Don't Limit Me!

In one short moment, my thinking was changed. In class this, we learned about a few different impairments such as traumatic brain injury, orthopedic, and cognitive impairments. As we went through our lessons, my table of classmates and I discussed different ways to help children with these types of disabilities within our future classrooms. How would we help, assist, and accommodate them if they were in our classroom? We came up with several ideas such as providing an aid to assist them, giving them tools such as a "talking stick", or writing simple yet detailed step by step instructions on the board/paper that they could refer to throughout the class time. Of course all of these accommodations are good and often needed, but it never struck me that we as teachers, could be enabling these children. Of course this is a case by case basis, but how often do we do everything for people that we "think" cannot do it on their own or with little assistance. I have a friend who is blind and when I first met her, I did a lot to help her. I remember wondering how she can get by when I am not right there helping her at every moment... Then it hit me. She is much more capable than I had realized, and also very independent. I was not helping her in a way, I was enabling her. Why do we do this? I think ultimately we want to help. We want them to feel comfortable and are afraid to push them outside this comfort zone. As teachers, we should always remember to use LRE. We need to take these children into our classrooms and hold them to very high standards(for them). We must not limit any student! It was a wake up call for me as I watched this video in class of a girl that has down syndrome girl speaking on this matter titled, "Don't Limit Me."

Child Abuse

This was another difficult week in our class. How awful that we have to discuss topics such as child abuse, but we must be aware and realize that it does happen more than we might know. I have learned a lot this week during our discussions in class. Did you know that in 80.8% of the cases of child abuse, a parent is the perpetrator? Did you know that babies and toddlers are the largest group of children that are abused?

 

 

 

 

 

I was shocked to learn of this information and realized that educators working with children on a daily basis have huge responsibility to watch for these children, know the signs, and report it. Do you know the signs of abuse? Do you know what steps to take if you suspect abuse? I did not know before my class, but I was grateful to learn this information. I feel that I must write about this not only so I can remember it, but hopefully be able to teach someone who might be able to help a child who is suffering. This information is from my class lecture. I did not write this, but recorded it to pass on to you.

 

First it is important to know the different types of abuse: Neglect, Physical abuse, Sexual abuse, and Emotional/psychological abuse.

 

Do you know the signs of each one of these?

 

       NEGLECT:

• Repeated complaints of hunger
• Wearing dirty or unfitted clothes, often repeatedly wearing the same outfits
• Perpetually dirty hands, fingernails, hair, neck, face
• Inappropriate clothing for the weather
• Missing or forgetting supplies or homework
• Problems with social skills, specifically empathy
• Poor academic achievement
• Lack of response from caregivers to teachers' communication attempts (this is not a sign in and of itself)

      PHYSICAL ABUSE:

• Injuries that are not consistent with the explanation offered
• Presence of several injuries(3+) that are in various stages of healing
• Repeated injuries over a period of time
• Injuries that form a shape or pattern that may look like the object used to make the injury (examples: teeth, buckle, cigarette burns, etc.)
• Facial injuries in infants and preschool children
• Injuries not consistent with the child's age and development
• Bald patches on child's head where hair may have been torn out
• Repeated poisonings and/or accidents

      SEXUAL ABUSE:

• Difficulty walking or sitting-pain or itching in the genital area
• Withdrawal to infantile behavior
• Seems distracted or distant at odd times
• Has a sudden change in eating habits; can have trouble swallowing
• Sudden mood swings: rage, fear, insecurity, or withdrawal
• Leaves "clues" that seem likely to provoke a discussion about sexual issues
• Develops new or unusual fear of certain people or places
• Refuses to talk about a secret shared with an adult or older child
• Writes, draws, plays, or dreams of sexual or frightening images
• Talks about a new older friend
• Suddenly has money, toys, or other gifts without reason
• Thinks of self or body as repulsive or dirty or bad
• Exhibits adult-like sexual behaviors, language, and knowledge

      EMOTIONAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE:

 

      Signs in Child-

•  Being fearful of parent
• Saying they hate the parent
• Talking badly about themselves
• Seemingly emotionally immature when compared to peers
• Exhibiting sudden changes in speech, such as stuttering
• Experiencing sudden change in behavior, such as doing poorly in school

      Sign in the parent/caregiver-

• Showing little or no regard for the child
• Talking badly about the child
• Not touching or holding the child affectionately
• Not tending to the child's medical needs

In class we talked about how often times we need to use our judgement and listen to our instincts to know if something needs to be reported. My classmates and I talked about how you often need to see multiple signs in order to suspect something. If a child is wearing "hand me downs" from siblings that do not seem to fit quite right, it does not necessarily mean that child is neglected. We need to use proper judgement. It is important to note that teachers are responsible to report when they suspect a child is abused. Another part of our lesson that I feel is important to talk about is when you know a child is abused, what should you do and what should you not do.

 

      DO NOT:

• Interrogate the child to extract more information
• Get angry and say mean things about the person you suspect
• Make promises or guarantees of what will happen (This is important to keep the child's trust-you do not know exactly what will happen-Don't make empty promises)
• Only ask the parents and take their word for it

      DO:

• Tell them it is not their fault
• Tell them they have opportunity to share the information safely
• Follow your company/school's procedures
• Be an advocate regardless of worries about relationship with the child's family later
• Take swift action to report the incident and protect the child. Delays caused by not knowing what to do or failure to take action, contribute to the child's injury

 

Now that you know the signs and what to do or not to do, take action to pass this information to all those you know that have children in their lives. The children in this world need our help. They need us to be advocates for them. They need us to fight the fight that they are not able to fight. I hope that I will never have to use this information that I have learned, but if I need to, I know I will know what to do.

 

A video that might be helpful for all educators: Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse

 

 

Resource: Farley, Laura. “Child Abuse and Neglect” PowerPoint presentation. Brigham Young University of Idaho,
Rexburg, Idaho. 13 Nov 2015.

 



A Hard Week

This week was a bit difficult in our class as we addressed children living in poverty and/or abuse situations. It is hard to know that so many innocent children are suffering. We watched a video on a school called Whitney Elementary in Las Vegas Nevada. This is one of the poorest schools in Las Vegas. They have over 500 children that live in poverty that attend their school. My heart was broken as I heard of what these children had to go through each day. The part that stood out to me, and what my classmates and I talked about in class, was the children that were taking home a handful of ketchup packets so they could eat "ketchup soup" for dinner that night. Another thing that stood out from the video was the fact that many of them were not aware that people celebrated their birthdays. Wow. I had know idea that this was happening in our country. The video does end on a happy note as the principle is working miracles and giving those children amazing opportunities and assistance for success now and in their future. I recommend watching it. Here is a Link.

It might be hard to not judge those caregivers of these children. I know it can be easy to point a finger. Our professor must have known that we might be quick to blame and had us do a simulation activity to see if we could survive for one month on a limited income. You first get to pick out a job, find health insurance, and then it takes you through a number of real life events to see if you could survive for an entire month. I remember that I was excited to see that I had about $250 left in my bank at the end of the month and thought, "Yes! I did it! I could survive!". Then I hit the next button and it said my rent was due the next day. I was about $600 short! I really did not make it. Reality hit hard. My group at my table all failed also. It was a good wake up call for us to not judge all those caregivers that struggle just to make ends meet. You can't point a finger and just tell them to get a job. It is a horrible cycle and it is hard to find a way out of it. I learned a lot just from this activity. If you are interested here is the link to be able to do the simulation activity yourself. I really did learn a lot this week. 

Opening My Eyes to Sight

For class, we were required to do a simulation activity to simulate different problems that can happen regarding sight. I was given four masks representing someone having glaucoma, loss of an eye, problems with the lens(such as astigmatism) that causes loss of visual acuity, and macular degeneration. I wore each mask for an hour, totaling four hours for the entire activity. This was defiantly a struggle. I was trying to work on my homework the entire time and quickly realized it was not going to be easy. The mask that stimulated the loss of an eye, covered one eye and left the other eye uncovered. I found that this one quickly gave me a headache. I just wanted to close my eyes and not open them the entire hour. I still managed to do my homework, but it took me longer and struggled to concentrate. The next mask that I wore stimulated macular degeneration. This one might have been the "easiest" one to experience, although it was still difficult to function. The mask made it so I had dark spots right in the middle of my view. I was still able to read, but I was slow. I also noticed that I kept loosing track on where I was reading on my page. I was often lost going from one line to the next. The next mask that I wore stimulated glaucoma. This one let you see out of small tiny circles, kind of like having tunnel vision. This one was difficult, but still not the hardest one. I was able to continue with my homework (slowly) and struggled more when I looked long distant. Walking was also very difficult with this mask. With no peripheral vision, I struggled to take in my surroundings. I was afraid to go very far while wearing this mask. I cannot imagine having sight so limited for any extended period of time. The last mask that I wore was the hardest one for me to experience. It was stimulating loss of visual acuity. While wearing this mask, it was difficult to see anything. I could no longer read and had to put away my homework. I could not use my computer or phone. I struggled to make sure I put everything in my backpack and that I did not leave anything behind when I left. It was a long hour. I couldn't tell if anyone was looking at me and I was nervous and afraid to address anyone without being able to see them. I just saw blurs. Lots and lots of blurry people. Sight would be such a difficult thing to loose. I admit that I have taken mine for granted. I think about all of those things that I would not be able to do: drive a car, ride a bike, walk to places, read a book, watch a movie, look at the person I am talking to, shopping at a store, getting dressed and ready in the morning...I am sure I could go on forever. What would I do? How would I handle this? What would life be like? I am grateful for this experience and for it opening my eyes to the world of those living without sight. The world looks a lot different to me now.