questions require a specific one-word answer. These questions are sometimes referred to as "closed-ended". Referential teaching/questions require access to vocabulary that is specific to the topic that is being studied. If a student has a communication system, this requires that the topic-specific words get programmed or added to the system at the beginning of each new unit of study. These words often have limited functional value beyond that unit of study so do not necessarily stay on the system beyond the time of the unit of study. Because they have limited functional use, they also do not serve to increase a student's functional language skills.<br />
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Gail Vantatenhoven (2012) proposed that an alternative to a referential approach is a descriptive approach. In this approach, the vocabulary that is specific to the topic is still used but it is used by the communication partner/teacher/tutor and then concepts related to that vocabulary are talked about using high-frequency (core) vocabulary that is already available on the individual's communication system. The questions that are asked are more "open-ended" and encourage the use of common words for describing, defining, predicting, explaining, and/or comparing. This approach ensures that students can participate at pretty much any level of language development and that there is ongoing opportunity to work on language learning through the facilitating of more specific description using phrase/sentence construction, use of tense (past, present, future), use of word endings (s, ing, er, est...etc.),<br />
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Description and action words that could be used include talking about:<br />
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<li>how something, someone or some place looks (pretty/ugly, straight/crooked, bright/dark,shiny/dull, neat/messy, it's color...etc.), sounds (noisy/quiet), smells/tastes (stinky, sweet, salty, hot, spicy, sour, nice...etc.) or feels (hot/cold, hard/soft, bumpy/smooth, heavy/light, sticky, fuzzy, slippery, wet/dry...etc.).</li>
<li>the quantity, size or shape of the person, place or thing: big/little, long/short, many/few, short/tall, empty/full, far/near, whole/part, all/some/none</li>
<li>how the person or thing moves and/or acts: fast/slow, push, pull, turn, roll, drop, fall, write, talk, tell, sing, </li>
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This <a href="http://rastresources.com/wp-content/themes/wpbootstrapnew/assets/pdf/Teaching%20Methods/The%20Descriptive%20Teaching%20Model.pdf">handout on the Descriptive Teaching Model</a> includes some examples of how this could be implemented in a couple of different curriculum areas.<br />
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This post titled <a href="https://voices4all.wordpress.com/2015/05/02/fringe-makes-me-cringe/">Fringe Makes Me Cringe</a> on the blog <a href="https://voices4all.wordpress.com/">voices4all</a> shares a mother's story of changing from referential to a descriptive model.<br />
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I have just recently experienced the power of using a descriptive language approach with my son. He has an extremely limited number of spoken words and we have tried many different communication supports through the years. Last summer we started using a system that is Core Word based as well as focusing on Aided Language Input and using descriptive language both for his school-based learning and throughout the day. At first, much of what we did was modeling but after a few months, he started using his talk to describe things rather than just to name things. At one point, he wanted to go to a hotel and the word hotel was not on his talker so he proceeded to use words that describe the things we do or see in a hotel - car, sleep, swim, curtains, eat...etc. When I still didn't understand, he went and got a suitcase to try to help with his explanation. The picture included here is him when he finally got to go to the hotel.<br />
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At one point we also started sitting down each night with his talker and talking about what we did that day. Sometimes there were pictures on his iPad that helped and sometimes we just had to go with what we knew. We used a descriptive approach when we did this so there were a lot of things that were happening right within his day that we were wrapping descriptive language around. There was actually a stretch of time when he was asking to add words to his talker that were tied to things we were doing so that he could use them when we talked that evening (rather than trying to go back and describe it). <br />
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These are just a couple of examples of how we have used this approach beyond just classroom application. He has used it to describe quite a few other things that are meaningful to him as they have come up and as he started to do this around things that were personally meaningful to him, he also started engaging in descriptive language related to school content so we could move on from just the input stage and start having some back and forth interactions. The great thing about the approach is that we are able to use the context of what is going on in the classroom to meet him where he is at in regards to language development. We can focus on expanding answers to just one more word to get a bit more specific answer.Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-14781702077119810472015-07-06T12:23:00.003-06:002017-08-18T23:45:37.196-06:00CCN Alphabet: Communication Process <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"Communication is the key to learning because a great deal of what we learn depends on our interactions with others. Communication can occur every time two or more people are in proximity with one another, whetehr in person or through electronic means. Although all human being communicate, some individuals may have limited communication skills due to the impact of their disabilities or limited contact with others. Individuals with significant disabilities may not have full access to or full control of the multiple means by which most individuals communicate (e.g. speech, facial expression, body language, print). This inability to express themselves as others would does not mean that these individuals have nothing to say, not does it diminish their need and right to communicate. Teachers and other service provides must assume that all people have the desire to communicate and, therefore, must use their expertise, experience, and commitment to facilitate the development of communication for their students." </i>(Downing, Henreddy, Packham-Harden, 2015, <i>Teaching Communication Skills to Students with Severe Disabilites</i>)<br />
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There are many places within the communication process (outlined in the diagram below) where a communication breakdown can occur as a result of misunderstandings and confusion for both individuals with and without complex communication needs.<br />
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Source: <a href="http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm">http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm</a></div>
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Understanding the communication process, how we can support individuals with complex communication needs to develop the skills needed during each stage of the process, and the potential barriers that exist at each stage positions us to (1) engineer the environment/situation/context for communication growth and success, (2) understand and implement plans related to how we ourselves and others can be more effective communication partners, and (3) support the individual to become a more effective communicator.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Context:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b>The context is the environment that the communication occurs in. Communication partners and their beliefs about the competence of the individual with complex communication needs will impact the communication process. When we understand all actions of another as intentional, we create the context for communication to occur. Some other thoughts to consider in regards to the communication context for individuals with complex communication needs include:<br />
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What communication channel is being used by the people within the context? Is the same channel being used by all people in the context? Is the person who is expected to use AAC getting input through verbal language only or a combination or verbal language and AAC? <br />
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Does the individual with complex communication needs have access to a language system that will allow him/her to communicate a variety of messages for a variety of purposes or has he/she been restricted to only being able to say a handful of things?<br />
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Are there activities happening in the environment that require interaction and generative communication or is the environment set up in a way that people are working independently with a large portion of the communication happening being someone directing another person on what to do next? <br />
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<ul>
</ul>
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Source:</span></b></i> The source is the reason, or the motivation, that a person would communicate. Because the effort involved in using AAC is often greater than the effort involved in speaking for those without complex communication needs, we need to ensure that we are designing environments and activities that involve high levels of motivation to communicate.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"If the motivation to communicate is greater than the physical effort, cognitive effort and time required then communication will occur. If not, no message will be generated." </i>(Bruce Baker)</blockquote>
If effort is always greater than motivation for an individual, communication development will not happen. When we force a person to communicate something they are already able to communicate effectively with an approach that is less efficient, we are creating the condition where the effort to communicate may be greater than the motivation to communicate. It is important to honour and recognize all the ways another person communicates at the same time as modeling a method that will eventually allow that person to communicate across all contexts and with all people.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Message:</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></b>The message is what the individual is going to communicate. It could be a question, a comment, a request, a story, an answer, a thought/idea, a rejection, a greeting, a statement...etc. The message is originally what a person wants to say and as it moves through the communication process there are a lot of places where the message can become something different. Sometimes it is difficult to come up with possible messages for a given context. When an individual has a communication device or some other type of visual support, they are able to reference it for possible ideas related to messages that make sense in a given context.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Encoding:</span></i></b> </span>This is the process of taking the information that is in one's head and transforming it in to some form that can be understood by others. For those who use spoken words, this simply means putting ideas in to words and saying them. For those who use AAC, there is an complexity involved as it involves not just connecting thoughts and words but connecting thoughts and words and the alternative way to communicating (pictures, written words, sign language...etc.).<br />
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For obvious reasons, this is the stage of the communication process that we focus on when trying to implement AAC plans. This is about using the system to generate the message so it makes sense to put our efforts in to supporting this but if we only support this without intentional work for the rest of the communication process, it seems we would have difficulty achieving the goal of autonomous communication.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Channel:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b>This is how the message is transferred - gestures, sign language, visuals, device...etc. The channel is often multi-modal. For individuals that use AAC, barriers related to tone, facial expression, gestures can come in to play. It is important to remember to support a person with complex needs to use multiple channels to communicate in the same way that we all do even if their channels may have to be adapted in some way.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Decoding:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b>This is where the communication partner comes in as decoding is about the communication partner's interpretation of the message. When we are working to support the communication of an individual with complex communication needs, part of the work involves supporting communication partners with understanding and interactions. <br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Receiver:</span></i></b> This is the communication partner. Receiving a message through a channel different from spoken words requires the partner to keep certain things in mind: allow time for the communicator to generate their message, do not put words in to the mouth of the speaker by finishing the statements they start, how to ask for clarification when you don't understand...etc. Developing these skills in communication partners should be part of a communication plan.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Feedback:</span> </i></b>This is the reaction/response to the message by the communication partner. Was the intended message delivered? Did the intended message create the intended action? Did the message serve to extend the social interaction that was taking place? This part of the process again reflects the importance of thinking about both the communicator and the communication partner when supporting the development of communication skills. Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-84459625219552056922015-07-02T11:03:00.003-06:002016-12-25T09:22:31.449-07:00CCN Alphabet: Behaviour <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness." </i>(Steven Covey)<br />
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The goal of traditional behaviour interventions is the prediction and control of another person's behaviour. The idea is to reduce people's actions down to a science where behaviour can be controlled by setting up the environmental conditions to elicit "desired behaviours". Those trying to control the behaviour are primarily concerned with observable behaviour and pay very little attention to internal events such as a emotions and thinking. The idea is that through repeated conditioning using rewards or consequences, the appropriate behaviour will become an automatic pattern where the only thinking that is required is that tied to desiring a reward or fearing a consequence. Much of the theory behind this approach is rooted in animal studies and a belief that there is little or no difference between an animal or a human learns. What is missing from the theory is the concept of "free will" which happens is the space between stimulus and response that Covey talks about in the above quote. <br />
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The space between stimulus and response holds many opportunities for developing thinking, social, language, self-determination, and imagination skills. When we don't allow for that space in the way we interact with others we are unable to tap in to those opportunities. When we don't allow for that space we foster "learned helplessness" as it is in that space that people experience "free will" (aka self-determination).<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Supporting the Development of Emotional Competence</span></i></b></div>
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There is a process (outlined in the visual below), that begins at birth, and is facilitated by adults that moves a child toward "emotional competence". Emotional competence is defined as "having the functional skills to recognize, interpret, and respond constructively to emotions in oneself and others." (Saarni,1999)<br />
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Source: <a href="http://www.augcominc.com/userfiles/file/Development%20of%20Emotional%20Competencies%20in%20Children.pdf">Development of Emotional Competence in Children with CCN: Implications for Practice</a></div>
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In the book <i>The Development of Emotional Competence </i>(1999), Saarni outlines a developmental sequence that involves the following 8 skills, placing particular emphasis on how pivotal the role of language development for a child to achieve the third skill on the list.<br />
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<ol>
<li>Awareness of one's own emotions.</li>
<li>The ability to discern and understand other's emotions. </li>
<li>The ability to use vocabulary of emotion and expression. </li>
<li>The capacity for empathetic involvement.</li>
<li>The ability to differentiate internal subjective emotional experiences and external emotional expression. </li>
<li>The capacity for adaptive coping with aversive emotions and distressing circumstances.</li>
<li>Awareness of emotional communication within relationships.</li>
<li>The capacity for emotional self-efficacy. </li>
</ol>
<div>
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This is considered a developmental sequence so a student who has not yet mastered steps 1 through 5 would have difficulty with step 6. Step 4 and 5 require some pretty advanced thinking, language and communication skills. For a student who has difficulty with adaptive coping (Step 6) and has yet not mastered step 1-5, a plan would need to be put in place to both support the learning of previous steps and to reduce and support regulation during distressing circumstances. For a student with complex communication needs, this plan would need to include consideration for how the student will have access to both modeling and use of the language that is needed to develop these skills.<br />
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The following documents expand on the concepts of Emotional Competence and Internal Dialogue and offer suggestions for how to incorporate the learning of the above skills in to an AAC intervention plan.<br />
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<a href="http://augcominc.com/userfiles/file/Emotion_and_AAC(1).pdf">ISSAC 2010 Power Point of Presentation by Sarah Blackstone - Development of Emotional Competence in AAC: An Area that Deserves Our Attention</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.augcominc.com/userfiles/file/Development%20of%20Emotional%20Competencies%20in%20Children.pdf">Development of Emotional Competencies in Children with CCN: Implications for Practice and Research - Power Point Presentation (Blackstone, Wilkinson, Thistle, Rangel, Epstein, Feldman)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.augcominc.com/newsletters/index.cfm/newsletter_12.pdf">Augmentative Communication News December 2004 Issue on Internal Dialogue</a><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Communication Support Plan Instead of a Behaviour Support Plan</span></i></b></div>
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When a child is learning to communicate they move from non-symbolic to symbolic communication. Non-symbolic communication includes gestures, facial expressions, and movement patterns. Symbolic language includes things like spoken words, written words, use of pictures on a communication system..etc. Symbolic communication allows an individual to communicate with a variety of different people, across time and in a variety of different spaces/contexts. (Source: <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/augcomm/03_cimodel/commind2a_emerging.htm">http://depts.washington.edu/augcomm/03_cimodel/commind2a_emerging.htm</a>).<br />
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Bringing teams that support children/students with CCN together to increase awareness of the current forms and intents of non-symbolic communication (including those that team members may label as "bad" or "inappropriate" behaviours) positions the team to be intentional about next steps for supporting the emotional, social and communication development of the student/child. By creating a "communication" plan, rather than a "behaviour" plan from this information, teams are able to focus their efforts on developing the skills in a student/child that will allow him/her to eventually manage themselves rather than putting their effort in to trying to manage them externally.<br />
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Here is a possible document that can be used for this: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxGmSYp3oABNSWhJeGJPeEhxaTQ/view?usp=sharing">Communication Support Plan</a>. The first column lists a variety of communicative purposes to help frame the group discussion. The second column would include a description of what the student/child does and what we interpret that action as meaning. The third column is to used to ensure that all team members are on the same page in regards to responding to actions in a way that will not inhibit communication growth. If the behaviors/actions that come up during this discussion are unsafe, a proactive safety management plan would need to be considered. The last two columns look at ideas on how to grow skills, language and communication. When looking at the column related to emotional learning, it would be important for all teams members to be aware of what where the student is developmentally related to 8 skills listed above. Example: if the student is at step 3, it might be worth naming emotions with the communication system related with different activities so that the student comes to make the connection.</div>
Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-60912106301528704412015-06-28T10:40:00.000-06:002016-12-25T09:22:51.889-07:00CCN Alphabet: Aided Language <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Aided Language Stimulation (ALS) </b>is a "language stimulation approach in which the facilitator points out picture symbols on the child's communication display in conjunction with all ongoing language stimulation. Through the modeling process, the concept of using pictorial symbols interactively is demonstrated for the individual" (Goossens, Crain, & Elder, 1992). This approach is based on the assumption that children with complex communication needs will learn to use their devices or language systems through natural interactions in a language immersion environment just as other children learn to communicate using spoken words.<br />
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In order to use an ALS approach, the student and communication partner needs to have available to him/her a language system that has enough generative language vocabulary to be able to say whatever that students wants to say at any given time. <br />
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The following video outlines a few key concepts related to ALS:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vUY6oQoSTXw" width="420"></iframe></center>
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When we model the use of a student's language system, students learn how to use real words in real situations throughout their day, a wide range of reasons for communicating (as we model more than just asking for our wants and needs throughout the day), how to put words and word parts together to provide more clarity to what is being said, how to use the actual device (example: navigating through the folders in the system), and how to repair communication breakdowns or errors. Students come to understand language and communication over time through observation and interaction.<br />
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Learning to use a communication system for both the student and the communication partner is like learning a new language and so it is important to also have a systematic approach for teaching and focusing in on language and communication skills. Two possible approaches are (1) Focused Aided Language Stimulation to teach and reinforce new words, or (2) Aided Language Stimulation based on focusing in for defined periods of time on different functions of communication. <br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Focused Aided Language Stimulation</span></i></b><br />
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Focused language stimulation (Dirkinson, Cote & Smith, 1993) is an approach that involves direct teaching of new words followed by intentional and repetitive use of those words in a variety of natural contexts. The general approach to focused language stimulation is outlined is <a href="http://praacticalaac.org/praactical/tell-me-about-it-focused-language-stimulation-in-aac-vocabulary-teaching/">this PrAACtical AAC blog post</a> as follows:<br />
<ol>
<li>Introduce the new word(s) using focused aided language stimulation.</li>
<li>Teach the new word(s) with explicit instruction activities. </li>
<li>Elaborate on the new word meanings with engaging practice activities. </li>
<li>Provide repeated exposure to the new word(s) on an ongoing basis.</li>
<li>Check for understanding and reteach, as necessary.</li>
</ol>
One place to start with Focused Aided Language Stimulation is to teach the most commonly used words, known as core words (look for further explanation of this when we get to V - Vocabulary). Below, I have included a few links to sources that can be used to better understand and to provide resources for the teaching of more common core words.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryda0ViRekU&feature=youtu.be">Dynamic Learning Maps Video on Core Words</a>: The beginning of this video offers some great background information about core vocabulary. At the 10:30 mark, the first 40 recommended words in groups of 4 are shared. This list could serve as a way to decide on which groups of words to introduce first when doing Focused Aided Language Stimulation. Between 11:50 and 20:30, there is discussion and several demonstrations related to direct teaching of core words.<br />
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<a href="https://www.aaclanguagelab.com/resources/CoreStarter">AAC Language Lab Core Word Starter Pack</a>: Includes lesson plans, books and activities that can be used to interactively teach some of the first core words. Many of the words are "mediating words" - words that allow the student to gain control over his/her environment.<br />
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<a href="http://www.patinsproject.com/trainop_files/BethA1.pdf">PRC Core Vocabulary Studies and Core Word Activities Handout</a>: Information and ideas for teaching and incorporating 11 high power core words in to a variety of natural activities. <br />
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<a href="http://thespeechroomnews.com/2015/06/aac-core-word-of-the-week.html">AAC Core Word of the Week Packages by Jenna Rayburn</a><span id="goog_1594161374"></span><span id="goog_1594161375"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>: This is a link to a blog post by Jenna Rayburn where she outlines what her Core Word of the Week Packages are. These packages include materials and ideas for focusing in on a new word each week. At this point, she is still developing them. The blog post links to the Teachers Pay Teachers store where the first kit is available. Note that there is a cost associated with getting this packages.<br />
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<a href="https://www.mydynavox.com/">My TobiiDynavox Website</a> Core Lesson Plans: For those who are using the Compass App or the T-series devices, there are core word lesson plans related to the first 30 core words on the support website. Included for each word is a parent letter, ideas for teaching the word, printable books that can be used to reinforce the word, and ideas for implementing the word in to a variety of activities and school subjects. <br />
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Beyond teaching the first 10-40 core words, Focused Aided Language Stimulation can be used for any words. As a parent, the idea that using a communication device is similar to using a new language really hit home with me a few weeks back. My son is 16 and in the past year, as a result of moving to focusing on having access to a robust language system, core vocabulary and generative language approaches, he has started to play with language a lot more. I am also seeing him trying to explain more of what he wants to say to me. Some time ago, he managed to explain to me that he wanted to go to a hotel by pushing a series of words - "want", "car", "swim", "sleep" and then going upstairs and getting a suitcase and bringing it down to me. I figured out he needed the word hotel on his device and he is now able to ask repeatedly to go to a hotel. A few weeks later, he came to me again and was trying to tell me something else. He then put a series of words together "want", "car", "hotel", "eat", "no sleep". Because we have been doing this guessing game over so many things lately, I was able to fairly quickly figure out that he wanted to go to a restaurant as we often go out to eat when we are at a hotel. The word restaurant was already in his system but he had not yet mapped the symbol/location to the meaning of the word. Once I showed him, he was then able to use that word when he needed it. The reality is that he has known the difference between the spoken word restaurant and hotel for many years (as he could demonstrate the difference by signing eat or sleep when the word was said) but he had not yet learned how to say restaurant in the new language that he is learning. For me, this experience spoke to the need to ensure that I am doing some focused teaching or modeling of words that are associated with the activities and discussions that he is involved in. When thinking about school, it speaks to needing to think about the vocabulary associated with the classes he is taking and ensure that he can say it in the language that he is using (the AAC system). </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Aided Language Stimulation - Focusing on Functions</span></i> </b></div>
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Aided Language Stimulation can be overwhelming for communication partners because it is like learning a new language and learning a new language can be frustrating. Having a systematic plan that involves manageable steps assists both the student and the communication partners in the process. The above approach of focusing in on words is one way to get started. Another way is through focusing in on functions, teaching the words associated with a given function and then being intentional about modeling that function for a set period of time. Once their is comfort with that (i.e. it becomes more natural), then move on to a new function.<br />
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The PODD (Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display) language system lends itself nicely to this approach as the pragmatic branch starters at the beginning of the book can be used to decide which function to focus in on for each stretch of time. The picture below shows the different communicative functions that might be focused on from page 2 of a PODD book.<br />
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So for example, for the first few weeks, teams might just focus in on making complaining comments by using the "do something" branch and then following the links to state what they want to do or what they are going to do. For the next few weeks, they might focus on "Somethings wrong" and then when things go wrong (or when things are set up to go wrong) that branch can be used to talk about it. <br />
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Not all language systems are arranged in the same way as PODD but the different reasons we use to communicate can still be used to frame the introduction of new aspects of the language system a student is using. The Pixon project contains 12 learning modules that each focus on a different communicative function. Each module outlines core words to focus in on as well as provides ideas on teaching and using the words in a variety of natural contexts. Below are links to two different manuals that include these 12 modules with a few minor differences to them. The first module is very similar to the many of the links as that module is related to mediating and focuses in on many of the same words as what make up the first 11-40 core words.<br />
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<a href="http://aacbasics.wikispaces.com/file/view/Pixon+Manual.pdf">Pixon Language and Learning Activity Notebook (PLLAN)</a><br />
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<a href="http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO81r1FJBVWg4ApzHrFAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTByb2lvbXVuBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1435534709/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2ftouchchatapp.com%2ffiles%2fPixon-60-Manual-02-06-14.pdf/RK=0/RS=k3beT1pQXwUsvm5ovYZ3FmKREdI-">Pixon 60 TouchChatHD App Clinical Manual</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>So how does this play out in actual practice?</i> </b> </span></div>
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Four years ago, when we at the tail end of being a self-contained classroom, we had the staff in the room, parents, and some home support workers trained in PODD and after this, we began our first attempted at Aided Language Stimulation. It was not a smooth process and there has been a lot of learning of learning in the past four years... and there is still much to be learned... but as we have dipped our toes in to it, the benefits of this approach are being seen. What is also being seen is that it is a process and that it is important to have some sort of systematic approach in place that will allow the communication partners to learn to do aided language stimulation. Finally, it is becoming clear that this is a method that can only be used if the needed vocabulary is actually available. </div>
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Jane Farrall just posted an excellent article outlining the process implementing the use of iPads in a specialist school where she talks about moving from having the iPads available to use of Aided Language Stimulation to the use of Focus Aided Language Stimulation and the impact that it had on the development of language and communication skills in the students in the classroom. <a href="http://www.janefarrall.com/implementation-of-ipads-for-aac-in-a-specialist-school/">Check it out on her blog here!</a></div>
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-40391422342597304572015-06-26T12:08:00.000-06:002018-08-10T23:41:33.953-06:00CCN Alphabet - Sharing What I'm Learning About Supporting Students with Complex Communication Needs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. There were many times this year when I sat down to write a blog post but then the words just didn't seem to come. It wasn't that there was nothing to write, but perhaps more than so many of the things that I have been thinking about for the last few years starting to become consolidated in practice and in the time I wanted more to step back and experience it and let it evolve rather than to wrap too many words around it. </div>
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When I adopted my son 16 years ago, I knew that we were beginning a "special needs journey" but I did not know that we were also beginning a "complex communication needs journey". In those early days, I imagined a very different life for both him and I as his childhood years have unfolded. </div>
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When I made the decision to move from "general" to "special" education 9 years ago, I also knew I was on a new journey, but, again, I was unable to imagine what parts of that journey would become my North Star. </div>
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There are events that stand out now looking back but more so then the events, what stands out is a deepening awareness of how our knowledge evolves; How the way we see things changes as what we know and experience changes. </div>
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Up until five years ago, the work I was doing around communication with students with complex communication needs was pretty restricted to things like sign language, PECs, eye-gaze boards with only single layers, yes/no choices...etc. The work we were doing around "literacy" with this population was also restricted mostly to "literacy experiences" but we dabbled a bit in sight word reading programs. The school experiences of the students that I worked with were also restricted a majority of the time by the walls of our self-contained classroom. </div>
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The journey began with feelings of discomfort that I could not put my finger on, and then opportunities began to open up - a 2-day PODD training by Linda Burkhart, Literacy and AAC courses by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver, Communication and Literacy workshops by Caroline Musslewhite, taking my Masters in Inclusive Education and Neuroscience, support from some to educational practice away from a self-contained classroom and toward supported inclusion in age-appropriate general education settings, Alberta's Literacy for All initiatives...etc. Through it all, the awareness of importance of literacy, language, and communication in reference to a person's autonomy and quality of life has grown. </div>
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In the middle of this growing awareness are explorations on how to make it all happen...which leads to more learning and more awareness. We have, by no stretch of the imagine, figured it all out. I'm pretty sure we have still just only seen the very tip of the iceberg. But we are also making progress and learning a few things along the way.</div>
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This summer, I want to do a series of blog posts and share what I (as a result of many interactions with students, parents and professionals) have been learning and thinking about supporting students with complex communication needs (CCN). I thought to frame it in an alphabet style and do 26 posts - one for each letter of the alphabet - sharing these thoughts. Tomorrow, I will start with A...<br />
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<b><i>Links to Completed Posts in this Series</i></b><br />
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<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/06/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-alphabet-is.html">A is for Aided Language Stimulation</a> </div>
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<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/07/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-alphabet-b-is.html">B is for Behaviour</a><br />
<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/07/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-alphabet-c-is.html">C is for Communication Process</a><br />
<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/07/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-alphabet-d-is.html">D is for Descriptive Language</a><br />
<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2015/07/reflecting-on-2014-15-ccn-alphabet-e-is.html">E is for Engagement</a><br />
F is for Facilitators<br />
G is for Generative Language<br />
H is for "Helping"<br />
I is for Inclusion<br />
J is for "Just in Time"<br />
K is for Keyboard<br />
<a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2016/08/ccn-alphabet-language-of-control.html">L is for Language of Control</a><br />
M is for Motivation<br />
N is for Narrative Development<br />
O is for Opportunities<br />
P is for Play<br />
Q is for Qualified (Presume Competence)<br />
R is for Robust Language System<br />
S is for Self-Determination<br />
T is for Talk About<br />
U is for Urgency<br />
V is for Visual Supports<br />
W is for Wellness<br />
X is for Fix (Communication Repair)<br />
Y is for Yelling<br />
Z is for Zone of Proximal Development<br />
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-24216097891336881082014-12-30T10:27:00.001-07:002016-12-29T15:46:48.026-07:00One Word 2015 - Present <br />
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I've found it a bit more of a challenge to sit down and write lately. It is not that I do not have anything to say but more that I feel that there is so much to do that the time to sit and write is no longer there. I click almost daily on my blog and mean to write but then get sidetracked by something else. </div>
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It is taking some time to find a new balance to my life since finishing my masters in April. I didn't realize until it wasn't there anymore how all-consuming it became in the course of the three years. I needed time to recharge but I also needed time to process so much of what we had learned in that time.<br />
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Life is beginning to settle in to a new way of being both personally and professionally. I am becoming more comfortable with what my job has evolved in to. I am finding time again to be the parent that I want to be to Mikey. And I am also finding time for me. </div>
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I have, for some time, been clear in what I believe in and what I want to stand for but only in the past months do I feel that I can take the complexity of it all and find and articulate the simplicity of what it means right now. </div>
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I'm not really one for resolutions but am big on reflections. There are points in any year that invite reflection and I find this time of year to be one of those points for me... not because we magically change the number behind the month on the calendar but because it comes right after a relaxing time of reconnecting with family and friends and right before my son's birthday (January 3). It's a time to reflect and reconnect to others but also to myself. Instead of resolutions, it makes sense to me to think about the word that I want to guide my life for right now and this year "present" just seemed the right word. </div>
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Change is wonderful and exciting and it does energize me but you can get so caught up in what the dream is for the future that you forget to stop and recognize the parts of the dream that you are living right now. Blogging, for me, has always been part of being in the moment as it is provides the opportunity to reflect and so it is my hope that 2015 will bring with it a bit more regular posts from me :). </div>
<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-14476592609499862302014-09-25T10:40:00.000-06:002014-09-27T15:25:11.371-06:00Together We Are Stronger <br />
<i>"The 'allegory of the long spoons' teaches us that when we struggle to
feed only ourselves, everyone goes hungry. But when we focus on our
neighbour’s hunger, we discover there are ways to feed everyone."</i><br />
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Weaknesses (spoons that are too long to reach our mouths) can inhibit our daily functioning if we think only in terms of trying to feed ourselves with what we currently individually have in our hands. If we step outside the box though and consider other strategies and other ways to use the resources that we collectively have, we can find ways that we can all be fed. When we remove students whose spoons are too long for them to feed themselves from their natural communities,
we also remove all the solutions and stabilizing factors that exist within that collective
community... which affects all members of the community. <br />
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Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-62923220762529359422014-08-14T20:05:00.001-06:002014-08-14T20:05:49.050-06:00"There was nothing that set him off. It just came out of nowhere!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-38164125906970166292014-08-13T11:16:00.001-06:002014-08-13T11:42:03.305-06:00The Mystery at Camp ALEC - Students and Teachers Seeing Themselves as Thinkers - Part 2<br />
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Note that this post is a further expansion on <a href="http://eliminatingthebox.blogspot.ca/2014/08/the-mystery-at-camp-alec-students-and.html">my earlier post outlining the Mystery at Camp ALEC</a>. The experience that we had at Camp ALEC has gotten me thinking a lot about inference and how language and communication development impact the ability to gain skills in inference. <br />
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"Inference is the mental process by which we reach a conclusion based on a specific evidence. Inferences are the stock and trade of detectives examining clues, of doctors diagnosing diseases, and of car mechanics repairing engine problems. We infer motives, purpose, and intentions."(<a href="http://www.criticalreading.com/inference_process.htm">http://www.criticalreading.com/inference_process.htm</a>) <br />
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Inference requires reading the ideas that are behind words. Both listening and reading should be active, reflective, problem solving processes. Listening and reading require simultaneously taking in language (words) and constructing meaning about what those words mean in a given context. <br />
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Why was it that these campers, who were all proficient communicators and who all had access to unlimited vocabulary through speech or their devices, were able to engage in a process of inquiry in to "who done it" around this poster? Could a camper who did not have the autonomy that comes with access to an unlimited number of words have engaged in this process? How did the understanding of language lead these campers to solving the mystery? <br />
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In this process, we needed to take what was "literally" presented to us and use that as a starting point for our detective work. Early in the process, the campers tried to link what was being said to who might say those things and to explain why they might say them. Throughout the process, they found hints or had hints point out in the language that wrapped itself around the experience. They keyed in to the ideas on the poster trying to think through if it might be someone who had a potbelly and hair on his knuckles that would write such a thing, thinking through the sarcastic tone and the people know who might use that tone with their words, trying to remember the pronoun (we) that was used when they believed they had figured it out...etc. <br />
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Understanding more than what is literally on the paper and going beyond just laughing at and moving on, required access to language (words), understanding of the meaning of words and phrases that were being used, understanding the social conventions that wrapped around the way we used both oral and written language through the process, and understanding the context that all these words were sitting in the middle of. Even their final solution to get their last suspect to confess came down to the fact that they had spent some time with him during the investigation and believed that taking a round-about approach of smothering him with hugs and coffee until he confessed might work better than straight out asking had. <br />
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If I were given a "do-over" of this mystery experience at Camp ALEC, I think it would have been good to give it a bit more of an formal organizational structure by using a K-W-H-L chart. Although we went through all of these phases, it would have been nice to have this all more formally organized so that we could reference back to it as we went through the process. It would have also set the stage a bit better for wrapping up the experience. <br />
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I included the "teachers seeing themselves as thinker" part in title of this series of post for a reason. We came in to each of these days with what we thought would be interesting and useful literacy activities for the campers we were working with but in the middle of their excitement about this mystery, we had to scrap our plans and go with where they were leading us. At one point when we tried to return to the activities we had planned, one student interrupted the lesson and asked when we were going to get back to the mystery... and then typed in to her AAC device... "I'm in to that." <br />
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I'm in to that... These are perhaps the most powerful words that can ever come from a learners "mouth". <br />
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I came away understanding more deeply that if we want our students to engage in the active in-the-moment meaning making that is required for them to become a proficient reader, we might have to be willing to engage in the same process in the middle of the learning experiences that we are co-creating with our students. It come down to defining our purpose. If we know what we are trying to accomplish we can be open to the possibility of taking different paths to get there.<br />
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Our goal with these campers was to have fun (it was camp after all) and to gather the information for the informal literacy assessment that we were doing with these students throughout the week. We needed to gain understanding around these students print processing skills, their language and reading comprehension skills, their word attack skills, and their writing skills. We could have done this in a million different ways. Doing it this way meant that we didn't have to worry about motivating the students because they were doing that part themselves. We could then focus on engaging with them as they displayed the skills we were trying to assess in the middle of the mystery.<br />
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It didn't end with this mystery. In our work room, we ended up having campers who were reading of listening to mysteries to find language that would reveal clues, we had students who were creating clues for others to find the mystery word they were thinking of, we had students who came to understand revision through thinking of themselves as a detective looking for ways to add more necessary information to their writing. The potential around it is only limited to the length of time that the theme would remain a motivating factor to the campers (and the limited time we had with the campers). Did we capitalize on all the learning potential of this experience? No. We did not. But because of this experience, the next time a student-motivated learning opportunity presents itself, we will have more to draw from and capitalize a bit more on the potential. It was about being a community of learners. Perhaps this was part of the beauty of merging the literal role of being a student (taking the course) and being a teacher (working with the campers).<br />
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Student engagement is a challenge for us as teachers... particularly when we put time and energy in to planning learning experiences that we believe will be interesting and engaging for students. If they don't engage, we sometimes want to respond by trying to <i>make them</i> engage. As teachers we are constantly thinking and responding to what is going on with our students. We understand the importance of focused "on-task behaviour" (aka engagement) and we want our students to learn. It's why we teach. We know that if students are not engaged with the work they are doing, there isn't really going to be much chance of authentic learning. We sometimes even define students who are motivated by what we have designed/planned as being students who "want to learn" and those who are not motivated as "not wanting to learn". Sometimes in the process of wanting to ensure engagement in learning, we go down another path and decide that the student simply doesn't have the capacity to get anything out of what we are doing in our classrooms. We focus on the outward actions (behaviors)... the things we can see... the tangible results they can give us... and we end up putting our energy into the product rather than the process.<br />
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Sometimes when we are learning things... like the process and thinking and language involved in inference... we might not have a nice clean product at the end. It might simply be that we are able to have a conversation that allows us to fill in that last line of the KWHL chart... and then maybe someday when a lesson is being done on inference, background knowledge can be activated as a result of the experience that took place at an earlier time. <br />
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There are many questions worth considering. What in this can be applied to classroom where there are 20 to 30 students? Are there kids who actually don't want to learn? If there are, what would cause that? Are there kids who really not able to learn in the context of the classroom? Do all kids need to be learning the same thing? Perhaps most important, when we are challenged by a lack of motivation... Are we aiming to increase thinking, engagement and learning or are we aiming to decrease or eliminate non-engaged or distracting "behaviour"? Is there a difference? Can we actually force kids to learn? Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-91313559972600306252014-08-12T11:43:00.003-06:002014-08-12T11:43:29.130-06:00More Thoughts from Camp ALEC - Language Based Literacy Skills<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was introduced to the "Whole to Part" literacy framework during the first course that I took from Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver a couple of years ago. When things have time to stew and you have a variety of experiences with what yo have learned, a different level of understanding starts to emerge. I think that part of this is because some of this process involves unlearning some of the things you already "know". <br />
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We have traditionally associated early literacy success with alphabetic and sight word knowledge and as children enter school we look to support their reading development through phonics, spelling and decoding instruction. Many of us remember doing endless workbook pages that reflect this. <br />
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The role that oral language plays in literacy development is often given less explicit focus in early literacy learning. We expect children to master "the basics" before we tackle oral language, vocabulary, sentence structure or comprehension. <br />
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We are more aware now that for students to develop literacy skills, we need to pay explicit attention to both print-based literacy skills (alphabet, phonics, spelling, decoding...etc.) and language-based literacy skills. <br />
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Print-based literacy skills include alphabetic letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness (the ability to sound out words), sight word knowledge, and phonics knowledge. Developing these skills leads to a student who will be able to spell and decode single words. These are obviously important skills to develop in the journey to literacy but they are only a very small piece of the literacy puzzle. <br />
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Language-based literacy skills include vocabulary, semantics, sentence structure, grammar, oral language (narrative skills), sequencing, organizing, and comprehension. The development of these skills lead to being able to express oneself in writing and read a variety of text with comprehension.<br />
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Print-based and language-based literacy skills fit in the areas of Word Identification and Listening Comprehension respectively in Cunningham's Whole to Part Model of Reading Comprehension (graphic above). Having low language skills does not prevent a student from learning how
to do the mechanical act of reading. It will, however, impact one's
ability to interpret, predict, reason or infer information from text. <br />
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I've heard the statement made by many teachers that up to grade 2 or 3 students "learn to read" and then after that they "read to learn". This statement implies that the definitions of "reading" and "decoding" are not all that different. It also implies that one must be able to read to a certain level before one begins to work on literacy. It also means that when a child is struggling to read in the early grades, we simply assume that it is as a result of lagging print-based literacy skills. A quick search of reading programs for struggling readers reveals the steps that we can take to get a child reading... <br />
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I'm not arguing that a student's struggle to learn to read might be a result of lagging print based literacy skills but working with students who have language and communication delays or impairments has made it even more clear that the reason a student is not making gains in reading skills may be related to something other than these print-based literacy skills that we so often globally fall back on with struggling readers. <br />
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For students with complex communication needs, we need to pay particular attention to language based literacy skills and we can't wait until they have acquired the ability "to read" before we start focusing our efforts on developing these skills. We need to embed and connect communication with text through shared reading experiences very early on. We need to ensure that in the process of reading books with a student we are connecting what is in the book to their world and possibly even to their way of processing the world. We need to find ways to naturally embed pointing out the text structures that will be needed as a student moves from emergent to conventional literacy. We need to speak to the student about the text using the mode of communication we expect them to speak to us with about the text so that some day they can follow our model and be able to actively engage with text. We need to ensure that "reading" is far more than memorizing meaningless, disconnected words and completing endless workbook pages. Reading connected text with a student offers us many opportunities to work on reading, language, and communication skills. We need to pay attention to words in all three frames - in text, connected to meaning, and used for social purposes - to move along the literacy continuum. Social interaction (communication) and text are the sources that we can draw language from to make connection and meaning (which leads to comprehension). <br />
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I have not ignored the bottom part of the Whole to Part visual. Print Processing (what we loosely refer to as "fluency") is another obvious potential area of struggle for a student who has complex communication needs. Developing inner speech and projecting prosody are skills that must be learned through modeling and interaction.<br />
<br />The bottom line is simply that rather than starting by breaking apart and teaching each part one by one in sequence, we need to take a comprehensive approach to literacy and communication learning. These skills sit along a continuum and what we are aiming for is movement along that continuum. Starting by knowing the whole and working on the whole then positions us to look at the parts and figure out which part might need more attention at any given time to ensure that students keep moving along that continuum.Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-64121635604844364732014-08-11T08:20:00.000-06:002014-08-12T08:12:04.260-06:00Coming Full Circle: Reflecting on Camp ALEC <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been a week now since I have been home from a ten-day trip to Philadelphia to be a part of Camp ALEC. I am still challenged to put in to words a reflection of the camp. I'm sure it is going to take more than one post when all is said and done.<br />
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Just to give a big of background... Tina Moreno, one of the two ladies that made this camp happen, explained the camp perfectly in her blog post yesterday:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This was the first Camp ALEC and the first camp of its kind offered in
the United States. Together, we gathered 15 campers and 14 educators,
speech-language pathologists and school administrators from the U.S. and
Canada at Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center in Norristown, PA
for a week of reading and writing assessment and interventions–plus a
typical summer camp experience. Each camper received a total of 17.5
hours of individual and small group assessment and instruction
throughout the week. The goals of Camp ALEC included building the
skills of the adults who participated and determining how the campers... can be supported in further developing their reading and
writing skills during the coming school year. At the conclusion of
camp, parents had an opportunity to have a conference with their child’s
educator, as well as Karen and David, and left with a report detailing
the results of their informal reading and writing assessment and
instructional recommendations. Our hope is that parents will share
those recommendations with teachers so that they can implement
evidence-based instructional strategies that will ensure greater
progress in school. (<a href="http://voices4all.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/what-i-learned-from-camp">http://voices4all.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/what-i-learned-from-camp</a>/)</blockquote>
In June 2011, I attended the kick off to the <a href="http://abliteracyforall.wikispaces.com/">Literacy for All </a>community of practice in Alberta. It was the first time I was exposed to the Whole to Part framework and to the resource <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Children-Disabilities-Reading-Writing-Four-Blocks%C2%AE/dp/1600221254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407763209&sr=8-1&keywords=children+with+disabilities+reading+and+writing+the+4+block+way">Children with Disabilities: Reading and Writing the Four Blocks Way</a>. In August 2011, <a href="http://www.lburkhart.com/index.html">Linda Burkhart</a> came to our area and did a two-day <a href="http://www.novita.org.au/Content.aspx?p=683">PODD (Pragmatic Organizational Dynamic Display)</a> workshop. The combination of being a part of this community of practice and gaining a deeper understanding of language and communication through Linda Burkhart's workshop and the fact that we were trying to figure out how to create more inclusive programs for students with complex communication needs in our division projected me down a path of exploration related to language/communication, literacy, inclusion and empowerment. <br />
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In May of 2012, I flew to Toronto and attended a week long intensive <a href="http://bridges-canada.com/BTL2012/literacy-and-aac-course.aspx">Litearcy in AAC course</a> taught by from <a href="http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds/faculty/erickson">Karen Erickson</a> and <a href="http://www.litdis.com/">David Koppenhaver</a>. Although I learned much about literacy during this camp, the context that I was in the middle of in regards to being in the beginning stages of a Masters program in Inclusive Education and Neuroscience, our changing focus for the students that I had been teaching in a self-contained classroom and this immersion in information about language/communication and literacy, drove me to start thinking more deeply about learning more generally rather than just focusing in on all the amazing literacy and communication content. <br />
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It was becoming clear to me that although I had been teaching for almost 20 years at this point, I had never really taken the time to time to define or understand learning. I had thought more about the content I was trying to pour in to students then designing and facilitating exploration and discovery. It was actually only as I made the shift from general to special education that I started to see the difference between training/teaching and learning.<br />
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Sadly, this is probably because in special education we may have gotten trapped in believing that learning is rigidly linear, that learning with accommodation is not "real learning", that people with intellectual disabilities learn differently than those without (i.e. need everything broken down in to small pieces), and/or that it is more important for people with intellectual disabilities be drilled through "life skills" programs than to learn curriculum-driven academics. Rather than focusing on the function of what is meant to be learned, we focus on the broken apart steps/skills and/or the content and we conclude there is nothing that a student with an intellectual disability could get out of it. We don't recognize the opportunities that exist if we shift to focusing on function of what is happening in the learning experience. We want immediate tangible results so rather than engaging in the sometimes slow and frustrating process of finding ways to break down barriers to curriculum-driven learning, we fall back on a reductionist behaviour training approach and end up trapping these students in a world that will be hard to ever expand because expanding works inside-out rather than outside-in. <br />
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In the middle of everything that I was learning and experiencing, the question of how we shift the paradigm and start thinking about learning from the inside out instead of the outside in for and with this population of students emerged. It seemed there were a million separate pieces to answer... that maybe I the answer would never be one that could be clearly articulated because it was just too complex. <br />
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Training is often a passive process and is rooted in compliance. It is often a one-size-fits-all process. In education we like to train because the result of training is behaviour or simple memorization and we can objectively measure behaviour and memorization. We also like to train because we view it as an efficient process as we can "reach" a whole bunch of students at once. Training is an outside-in process. It is driven by those doing the training. Training results in putting our effort and resources in to managing and directing other human beings. The realm of training is limited... particularly to those who need support or accommodation to engage in the process of learning. <br />
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Learning is about developing and empowering people from the inside out. Learning is about the individual... but it also about the collective as learning is social and interactive process. There is a recognition that each person will learn something different from an experience because each person comes to the experience with their own unique background. Learning is messy. Learning can be noisy and chaotic. Learning can be frustrating. Learning might not result in a final product. We ultimately cannot actual control other people's learning. We can only create the conditions for it and support it. Learning is about design. Learning results in putting our energy and resources in to design and support and the growing of other human beings as individuals. The realm of learning is unlimited as long as one has the facilitated freedom and the literacy and communication skills that are critical to the learning process. <br />
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I have much to write about from this past week at Camp ALEC but I'm starting with the fact that this feeling of upset... of cognitive dissonance... of all of this being too big to manage or do anything about or to articulate... that I have been feeling since I sat in that first meeting for the Literacy for All Community of Practice three years ago is starting to subside to a manageable level. I am beginning to see the path through the forest. This camp allowed me to work directly with kids who were developing (or had developed) strong language/communication and literacy skills. I could clearly see how this is a starting point for all the other things that are part of the forest. These kids were empowered and driven and full of life... and the life they were full of was very much their own. Their futures were not limited to what others had decided for them even though they relied on others for care-related needs.<br />
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At the end of the week I was sitting at dinner with one of the campers and the same lady (Tina) whose blog I linked to above. This camper had known Tina for years. Tina had a son who was attending the camp who was close in age to this camper. This young lady was explaining to Tina how she needed to step back and let her son be independent of her at camp. She stated that he is a young man and he needs to be able to make decisions and function on his own without his mother's interference. I was able to get to know Tina's son through the week as he was one of the campers and she clearly did not need this lecture. Her son was an amazing and independent young man. This conversation was more one that this young lady needed so that she could consolidate the empowering experience she had during her first whole week on her own. She said it so passionately. She clearly was not just reciting rhetoric. She knew this as a result of consolidating her personal experiences. This ability to articulate thoughts like these comes from focusing on authentic language and literacy learning. It is not just about the words that are coming out... It is about the fact that she would be able to expand on and defend what she is saying because she clearly understood and owned it. She had made her own personal connections rather than just reciting what had been dumped in to her.<br />
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This past May I completed my Capstone project for my Masters program. At the time I was trying to answer the question of how we create cohesive and continuous inclusive programs for students with complex needs. When I was done writing the paper I mostly just felt frustrated. I felt that, although there was a lot of great content in the paper, it was still too big and too scattered and too overwhelming to figure how to move all of the theory in the paper in to practice in reality. I could not see the path in the forest... it was all still trees and underbrush. <br />
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If I were to write the paper now, after spending this time at Camp ALEC, I would narrow it down to focusing in on building solid communication and literacy learning opportunities because it is now clear to me that everything else that was in the paper will expands out from there for these students. If we get that piece right with them, they will have the skills and understanding needed to make the other pieces right themselves. <br />
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It amazes me how dynamic and non-linear (and exciting) the process of learning and understanding can be. The experience of these past three years has helped me to more deeply understand how what we key in to and process and integrate at any given time is extremely dependent on the background that we bring to learning. Each time we are exposed to new ideas we will see something different because we come to them from a different starting point than the last time. Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437247507494662689.post-57408717197308467562014-08-10T17:10:00.000-06:002014-08-12T08:13:12.716-06:00The Mystery at Camp ALEC - Students and Teachers Seeing Themselves as Thinkers - Part 1<br />
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I will start by just telling the story of what unfolded with the group of students that we were working with at Camp ALEC. Over the next couple of days I will share some thoughts related to the story... <br />
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On Tuesday (Day 2) of Camp ALEC the group we were working with began working on a writing project that began by examining Shel Silverstein's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/597309-if-you-want-to-marry-me-here-s-what-you-ll-have"><i>If You Want to Marry Me</i></a>. Before reading the poem, we generate a list titled <i>If you want to be my boyfriend...</i> Our plan for that day was to make a comparison between our list and the list included in the poem. We were thinking that we would revisit the same text the next day and use it a model for writing (a mentor text). We were going to have students define what they felt various people in their life should do in their lives.<br />
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It seemed an innocent enough learning activity... but the next morning we came in to the room that we were doing our literacy sessions in and found a new poster on the wall...<br />
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When the campers arrived and saw the poster we began the day by wondering who might possibly have broken into our word room and posted the poster over ours. The other group of campers that was working in our room joined in our pondering and before we knew it, we were immersed in "a mystery" and statements like "this room is on lock down" and "we need writing samples from all of the potential suspects" were being thrown around. The Mystery of Camp ALEC had begun.<br />
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That day we did a lot of thinking and writing related to how we could figure out who did it as well as what we would do once we figured out who it was. We focused both on possible clues as well as investing through having conversations. We thought through what "interrogation" questions might help us in finding out more information. We recognized very early on that just asking someone if they did it wouldn't really get us any closer to solving the mystery. <br />
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We left camp that day not yet having solved the mystery and we decided we would revisit it the next day and think about what our next step was...<br />
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When we arrived (the literacy counselors) arrived at camp the next morning, this is what the entrance to our work room looked like...<br />
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We had to wait until the campers arrived before we could go in as we were informed that it was the campers themselves who had done this and not the "mystery people" who had put up the poster the day before. Once they arrived, there was much giggling and excitement as we went in to find what they had done. This is what we found...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwWvYl_lQRZ9VghJR_pDw0yWq1Z9Yfgm5ufTNDs2pKNZi84bFefuNPxKP82U9vgkwaid3NIn7q_b6cJuy9n4SSDHQgwTUnpdii_1WNeA40sXG3Lens9c3EUQZ9V-v4nDnCYaiPhlzWegg/s1600/Thursday2+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwWvYl_lQRZ9VghJR_pDw0yWq1Z9Yfgm5ufTNDs2pKNZi84bFefuNPxKP82U9vgkwaid3NIn7q_b6cJuy9n4SSDHQgwTUnpdii_1WNeA40sXG3Lens9c3EUQZ9V-v4nDnCYaiPhlzWegg/s1600/Thursday2+(2).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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After some giggling and wondering, we returned back to trying to solve the mystery of the day before. At this point, one of the campers piped up and told us that Karen (one of the instructors at the camp) had "slipped her lips" and told them she was involved in the poster we had come in to the day before. The campers called her and called on this. Apparently when they were being hands for the campers the night before and were asked to put the poster up, the question of where was asked and they said where and Karen responded with a clarifying question of "Oh do you want us to put it up over the poster we put up." All the campers picked up on it and they thought the mystery was solved but when they called Karen on it that morning she pointed out that she had used a pronoun they needed to think about. When they remembered her using the word "we" they needed to then figure out who the other person was. They decided it had to be other the instructor (someone they had suspected right from when they asked him to give a handwriting sample and he wrote a sample that was obviously not his own). Having exhausted all of their interrogation questions, they decided to take another approach and give David (the other instructor) hugs and coffee (it was morning and it had been a long week) until he admitted to doing it.<br />
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The mystery was solved.<br />
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But there was still the poster we had found that morning to figure out. We did eventually figure it out when we decided we needed to gather all the pictures together and write about the steps we had gone through to get to the point of solving the mystery. At that point we were given pictures of the group of campers working with Karen and Dave (and Alison) on creating the last poster in the series of posters. We had hard evidence of who had done it and the campers could not believe that they had been "ratted out" by the person who gave us the pictures for this final project. <br />
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The week unfortunately ended too quickly as, although we had time to reflect on and sequence the the process, we ran out of time to reflect more deeply on the thinking process. More to come soon on my thinking processes around this experience... Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506619008552501153noreply@blogger.com0