Research that benefits children and families-uplifting stories

The topic that I would choose to do research on, are the benefits that autism children gain from using technology as a source of learning new skills. As more and more children are becoming diagnosed in the various mental health categories, the more teachers are unprepared when it comes to teaching the academic studies.

When working with children who have been classified, such as being autistic you have to find a different avenue in teaching the children; both in a way that would be interested to them, in addition to focusing in on the areas of need. Growing up in a world where technology was just becoming popular has always been the norm for me. However, seeing that schools are now implementing technology into the classrooms by using whiteboards, laptops, ipads, and other devices; the school is keeping up with the hands of times and noticing what the children are interested in. So many of the devices now have apps for everything including educational games, tests, and lessons. "Teach town is a system that provides services to children ages 2-7 that are in need of help with receptive language, cognitive, and academic abilities." (NCTI, 2007) Another important benefit children would gain, are the fine motor skills that it takes in order to maneuver the computer, mouse, or if it's an ipad then the hand eye coordination for touch screen. Some apps that are beneficial for the child to use are; Touch and learn emotions (expressing emotions and feelings), Model Me Going Places (modeling social skills), and Speech Buttons (social skills)

Resources

 

NCTI (2007) http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/2009/07/20/case-teaching-children-with-autism-through-technology/

 

 



Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose to research is; Autism and the process it takes for a child to receive Early Intervention. I selected this topic because this medical condition is becoming more and more common in the classrooms, and I feel that teachers as well as the parents lack the knowledge of it.

• Another reason I selected this is because, a few years ago I was a one on one for a young lady in order for her to attend a week long summer camp. She was classified as having Asperger's disorder; which is a high functioning portion of the spectrum that affects the language and behavioral side of a child.
•  My next run in was last summer when my family and I were on our family vacation on a cruise ship. We were placed at the same table as another family, who coincidently happened to be from New Jersey as well. Having set with the same group of people for nine whole days, you intermingle and begin to converse about what each family did on and off the ship that day. In addition to the "vacation talk" the mom and I had started talking about what professions we were in. When I mentioned I was a teacher, she began to open up about her son being diagnosed when he was about six or seven and he was fifteen or sixteen at the time. So the mom begin to tell me how hard it was at his new school to get him services, because he refused to take an "mandatory evaluation".
• My last and most current situation is a little boy that I have in my class now. He is a cultural student who at the beginning spoke absolutely no English and only jibberish in his native language, at the age of three. From the various books and online articles I have read in the past, I began seeing signs and symptoms that this boy was displaying as apart of the autism spectrum. Having mentioned to my supervisor on more than a few occasions, she placed him on our "review" list, which pretty much means out special educator has to come and observe him, in addition to our speech therapist to see if it was only a language barrier. As my suspicions were right, he turned out to be right on target for the autism spectrum, according to both ladies. Little things that he does in the class that is noticeable; lining objects like chairs, cars, books etc. up in one straight line. He's totally obsessed with school busses and fire trucks. Did not like when people invade his personal space, including mom and dad for hugs. If talking to him, sometimes he would stare at you as if you had two heads, and other times wouldn't make no eye contact whatsoever. Displayed and still displays a very extreme aggressive behavior physically; such as hitting, kicking, spitting, pinching, and pulling hair to teachers as well as students. Lastly, he has sensory issues, where he can just take his hand, arm, or face and repeatedly rub it across different textures back and forth just to amuse his tactile thoughts.

Some resources that I am very fond of:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/
http://autismnj.org/
http://www.autismfamilyservicesnj.org/index.php
http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism