Blog 23: Final Lesson Plan Reflection

(1) What I'm most proud of about my senior presentation was that I was very knowledgable about my information and I didn't stutter. I have this tendency to stutter a lot so I was really surprised when my words came out very clear. I also made almost 40 minutes in just speaking about my answers 1,2, and 3 alone. So I was proud of that.
(2)
a.) I would give myself an AE.
b.) I would give myself a P.
(3) What worked well for my senior presentation is that I was always available to do mentorship hours and it was really easy to get to volunteer at the day care I did my mentorship at. There were many opportunities.
(4) If I could go back in time I would've drank tea or something because I was a bit shooken up in the beginning of my presentation. I was nervous at first. I was surprised people didn't notice.
(5) Yes, this project has been really helpful for me. It was helped me also gain social skills that I lack and helped me be more open to others. Also maybe to consider being a behavioral therapist as a career.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal 
In total from when I first started in September, I have done 197 hours. My log of specific hours is on the right side of my blog and it is updated. I know we were supposed to do at least 50 hours, but since I did more I hope what applied in the beginning of the year that all our hours for our mentorship counts as community service still applies.
Contact Name: Ariana Nasseri
Mentorship: Amar's Children Center
Interpretive
The most important thing I've gained from this experience is to be more understanding of autistic children. Before I never really understood their struggles and how most of them are bullied until I saw it with my own eyes. Many kids bullied Sergio because he reacted to things differently than the rest of them and that isn't okay.. I think we should all be kind and accept each other for who we are. There is no use in bashing others for things they can not control.
Applied
What I've done has helped me answer my EQ because Ariana is actually in an early intervention program with Sergio. She is trying out 40 different programs with him, I know it seems crazy right. But she has to find out which one is the best for him and which one will help him accomplish more in life. Sergio actually has a mild case of autism but he has been very cooperative the whole time and he seems to understand things the way Ariana explains them.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

1. My essential question is what is the best way to help an autistic child develop better social skills? My first answer is through early interventions which the parents and therapists work together to reach the child's individualized goals and decide which treatment works best for them. My second answer is through family support; autistic kids can receive the comfort and love needed in order to fulfill their goals and undergo all the treatments necessary. My third answer is becoming your own child's expert be very attentive towards their behavior at home and in public. My best answer is through early interventions because my other answers are completely dependent on the family whether or not the autistic child improves so it isn't very effective compared to early intervention programs involving professional therapists that have studied for years and are very knowledgeable in that field.
2. The process I took to arrive to my best answer was being informed by my mentor that early interventions are available for kids around 3 years of age and actually seeing a form of early intervention at the day care. I've seen Ariana (who is my mentor) use Applied Behavioral Analysis on Sergio when she teaches him how to MAND or request something politely. Another one I've seen is Occupational therapy which involves fine motor movements such as cutting with scissors, drawing, writing, etc. From then on I began doing research and I found on various websites that scientists have proven that early interventions actually improve a child's prognosis. 
3. I didn't really face any problems while choosing my best answer since it was pretty clear to me that professional help is in a way more effective than family help. Or to put it in another way it actually brings the family together to get professional help since they feel a sense of responsibility because everyday challenges come with caring for an autistic child. And how I explained, the other two answers focus on just family help and if the family doesn't do their part than it will affect the autistic child's development. 
4. The two most significant sources I used to help me answer my essential question was an article by L.E. Arnold called "Interventions & Treatment Options" and another article by Susan Stokes called "Effective Programming for Young Children with Autism (Ages 3-5)". Interventions & Treatment Options was very helpful because it gave a list of the type of early interventions that are most commonly used and have proven to be effective. Also states why it is better to treat your autistic child right away rather than waiting till they age. Effective Programming for Young Children with Autism was helpful as well because it was very detailed and when giving the goals and objectives of an autistic child and how hard it is to communicate in different situations such as playing toy cars with other kids (just social play in general).