Casey Ekkert Reflection #1 Summer 2012-Independent Study For my summer 2012 independent study, I have been working with

the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network. I have found this experience to be very worthwhile, and one that will greatly benefit my future work as a teacher of young children. During my time so far with DSN, I have had the opportunity to gain more experience working with young children with Down syndrome, to gain more experience communicating and interacting with families of children with disabilities, and to network within the local community of families with children with disabilities. One of the main reasons I chose to work with this organization for my independent study was because I wanted more direct experience interacting with children with disabilities. For this reason, I was very excited for the chance to be a childcare provider for DSN families during their monthly meetings. In the childcare setting, I have been able to work with children with Down syndrome between the ages of 5 and 12. Before this childcare position, I had very little experience interacting with individuals with Down syndrome. I was a little nervous about the first childcare session. I had concerns about my ability to be successful in this situation. I wondered Are these children going to have needs that I wont know how to address, or wont be successful in addressing? To my relief, the first session, and those that followed, went well. I enjoyed myself, the children enjoyed themselves, and no children were injured or lost in the process This childcare opportunity has definitely served to increase my comfort level about working with children with Down syndrome, as well as with children with significant disabilities in general. I have definitely come to realize that there is no catch all technique to working with young children with Down syndrome, no one way that will make guidance and education a piece of cake. Children with Down syndrome, like all other children, have unique needs, interests, abilities, and challenges. In that way, working with young children with Down syndrome in my future classrooms will require many of the same efforts that would be applied to my other students. I will need to get to

know the children in order to discover their interests, abilities, and challenges. I will need to try, revise, and re-try strategies to identify the ones that will best help the students reach their goals and potential. My interactions with DSN families and the children who attend childcare have brought one specific challenge to my attention. In my future classrooms, I will make an extra effort to identify potential safety concerns for children with Down syndrome and other disabilities and delays. I have heard numerous stories from families about children with Down syndrome engaging in activities that put their safety at risk. For example, one DSN father shared a story with me about a time when his daughter attempted to make popcorn independently. He is not sure how long his daughter set the microwave for, but it was long enough that the popcorn and microwave caught on fire, causing significant damage to the familys kitchen. Luckily, the father was home when this happened, and no one was injured. A family that I visited this summer showed me the alarm they have had installed on their front door so that it will beep every time it is opened. They had to install this alarm because their daughter began leaving the house at night and at other times when her parents were busy. She was once brought home by neighbors who had found her in their yard late one evening. A similar experience occurred at the first childcare session. A young 5 year old boy capitalized on an open door and took off running through the building (I caught him quickly, but made sure this secondary exit was not so inviting the second time around!). While safety is always a concern when caring for young children, children with Down syndrome may need extra consideration. To best determine what their safety needs are in the classroom, I will definitely put this topic on the checklist for discussions with parents/families when starting a new school year or welcoming a new child into my classroom. I will also be sure to give my classroom environment a second glance, looking for possible safety concerns. For example, should I leave my classroom door open, or close it? Do I need to obtain a door alarm to notify me that someone has left the classroom? Do any of the materials within childrens reach pose a safety risk (scissors, outlets, window blind cords,

etc.)? I will also need a heightened awareness during certain common school events and transitions, including walking children to the parking lot to meet the bus, and leaving the school for walks and field trips. In addition to experience with children with Down syndrome, I have also had a lot of opportunities to interact with families of children with Down syndrome. In my experiences as a classroom head teacher, I have had many opportunities to talk with families and am used to this occurrence. However, my interactions with DSN families have provided me with much opportunity to listen to parents. I feel like I have gained so much perspective from hearing so many stories told from the parents point of view. Several parents have told me stories about their interactions with teachers both positive and negative. These conversations have really cued me into the moments that parents appreciate and those that drive them wild. Many negative interactions have been a result of the parents feeling like their childs teacher did not value their child, did not believe in their childs abilities, and/or did not put in the effort to help their child grow, learn, and develop. What struck me most about these negative experiences was how long they stick with the families. This really showed me how hurtful these negative interactions can be for these families and their children. For example, one DSN father explained to me that they LOVED their childs pre-k teacher, but felt really let down by her kindergarten teacher. Seven years later, I could still sense the frustration in his voice as he relayed stories about their experiences during that school year. When I worked at the Disability Resources Expo, a number of families stopped by the DSN booth to look at photos and browse information from the sample welcome packet shared with new DSN families. One mother, and her 53 year old daughter with Down syndrome, hung out for awhile. This mother expressed so much excitement about the quality and quantity of information and support now available for families of children with Down syndrome. She explained that when she had her daughter, very little was available to her. She was, in fact, encouraged by family and friends to move her

daughter into an assisted living environment. She was told by doctors that her daughter would not develop many skills or accomplish much in her life. The mother was very passionate in her explanation that she never considered placing her daughter in an out-of-home living situation and described how her daughter has been a blessing in her life and she has never regretted the decision. But again, her early negative experiences have stuck with her for so many years later. Another family who stopped by expressed similar excitement about the information and told a similar story about their struggles getting their now adult son accepted in society and in school. This family talked a lot about the fights they had with their school district for the rights for their sons education. The father told us, We fought hard to get our son a good education in school. I like to think that we paved the way for families after us, and made things a little easier for them. And those families will keep fighting and making the path easier for families after them. The choice of the verb fight really brought my attention to the way some families view their interactions with school personnel. When I think of a fight, I typically think of two opposing sides, each taking action to support or defend a different cause or outcome. As a teacher, I never want a family to feel like they are involved in a fight for their childs education. Ideally, the teachers, families, and other school personnel should be on the same side and all pulling for an appropriate and beneficial education for the student(s). If that is the attitude I want to foster in my future classrooms, I believe that I need to establish positive relationships with classroom families from the start. I believe that I will need to work alongside families to create goals for their childs development and make it clear that I value their input and expertise about their child. I believe that I will need to communicate regularly with the families and let them know what I have been working on with their child, what I enjoy about their child, and the moments of success their child experiences at school. This communication should also include my solicitation of the parents views on their childs progress (for example, How do you think this quarter has gone? Are there skills that you would like us to focus on more in the upcoming quarter?, etc.) I believe that this process

will hopefully create a relationship with families where concerns and questions can be brought up civilly, comfortably, and without feelings of conflict, or the need for a fight. The stories of DSN families and the families who stopped by our booth at the Expo are definitely going to have an impact on the effort I put into establishing and maintaining positive relationships with classroom families. In addition to building relationships, these interactions with DSN families have also allowed me to better empathize with the familys perspectives during situations of potential conflict. The more stories I hear about parent-school conflict, the more I begin to understand the parents perspective. Before this experience, I tended to side more quickly with the teacher/school, since this was the side I could more easily relate to. I have also been thinking about the teacher-family relationships in my current practicum classroom (pre-k). Recently, there was a new student who entered the classroom. This student has been identified as having sensory integration disorder and has delays related to social, communicative, and fine motor development. During her first weeks, the childs mother visited frequently and observed from outside the classroom. The mother also asked questions of the classroom teacher, TAs, SLP, OT, and the ESL teacher. Her questions were about the types of services her daughter was receiving as well as the frequency. This mother was also attempting to provide suggestions and input from her daughters previous service providers. These actions seriously bothered school staff. Expressions such as annoying, overprotective, and crazy were used to describe this mother. On the one hand, I could relate to the frustration and annoyance felt by the teacher when a parent is always around and always asking questions. However, because of my experiences with families in the DSN, I found that I was much more easily able to sympathize with this mother. She was simply trying to understand the type and frequently of services her daughter was receiving. She was trying to ensure that her daughters pre-k experience was a beneficial and successful as possible. Having this heightened awareness and sensitivity towards families, I think if I were the classroom teacher in this situation, I would have giving this parent time to express and discuss these concerns and to ask questions. A brief

meeting with the mother would have resolved this, instead of constant avoidance and complaining about her presence. Finally, my time so far with DSN has provided me with an opportunity to network within the local community of families with children with disabilities. The individuals involved in the DSN have been very welcoming to me. They take time to introduce themselves and their children and to ask questions about me and my professional, educational, and personal interests. They have shared contact information with me and have welcomed me to contact them with questions or for assistance with future school or professional experiences. They are clearly interested in playing a role in educating and supporting future educators of children with disabilities. Like the parent mentioned earlier, I think they are doing their part to help pave the way for the education of children with disabilities in their community. This organization has already been beneficial to my development as an early childhood educator. I believe they will continue to be a benefit as a possible support network for families in my classroom with children with Down syndrome. Earlier this week, I was stopped by an employee in my bank because she noticed my DSN t-shirt. It turns out that she is a mother of 10 month old son with Down syndrome. She has recently moved to the C-U area from St. Louis, and was unaware that there was a local Down Syndrome Network. She asked me questions about the organization, their meetings, and their social events. I was able to answer these questions as well as provide her with the contact information for the new family contact within DSN. I was pleased that I was able to help connect her with this organization and believe that I will be able to do the same, if necessary, with my future classroom families, now that I am familiar with the DSN. At the Disability Resources Expo, the DSN members also took the time to introduce me to individuals from other disability-related organizations, including those that support families of children with other disabilities, and those that provide recreational activities for children with disabilities. There is a large, connected, supportive network of families of children with disabilities within our community

that I was not very aware of before my work with this organization. I feel that this independent study experience has gotten my foot in the door with this network. My actions have demonstrated that I am interested in getting to know these families and their children, in learning more about serving these families and their children in the school setting, and in continuing to develop as a professional. I believe that this presents a positive image of myself as a teacher to these families and this community. In a way, I believe these experiences have increased my credibility as a special educator to these families. Someone who is willing to continue to learn, grow, and seek input from others, just might be someone who will work well as a teacher to the children within their community.