Course Project Summary

“If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn” ― O. Ivar Lovaas
 
The interview process was extremely successful, there were no challenges encountered. Each interviewee took time out of her busy schedule to meet at a Chinese Buffet of her choice, allowing time to “chat and chew” at leisure to describe a typical day in her life.  

 First Interviewee
The first interviewee was a Special Instructor with an agency that targeted early intervention.   During the interview I became amazed at the level of commitment and passion she expressed for the children and families she serviced.  The interviewee answered every question in detailed with examples to support her answers.  I walked away from that interview seeing developmental delays, not as developmental delays, instead, as alternative development. The word delay was removed and replaced with alternative. The success of the meeting was the knowledge received from a passionate professional. 
 I elated, I experienced the passion that was discussed, and I felt the joy she received from every child she spoke about in her interview. Furthermore, I connected with the experience she told about how one of her male children had behavioral problems when his dad moved out; I had a child in my classroom that responded  the same way when his dad moved out the house.  She told me how she spent more time with the child overlooking some of his minor behavioral issues, In other words, she allowed him to vent due to the new family situation... That was paramount! I had used the same technique with my child, and within time, her child and mine self-regulated, allowing learning to take place.

Second Interviewee

     The second interviewee was the mother of a child diagnosed at age 36 months with autism; he is now nine years old and is mainstreamed at a Christian private school, and he excelling wonderfully, awesome!  The mother and I spoke for over three hours; we talked, cried, laughed, and prayed.  What a phenomenal young woman, she overcame many obstacles as a mother, newlywed, and military officer. Nevertheless, the true success of the meeting was how a mother who believed that God would help her child overcome a leaning disorder that doctors said not so, or he would not be completely rid of autism. The experienced that I most connected with was how her son one day just seem to understand the conversation at hand. She always spoke to him as if he would respond, sometimes he did and sometime he did not, but one day when he was 6, she was talking to him and he joined in the conversation.  She cried, screamed, and called her mother all at the same time as she stated.  Her son is now nine years old, with little indication of autism, and as she puts it, “we all have a little autism in us” so he is “normal”, we ended our interview with a hug and prayer, believing much more for her, her son, and her entire family.

  Idea
 After the interviews, it was clear that all children, especially those that might have developmental delays or autism need room to grow.  Each interviewee expressed how the children changed once they had one-on-one with the educator. In addition, the child was allowed to be themselves without restrictions.  In other words, give the child the freedom to explore and examine their environment.
The idea is to; develop a schedule that would allow the child special time with his educator, time for him to receive the passion and love from the educator, granting him the cognitive and social-emotional development tools needed to succeed.  

Any suggestions on what one might do with the child?

Summarized  

 
Finally, the Course Project (Major Assessment) article research was very insightful. However, searching Walden’s Library was exhausting; nevertheless, many great articles that addressed the Course Project’s four categories, challenge, communities, trauma, and resiliency were found. To date, the interviews, professional organizations, and except for the last five articles, all have been completed.  Concerning, the Module 8, week 16, day 3, Discussion 2, virtual Roundtables presentation I am considering Prezi or PowerPoint to upload to Kaltura media. So, one might say, it is all coming together at a very nice pace