Denn,+Ashley,+Speech+or+Language+Impairment

__**9Something I want you to know about me:**__ I have lived my whole life in Medford, Oregon. I have never wanted to move away or get out of this town. I'm good with staying in my comfort zone. Even though I like to stay in my comfort zone when it comes to my living situation, I love to go on adventures. I love to get out of town for a day, weekend, or even a month if I could. I have unfortunately never been on a plane (except when I was two, but I don't think that counts). I don't know where I would go if I were to fly on a plane, but I am planning on going one day soon to a place where a plane ride is necessary. I would love to go sky diving, or at least I think I would right now. This might change after I actually ride in a plane. I was blessed to have grown up in a place that I love and don't want to move out. I would like to explore and see different places and hope that someday I will be able to!


 * __My education and career goals:__** I am hopefully going to graduate next year with a major in Elementary Education and a teaching license. I am planning on staying at SOU for this, which probably isn't surprising after what I said above. After this I plan to teach in Medford in a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade classroom. As I came into the Education Program I had hoped to teach Kindergarten but throughout my Practicum sights I have been convinced that the these grades would be ideal for me.


 * __What brings me joy:__** The one thing I love the very most in this world is seeing other people happy. I love knowing that I did something to bring joy to someone even if that means, in some instances, not doing things my way or sacrificing in some way. This breaks down to all sorts of situations that vary from what movie to watch, or where to go on vacation.


 * __My greatest fear about being a teacher:__** I guess I just have an overall fear of failing the schools at not being able to teach the students what they need to learn, and failing the students at making the class something they look forward to and still teaching them what needs to be taught. As stated above, I love making everyone happy. But, I feel sometimes this can be an overwhelming and impossible task. I just hope that I can do what needs to be done without killing myself and making the career of teaching something I don't want to do.


 * __A time when something was extremely difficult to learn:__** I took a AP Calculus class my senior year of highschool. I was normally good at math and it usually came pretty easy to me, but this class was very difficult for me. Everyone in the class, except for one other girl, were super smart and when they would start talking about "math stuff" I would become completely lost. I ended up coloring and drawing pictures in class with the other girl who was lost also and kept falling further behind. I did this because this I felt lost, stupid, and a loss of wanting to succeed. Before the tests I would cram in a study session with the smart kids, probably killing them with all my questions, and luckily pass the test. This will greatly aid me in helping students with learning differences. I know, to an extent, what it is like to find a topic overwhelming and out of my grasp. I know what it's like to want to give up but yet persevere and finally master the content. This experience has taught me to have patience and to aid students where they are struggling, which did not happen for me.


 * __What I want to gain from this course:__** I would like to know the symptoms and what to watch out for in my students regarding whether or not a disability is causing their learning to become more difficult. I would also like to learn some ways that I can differentiate my lessons and aid my students who have a disability in learning.

= = =__**Speech and Language Disabilities**__= A speech and language disability can be as little as a student saying "thocks" instead of "socks" or as severe as not understanding anything the child has said. Many tools and tricks have been discovered to aid students in growing out of their disability. I chose this topic because this is something I do not know much about and was excited to learn more about.


 * My Top Resource:**
 * [] 5/5**

__National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:__ The page this link opens up to has links to resources and information on all types of voice, speech, and language disabilities and information. The topics include American Sign Language, Autism, Stuttering, and Dysphaxia.


 * Other Resources:**
 * 1: [] 4.5/5**

__American Speech-Language-Hearing Association:__ This website contains specific information on each of the speech and language impairments. Each speech and language impairment is explained with detail including the signs and symptoms of the impairment, how the impairment is diagnosed, treatments for the impairment, and other resources to find more information on the specific impairment. This site also contains information on typical speech and language development for people of all ages. You can also find some information on speech pathologists at this site.


 * 2: [] 4/5**

__Cleft Palate Foundation__: Here you can find a substantial amount of information of cleft lip and cleft palate which now effects one of every 600 newborn babies. The page this link opens to contains many articles including articles about speech development, preparing the child for social situations, and answers to common questions about scars. If a teacher has a student who was born with cleft palate this site would provide a good amount of information to the teacher on what cleft palate is and how they can help the child.


 * 3: [] 4/5**

This is an in-depth break-down of speech-language pathology services in schools. There is an overview of the roles/responsibilities of speech pathologists in schools, the environment the students should be in, evidence based practice, assessments, and a multitude of other information.


 * 4: [] 4.5/5**

This is a brochure that contains 8 tips for teachers who have a student who stutters in their classroom. It also has information on how to support your student, how to deal with teasing, and how to make things easier for the students in regards to answering questions in class and reading aloud. Even though this brochure is specific to stuttering I think it can be generalized for most speech and language disabilities.


 * 5: [] 4/5**

__Apraxia-Kids: Every kid deserves a voice:__ This link brings you straight to a library full of research, articles, and presentations on apraxia. The topics of the articles include understanding apraxia, diagnosis and treatment and education and schooling. This would be useful for teachers, parents, or any one else who is working with students with Apraxia.


 * 6: [] 3.5/5**

__Partnership for Accesible Reading Assesments:__ At this site you can find some techniques that aid students in their learning. Also, this site provides accomodations that help minimize the effects of a student's disability on test performance. This site also provides some additional information on students with speech and language disabilities.


 * 7: [] 5/5**

__The Stuttering Foundation:__ This is a super informational website that has an incredible amount of facts, and helpful information on stuttering. There are helpful sites for teachers, parents, and the person who is stuttering. The subheadings in this site that will direct you to all the different pages include what happens in therapy, referrals for therapy, facts for stuttering, and basic research.


 * 8: Eric on What It's Like To Have Apraxia:** **4/5**

This is a video of a 9 year old boy who has/had apraxia. He is able to give us a little bit of an insight into the frustration that he went through in order to get to the point he is at. Also, to the side of this video there is a 5 year old girl with apraxia who is learning to read. I suggest also watching her video.

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__ASLU (American Sign Language University):__ This is a site for ASL students and teachers. There are free lesssons for a teacher to use in their classroom. It also provides practice quizzes, a dictionary, peer advice, and much more.
 * 9:[] 4.5/5**

Top 5 Things I Learned: 1) Communication disorders can range from hoarseness, to pronounciation, to the inability to communicate. 2) I didn't realize there were so many different types of speech and language disorders. 3) Many of the techniques used to help students with speech and language disabilites help all of the students so can easily be integrated into the curriculum 4) For students who stutter don't tell them to "slow down" or "just relax." Also, expect the same quantity and quality of work from the student who stutters as you do for everyone else. Make sure they know you are listening to the content of the message not how it is said. 5) There is an incredible amount of frustration correlated with speech and language disabilities, so a student with speech and language impairments needs to be aided in anyway they can.