Michelle Belanger

Reflection: Competency #1
SEI 650

The products that I have chosen to represent my knowledge of Competency
#1 are all examples that have shown me the diversity of development in infancy and
early childhood.
My first product which was completed in SEI 501 in the Summer of 2012 is
an example of the three parent/caregiver pamphlets I had to create. In each of the
pamphlets I had to choose an area of development and then research what was
considered typically developing and what were some red flags of each. I had to
keep in mind that the pamphlets were geared towards families and caregivers of
children so should be written in a simply stated fashion. This made me focus on
what information to include and how to include it on the pamphlets. Each pamphlet
shows my knowledge of typical and atypical development in different
developmental domains.
My second product, which was completed in the Summer of 2013 in SEI 524,
is a DIR/Floortime case study that I did on a child that was diagnosed on the Autism
Spectrum. In this case study I needed to evaluate the Functional Emotional
Developmental Levels (FEDL). I also needed to evaluate his individual progress. By
engaging the child in Floortime I was able to establish both the FEDL levels and his
individual progress. This was done successfully because of the background
knowledge that I had of Autism Spectrum Disorders and the impact on development
it has.
My third product also completed in SEI 524, is an observation and planning
activity. This activity had me observe a child and from those observations, make
some goals for the child to be more successful in his environment. In order for me
to complete this activity I needed to know what was a typically developing child was
able to do and establish goals for the child to reach that potential, taking into
account his background and gaging where he was developmentally. I learned a
great deal in how a childs background can factor into their development and also
socioeconomic influences can effect a childs development.
The forth product, completed in SEI 523 in the Fall of 2013. I
completed an RBI with another member of the cohort and part of that process we
used the Ages and Stages checklist for her almost 2 year old. I included the
summary of the checklist I wrote up for the project to represent the Ages and Stages
checklist and process I went through in completing the assessment. In order to
complete the summary for the assessment I needed to have a good sense of what
was developmentally appropriate for a child her age and needed to understand child
development in order to make recommendations to her mother.
The fifth and final product that I chose to represent my understanding of
competency #1 is from SEI 513 and completed in the Spring of 2014. I choose a
cases study on a child that was in the process of referral, a process that I started
when the child entered into my classroom in November of 2013. I was able to
observe the child in a typically developing classroom and based on my background
knowledge of child development, was able to make the referral to CDS early on. Also
based on my knowledge of child development and the implications of a possible
disability I was able to set goals and objectives to help the child become more
successful in the classroom setting while waiting for the referral process to happen.
I am confident that the five product I have chosen demonstrate the wide
variety of knowledge obtained and used throughout my participation in this
program for Competency #1.