Communication went very well this week.  I was sick on Thursday was unable to be on site.  The last time this happened, I emailed my mentors from my phone (since I took ill in the middle of the school day), and hours later I realized that the email was never sent, and was still in the process of being sent.  I was able to send a new message from my trusty laptop, along with an apology and explanation for the lateness of my email, and thankfully it was received well.  This time, however, I was not going to take any chances, and I sent an email from my phone and checked on my laptop to make sure that it had been sent at the proper time.  It had been sent immediately, and I had my reply within hours.

            I was asked to fall back slightly on direct interaction with the children for a brief interval on Tuesday, much like last week.  I was slightly surprised, but not as much as last week.  I suspect that, as the children get slowly more socially confident throughout the year, the supervisors will be taking slight steps back more and more.  It still is hard to resist going to the children and directly interacting with them if they appear insecure or upset, but in the interest of character-building, for both the children and myself, I have to get a tougher skin.

            I have said before that teamwork is a huge part of Kindering – everyone has to be on the same page so that the children do not receive mixed signals from the supervisors.  Next week, since I was not at this week’s meeting (meetings are on Thursdays, and I was ill), I am going to have to make sure that I know what happened during the meeting.

            Lastly, in problem-solving news, there is a new child in the classroom – he comes from the other classroom, and I am not quite sure why he was transferred (it seems to be a private matter).  We are going to have to work with the staff from the other classroom to learn as much as we can about him, since as of now, he does not seem to enjoy interacting with students or teachers.

            My goals are the same as last weeks – in fact, my short-term goals are now solidified, as the details of the deliverables of the semester project for the internship class have been released.  I must now get to work on the portfolio and presentation required.

This week was slightly trying – I had the beginnings of a migraine when I walked into the weekly meeting.  Thankfully, my mentors noticed that I was feeling unwell and excused me from the meeting, even allowing me to take a short nap in a makeshift bed that had been set up in the classroom for the unit “getting ready for bed.”  I know that it was dreadfully unprofessional of me, but it did allow me to nip the migraine in the bud and perform my usual duties in the classroom and at the administration.  Perhaps this can be categorized as job-specific skills – the ability to know when to power nap or take a break so that the rest of the day is only moderately uncomfortable, or perhaps the ability to take a nap in a non-bedroom setting?  I am aware that this does not fit into any category particularly well, but then again, rarely anything fits perfectly into any package, tied up with string.  I suppose the best we can do is approximate.

            Communication wasn’t exactly at a low point this week – more like a miss.  I found out this week that my administration-mentor’s work hours have changed by seeing her in the office on a Thursday, which used to be her day off.  While this will not drastically alter any of the workplace conditions, it still leaves a bit of a funny feeling to be surprised like this.  After writing this, I realize that it sounds far more dramatic than it should, but I don’t think it can be helped.

            As far as gracious professionalism goes, I don’t think I have yet had to be gracious about not performing a task, but there is always a first:  this week, I was, if not startled, mildly surprised when it was suggested that I not interact with the children for a while.  I had gotten caught up with a game that two of the more lively students were playing – pretending to be puppies – and I was enjoying tumbling about the motor room with them as much as they were.  However, while this in itself was not a problem, the specialists decided that since such an unusual outburst of social interactions among the students without prompting from the adults was taking place, we should all withdraw slightly and see how the situation played out.  I definitely saw the reason behind this decision, although I was a little disappointed that I could not continue.

            Lastly, there is a problem that needs to be solved – towards the end of each class, the children engage in group songs and activities known as “circle,” named for the semicircle in which the students sit at this time.  A large book filled with velcroed pieces of paper depicting different activities and songs is used at this time, with each piece of paper that is to be used at that time stuck to the outside of the book and displayed for all to see.  However, there is almost no organization within these books, so I hope to find some time to organize my class’s book to make circle time more efficient.

            My long term and short term goals have not changed from last week – I have been giving a green light by my mentors for my semester project!

I am so proud of the student I’m hoping to shadow!  When she first came to Kindering, she was very passive – she would obey what she could understand, and she would follow if she was lead, but she would not do much in the way of expressing preferences, speaking, or participating in a craft without much prompting on our part.  Now, however, she has starting leading the way herself, participating with her hands, and even speaking out loud (once even in full sentences!).  This may not be character development on my part, but I hope that I can be on hers, and that this is not just a temporary phase.

            There was one instance on Tuesday with this same girl – shall we call her Mary? – that prompted me to display a job-specific skill:  the ability to pick up and comfort a child.  At the Kindering center, volunteers are not usually allowed to pick up the children.  However, we were heading back from the motor room when another child, whose class passed us in the hallway, began crying.  Mary became frightened and immediately began crying as well.  One of the specialists told me that I could pick her up in order to calm her down.  I had comforted Mary before, on the day that she was first put in the body suit because she required comforting, but now I was being trusted to pick her up as well.  I’ve picked up many toddlers in the past, both to comfort them and to play with them, but this was the first instance of my doing so at Kindering.

            There’s a slight instance of problem solving that can be addressed, although it is nothing major – we need to find a new song.  My internship involves a lot of singing, but we haven’t yet found a song to sing when the parent’s come into the classroom at the end of the day.  We’ve ruled out “When the Parents Come Marching In,” but we can’t seem to think of anything else.  This is still a work in progress.

            Teamwork is, as always, a huge part of working at Kindering.  With most organized activities, one leader sits in the center of a semi-circle or behind a table, in front of the children.  While the leader leads the activities, it is up to the others, who sit behind the children, to ensure that the children participate.  The instances in which I have sat behind a child myself and participated in this teamwork and growing more frequent with every week, up to this point, where I even have a couple of children, Mary included, that I am consistently placed behind.

            As for goals, my long-term goal hasn’t changed.  As for short-term goals, I will ask tomorrow whether or not I can have approval for my journal from the internship office.

This week, communication was at a high point – I was able to seek out my mentor and speak to her about what I had observed in the children and the types of projects that I have been considering.  So far, we have agreed upon one: a journal covering the progress and milestones of one child in particular (we have already decided whom the child should be, if her parents agree).  This journal could be kept for the duration of the internship and serve as my final project for second semester as well.  Now, the next step is to ask my school advisor if this is a feasible project.

            This may be only a small instance of teamwork, but it was teamwork nonetheless:  the child that I might be writing about for my project has recently been given a chew-necklace and bracelet as a sensory toy.  This child was being slightly unresponsive during a group activity, so a sort of a silent conversation ensued over the heads of the children between all of the adults sitting behind them.  Finally, one of them decided that the person sitting closest to the child would have to gently prompt her chew on her necklace – the person to whom the task fell to was me, and while it wasn’t much, it was still a demonstration of a group decision and action.

            Time management is going to be getting harder from now on – I’ve been given new responsibilities in the classroom after class is over, organizing and putting away the equipment.  I was worrying about not having enough time to file after writing my reports before, and although I absolutely love being able to help in the classroom, I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to finish everything I hope to on site.  As of now, everything is still under control, but I will talk to my mentor if I become overwhelmed.

            I suppose the above example counts as gracious professionalism as well.  The task of organizing and putting away equipment can be slightly mundane, but just as it was with the files, I am glad to have the opportunity to do it.  If it means that I can help better the lives of the children that I work with, I am willing to do the most mundane tasks so that the specialists can get to their individual appointments with the children on time.

            As for goals, it should be a surprise that my long-term goal hasn’t changed.  As for short-term goals, I would like to ask for approval to use a journal tracking one child as my semester project.

Oh, dear…where to start!  There were so many new experiences this week…I suppose I should start with leadership, since I don’t get to write about that all that often.  This week, I was put in charge on an activity in the classroom.  I was to sit at the head of the table and lead the children in stringing beads onto shoelaces, to help develop their fine motor skills.  I was taken by surprise when I was asked to do this, and although I have been in charge of children the same again before, back when I taught Kinderkarate at my dojo, there was still a difference, especially since I was under direct supervision from the other instructors, the specialists, and the some of the parents of the children, who were watching through the one-way window.  I managed, after a couple minutes, to not appear as flustered, but I definitely hope to get in more practice in the future.

            Character development reared its head and bit me again this week – a while ago, I wrote about how difficult it was to let a child self-soothe.  This week, one of the children was constantly searching for comfort – she wanted me to cuddle her and keep her in a close embrace.  We eventually solved this problem, to a degree, by putting her in a body suit, but it was difficult for me to take her out of my arms and try to wake her up, when she seemed to be in such desperate need for comfort.  I need to develop of thick skin, I suppose, or rather learn have better control of my actions, whatever my emotions may be.

            I was proud of our teamwork this week.  The new student underwent separation for the first time on Thursday, and we had to keep on rotating positions with him – since the staff is made of a variety of specialists, each had his/her own duties to perform in the classroom, meaning that we had to keep trading the post of watching over and comforting the new child (in this case, self-soothing was not an objective, as it was the first day of separation – self-soothing with come later).

            Lastly, I had a bit of a run-in with technology this week.  I needed to make a copy, but I had a bit of a scare with the copy machine, leading me all across the office on an epic journey to find someone who could fix it.  Apparently, the copy machine had been acting up all day, so it wasn’t too hard to find someone who had fixed it before.  Thankfully, the copy machine was up and working again without a hitch, and I learned how to use it to produce double-sided copies which served to be more functional than the single-sided ones I had originally intended to produce.  Hopefully, I will be more prepared if the machine breaks down again.

            My goals, both short term and long term, haven’t changed since last week.  Short term:  find a semester project.  Long term:  make a permanent difference in the lives of the children I work with.

This week was fraught with problem-solving techniques.  For example, a new student has joined our class.  This student was the younger brother of a previous student, so his mother was more familiar with classroom procedures than other new parents, but the child’s initiation into the class routines was still a little difficult.  However, we decided to pander to the child’s preferences, hoping to cause him to associate good memories with Kindering.  His favorite food, avocado, was served at snack, with his mother close at hand (for the first days in class, the parents usually stay with the child – separation usually occurs within a week or so).  Thankfully, he accepted the food without too much complaint, and we hope that his first experience with the class has been a positive one.

            One pitfall of the week was communication – I can’t say very much about this, as there are NDA’s involved, but I can say that because I had switched classrooms in the first month of interning at Kindering, I missed out on some important instructions and went about a whole process all wrong.  I wasn’t scolded, but my mentor did have to explain what was wrong in the first place.  This could have been avoided, had I more actively attempted to ensure that I was on the same page as everyone else when I switched classrooms last month.

            Once again, I must write of gracious professionalism – I have written about paperwork before, but doing it over and over again, even when it is part of the job, can sometimes be boring.  However, I’m finding that I actually enjoy this occupation – it helps me wind down and gives me a break from a hectic day.  I suppose this goes to show that a little gracious professionalism can yield surprising results.

            Lastly, I need to work on my time management.  This week, when writing my reports on the children after class, I kept going over the time I had allotted myself – by the time I was finished with the reports, I had much less time to file paperwork than I would have preferred.  There is no set amount of paperwork that I have to file every day, and it is important to be thorough in writing my reports, but I suppose I have to be a bit more careful, so that I can accomplish what I need to.

            My goals for this week are still unchanged.  Short term – I need to think of a good semester project, and fast.  Perhaps a journal on one individual child?  That might be a little difficult, seeing as I would have to work around the NDAs.  As for long-term goals, I still hold to my wish to eventually make a permanent difference in the lives of the children I work with, and I do not anticipate any change in that goal anytime soon.

Communication became an issue this week as well – I had been told by my mentor that Tuesday was going to be a staff development day, and that I would still be able to come in if I wanted to, to help with the filing.  On Monday, however, I received an email that Felise, the administrative director and a co-mentor of mine, might not be in on that day.  This time, I sent an email from my computer, so that the escapade with my phone would not be repeated.  However, I received no reply, although I kept checking my email all throughout the school day.  I went to the site and called my mentor, but I was sent to voice mail.  Finally, I attempted to enter the center, but found the doors locked.  My mentor had not been answering since she was in fact NOT on site, and away from her work phone.  I went home after this, but vowed to find a more reliable way to contact Felise.

                Job-specific skills came into play again this week, this time in dealing with repeated instances of disobedience.  One of the children was having a rather bad day – he had arrived drowsy and remained unresponsive for a few minutes before entering class.  However, he returned to his usual self quickly, and seemed to be behaving normally.  However, he repeatedly refused to share an object when asked, causing a violent tantrum – slamming toy carts against walls and hitting a classmate on the head with a ball multiple times.  My mentor got ahold of him quickly and calmed him down, and he returned to his usual self, but after a while, he exhibited the same violence as before.  I was forced to take food out of his mouth again during snack time, and he responded by hitting me.  I had to tell him very firmly to stop, and hold his hands down so that he could not repeat the action (he was definitely trying to).  Multiple times after that, I had to hold him in place firmly, but not so roughly that I would hurt him.

                 I also began what might stretch into a long, several-week attempt at problem solving.  I noticed that one of the children who appears to be very high-functioning was exhibiting some strange behavior – she would say something, like “beep beep” while riding one of the little carts in the motor room, and not be able to move on from this action until someone noticed and said “yes, beep beep.  That’s a car!”  This is rather intriguing, and I would definitely like to observe this girl more carefully to understand her behavior patterns.

                Lastly, teamwork:  since I was sick last Thursday, I did not attend last week’s weekly meeting.  Because of this, I had missed out on an important instruction the entire team was given – to minimize our discussion as adults during the actual class time, and save all comments on behavior until afterwards.  Thankfully, not knowing of this instruction did not do any damage, but I definitely need to be more careful about catching up after missed meetings in the future.

                My long-term goals, like last week, are to learn as much as I can so that I can make a lasting difference in the lives of these children.  As for my short-term goal – like I said last week, I need a semester project.  I think I have a few ideas, and I need to talk them over with my mentor.

Please, please forgive these late posts!  Lately there have been many things cropping up -- school and college apps music and martial arts...but enough with excuses!  They only do discredit to both you and me.

This week was rather unusual – unusual in the sense that I only spent four hours (one day) on site, due to illness, and those four hours were all spent re-labeling all of the active files in the system.  Once again – character development.  I spent some time addressing the need for patience in my past journals, but this…was much more than I expected.  Thank heavens the peppermint tea is free…

Speaking of filing, I will now introduce a topic that has not yet been mentioned in my journals – gracious professionalism.  Of course I did not want to spend my time filing – I would much rather have helped out in the other class or even simply gone home.  However, this was a job that needed to be done, and it was my duty to graciously accept it.  Having this reinforced in my mind only makes me more thankful that I have taken an internship at this point in my life, before my selfishness or self-pity can have any drastic consequences.

Job-specific skills – although I complained about filing above, I did manage to encounter several areas where I had to make conscious decisions during my re-labeling of the file system with my wonderful co-mentor, Felise.  I had to decide whether to mass-produce labels rather than make a small batch at a time and apply them to the files, and whether or not using stickers rather than cut-outs would create a more permanent filing system depending on which material they were applied to (plastic sheaths or paper files).  I realize that this sort of decision-making is not the most exciting of skills, but it is necessary, and very important, considering the review of all of the active files that is about to take place.

Communication did turn out to be an issue this week, since I got sick in the middle of the school day – I sent an email to my mentor, stating that I would be unable to go to my internship.  However, my phone took four days to send said email, and I only realized that the email had not been sent after I had been home long enough to eat lunch, take a long nap, and start the work I would have to make up for the next day.  I flew into panic mode and called my mentor – rather foolish of me, since she would have been teaching the class at that moment – and sent another email.  Fortunately, there were only a few people in the class, so there was no want for help, and my mentor understands the many intricacies and frustrations of technology.

            My long-term goals remain as they have been – make a permanent difference in the lives of these children in whatever way I can.  As for my short-term goals, however:  it’s time for me to think of a semester project!

            This week we had a rather wide array of experiences at the Kindering center.  For example, the team had an attempt at problem solving, although it didn’t quite go as planned.  We had noticed that in previous weeks two of the less active girls seems to bring out the energy in each other when playing side by side.  This week, on Thursday, we decided to see if we could try to wake one of the girls up a little bit by placing the two together – this one student was incredibly drowsy and unresponsive during the entire class, so we had hoped that we might get some more reaction out of her if she was paired with the other quiet child.  However, we did not observe any change in energy levels in either student.  To tell the truth, neither one is very energetic in class – even when amplifying each other’s energy, they are still quiet at best on a good day – but it worth an attempt.

            Job specific skills, just like last week, were a surprise part of Thursday’s class.  In a position like Kindering, one must have one’s wits about oneself – one child, at snack time, was overly eager to eat and would not take small bites of his food.  We tried to cut his food into little pieces, but he would just put them all in his mouth at once.  As the closest supervisor, it became my responsibility to keep him from choking.  This was a delicate job, since I couldn’t tell whether he intended to take small bites or not until the food was halfway in his mouth already, at which point I had to yank the rest of it out.  I had never done such a thing before, and I was at first not very confident in my skill in such a delicate job, but it warms me that the specialists trust me to keep a child from choking on his food.  I’m just grateful that I didn’t freeze up and fail to do my job.

            Character development was one of the most prominent aspects of my week at Kindering.  One of the children was incredibly reluctant to leave his mother and much crying and tantrums ensued after she left him for class.  Despite what we had been told about handling tantrums, and despite the fact that the specific goal for this particular child this week was self-soothing, it took all of my control to keep myself from rushing to him and trying to comfort him.  I didn’t know before just how little self-control I had in this area, but being firm is certainly something I have to work on.

            Lastly, teamwork had a role at my time on site this week, except this time, the collaboration was with the mother of one of the children.  I spoke with the mother of the child I wrote about before, the drowsy one, just before that class.  She and I have been discussing how to bring the student out of her shell in class, and at the end of Thursday’s session, I reported back to her about her daughter’s progress and we spoke about her at length, comparing our observations – mine of the child when at Kindering and her mother’s of her daughter when at home.  So far, we have managed to make some progress (although not this Thursday, unfortunately), and I hope to continue to do so in the future.

Oh, for heaven's sake, I'm late again:

This week at Kindering, I was required to gain job-specific skills – specifically, dealing with a temper tantrum.  Every class, we take the children to the motor room, where they are allowed to run, climb, ride tricycles, play on slides, and jump on trampolines.  One child wanted to place one of the cars from our “roller coaster” (a small, shallow track with for small carts of glide across) on the slide and ride down the slide upon this cart.  This was incredibly dangerous, and I, as the closest supervisor, had to physically stop the child from doing so, leading to a temper tantrum.  I had never had to deal with such a situation before, so I had to quickly figure out how to get the child to calm down without giving in.  I ended up taking the cart away, but explaining to the child (while holding onto the child very firmly, to prevent him from thrashing and trying to run away) that while the cart couldn’t go on the slide, he could – by presenting an alternative, I promoted the idea that the rules could be just as fun as more dangerous forms of play.

            There have also been some developments this week in communication.  My mentor has to attend home visits right after class, so there is no time to orally present her with my observations anymore.  However, the first time this happened, I wrote down my notes about every student and left them in her mailbox, and she has decided that I can begin documenting their progress using official progress notes that will be filed with the children’s records.  This provides an efficient way to communicate with my mentor about the children while making sure that the information is kept secure.

            There was also a notable instance of teamwork and collaboration this week.  In a position such as Kindering, it is essential that the entire team is constantly on the same page and works together.  However, there was one instance that stood out to me this week – we were attempting to assess the development of one of the students.  However, each of us had only observed one aspect of the child.  When we began discussing this child at the meeting, we were able to pool all of our knowledge and even think of some new ideas as to how to treat this child’s condition in the classroom setting.

            Lastly, time management had its place among the notable developments of the week.  I have been assigned the task of making sure that all of the active and exited files on past and present patients have been properly alphabetized.  While this is not a particularly difficult task, it is very easy to drift off into a daydream while sorting through the files.  In order to ensure that I did not waste time (since I only get about an hour and a half every day to work with the file sorting), I had to keep myself muttering the first letters of each name aloud.  In this way, I was able to get through more files, quickly and efficiently.

I am so, so sorry that I waited so long to post!  My next journal will in all likelihood be up a couple days after this, but let's just pretend it's been a week, shall we?
Okay, here it is!  Week 2:

Character development comes in all forms – this week, mine came in paperwork.  I’ve always believe that I’m a patient person, and I suppose that in a way it is true.  But I am patient when doing things that I love doing.  For example, I will be incredibly patient when making a teddy bear from scratch as a birthday present.  However, paperwork was another story.  I was introduced to Kindering’s filing system, and although my mentor for this part of my internship is possibly one of the sweetest people alive, and although filing is relaxing for a while…it gets tedious quite easily.  However, I am actually very thankful to be able to find out now that I am not as patient as I used to believe, rather than later.

            Problem solving had a role in my time on site this week as well.  The classroom I was working in had too high of a ratio of adults/caregivers to children, making the children feel crowded and overwhelmed, while the adults were constantly worried about smothering the children.  As the intern, I became more of a floater, since I did not have any specific predetermined jobs to carry out, like the speech and motor therapists – I was meant to emulate them.  However, Kat, my wonderful friend who was lucky enough to get an internship at Kindering as well, has to leave, due to her father's weakened immune system -- it's probably not a good idea for her to work with kids so often.  Anyway, much as I am sorry to see her go, her classroom has almost twice the number of kids than mine, our mentors have come to an agreement – when there are too many adults in my original classroom, I will take Kat’s place in the other classroom.

            Job specific skills were, again, required this week. From my time teaching three-year-olds the basics of karate, I learned how to help a child move without hurting them.  This skill was required when working with a new student, a twenty-month-old girl.  This girl wears splints on her feet and walks with a walker.  Needless to say, she is far more comfortable crawling, and she frequently attempts to lie down or crawl when she is supposed to be trying to walk.  When this happens, I was often the one who had to help her back onto her feet and hold her gently when she tried to twist out of my grip.  I had to be a bit more careful with her because of her age and her difficulties using her legs than I did with the kids in kinderkarate, but it was the same in essence.

            Communication plays a great role in this internship as well, not just with the staff members, but with the children.  A couple of the children are echolalic, meaning that they might repeat what someone says to them, but will not really comprehend what is being said.  For example, a parent might ask “do you want some raisins?” and the child, regardless of whether or not they want raisins, or even whether or not they are hungry, they might repeat “do you want some raisins?” or perhaps just “raisins,” which would cause the adult to believe that the child actually does want raisins.  Part of the job at Kindering is understanding what the child is actually trying to say.

            My goals this week are fairly similar to last week’s goals: to learn as much as I can about each child’s disorder, as well as how I may help to treat them. My long term goal, as last time, is to see marked progress in each child’s abilities during my time with them.

Week One: September 17th and September 19th, 2013

I have recently begun an internship for a high school program with the Kindering Center in Bellevue, WA, working with children with special needs.  Throughout this blog, I will be documenting my progress at this work site, under labels such as Problem Solving, Character Development, Teamwork, Leadership, Gracious Professionalism, Time Management, Communication, Job-Specific Skills, and Career Readiness.  In addition, I will be keeping track of my short-term and long-term goals during this internship.

I have always had a passion for working with children, and I would take any opportunity to help anyone I can -- I hope that, in my own way, I will be able to make a difference in these children's lives.

My time at the Kindering Center is off to a truly fantastic start.  I have already learned so much, and the internship has just begun.  Of course, this means that I have a daunting task ahead of me, learning all I possibly can in less than a year.  However, if the entire year goes this well, I will leave high school as one of the happiest and most satisfied people alive.

            Teamwork and collaboration are incredibly important in such a position.  The entire team must be on the same page at all times when interacting with the children – for example, we are all given a packet with specific instructions on how to communicate with the students.  It includes tips, such as “do not use the word no.”  We are instead advised to use positive language to give instructions, such as “use walking feet” rather than “don’t run,” and “play with the clay on the table” instead of “don’t put the clay in your mouth.”  There are, in fact, several good reasons for this, one of the most important being the reservation of the word “no” for dangerous circumstances, since it must be perfectly clear when an action is truly bad or dangerous for the students.

            Problem solving is also most definitely a key part of interning at the Kindering Center.  For example, one of the students who just joined the class was having separation issues from her mother.  No amount of coaxing or pleading would entice her to leave her mother’s side, so a different tactic was required.  I went to sit by her mother, bringing with me one of the classroom toys.  I sat down and began to play with the toy by myself, as if it was one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen.  The student began to come closer, and began playing with me.  I gave no sign of acknowledgement, but every few minutes, I would draw the toys a little closer to myself, and a little farther from the mother.  I kept doing this until the child was a good few feet from her mother, but it had to be done so gradually that she did not feel threatened.  In this way I was able, in my own, small way, to make the classroom slightly more comfortable for this one particular child.  I hope that, in time, I will have the experience to impact the students in other ways.

            Interning at an institution such as the Kindering Center also creates the necessity for a great amount of character development.  Although I am a naturally patient person, more than the usual endurance is required to work with small children for hours.  In addition, it is very humbling to work in the presence of those who specialize in fields such as Language and Speech Therapy, and since pride is one of my greatest flaws, I already know that working here will cause a great improvement on my character.

            Lastly, I was not expecting much in the way of career readiness when it came to interactions with the staff, but I did have an opportunity to tell them what I knew on one subject of importance.   One of the newer students had been diagnosed with Trisomy X, in which a girl is born with three X chromosomes rather than two.  Since it is a rather obscure genetic disorder, the staff did not know very much about Trisomy X.  However, I had done multiple reports on this particular disorder, and was able to tell them all I knew about the symptoms.

            As of now, my goals are to learn as much as I can about each child’s disorder:  their ability levels in social interaction, their motor skills, and their language comprehension.  In this way, I hope, by becoming familiar with each individual child’s abilities, that I may achieve my long-term goal of helping each child to advance in each of these areas and more in any way I can.