miscellaneous

Reflecting Over the Past 12 Weeks…

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Written by Nicole Fisher, Student Clinician, FIU For those of you who don’t know me, I am a Graduate Student at Florida International University in the Speech and Language Pathology program. About three months ago I received word that I would be completing my first internship at the Speech Therapy Center. Sure, I was excited and eager to start—who wouldn’t be? I was finally able to go out in the community and put some of my knowledge into practice, but—I must admit—I was a little nervous. Looking back, I am grateful for the amazing experiences I had. Indeed, I was able to put much of my education into practice and I was taught many wonderful and effective therapy techniques. In addition to new skills, I have gained confidence and a newfound love for my future profession. I feel like I will be a much better clinician as a result. To my surprise, the kids I worked with taught me quite a few things as well. For example, I learned the names of many of the aircraft carriers currently serving our airports—national and a few international. I learned about Sponge Bob, Dora, iCarly and Shrek. I discovered that I am now…

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A Silly Success Story

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Written by Nicole Fisher, Student Clinician, FIU *Initials of the patient are used in the story to protect privacy CV is a young girl three-year-old girl with Autism. When I first met CV I was struck by her tranquility. She was so calm and so still! In fact she sat patiently and quietly for the whole hour.  During our first therapy session together she drifted off in to her thoughts quite often, thus I had to make an effort to reestablish joint attention multiple times. She responded when prompted and often offered up the correct answer to many of my questions. During our first session we labeled the rooms of her house along with some household items. We also explored the function of some of the objects we had labeled. We worked on simple “yes/no” questions (i.e. Is this a pig? or Does this go here?)  as well as simple “what” questions (i.e. What animal is this)? Over the course of the three months that I was able to spend with CV she excelled rapidly. She responded amazingly well to therapy. I spent my last day with CV this week. It was bittersweet. She has changed so much. She can…

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Auditory Processing Disorders 101

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What is Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)? Auditory processing is a term used to describe what happens when your brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around you. Humans hear when energy that we recognize as sound travels through the ear and is changed into electrical information that can be interpreted by the brain. The “disorder” part of auditory processing disorder means that something is adversely affecting the processing or interpretation of the information. To read the full article, go to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders website. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/auditory.asp And for addtional information visit the American Speech Language and Hearing Association
: http://www.asha.org/ Understanding auditory processing disorders in children Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician Florida International University ’11

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Extraordinary Individuals: Temple Grandin

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Temple Grandin is an inspirational woman that has proven to the world that autism is a limitation that can be overcome. The BBC has produced a biography of her life, that not only states her accomplishments but also gives much insight into the lives of autistic children. Check out the series of videos. They are well worth watching: The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Additionally, a film by HBO, Temple Grandin, named after this heroic figure was created. It is available for rent at your nearest video rental store. Check the official site for the movie: http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin/index.html For more information of this individual and her works, look at: http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-Ei-La/Grandin-Temple.html

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Finding Inspiration in the Imperfection

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Alexander Graham Bell, Walt Disney, and Winston Churchill all had learning disabilities. Think about how each of them has influenced the world today; including the creation of the telephone, the magic of Disney, and the strategic skills and persistence necessary to win a war. It is important to keep in mind that because your child is diagnosed as learning disabled, does not mean he/she is incapable. All of these men are remembered for their great accomplishments and with your help your child will do great things as well. Often, children with learning disabilities compensate for their difficulty with strength in other skills. Additionally, they are usually difficult to detect, simply because they will hide their difficulties. As a parent you have to keep a close watch in order to insure that your child is provided with early detection and remediation. Keep in mind that you want to provide as much support as possible.  A red flag for detection will be that your child will complain of schoolwork and receive poorer grades than his/her peers. With help from psychologists, and other specialists, the difficulties encountered by learning disabled children and teens can be decreased. Often times, children with learning disabilities have…

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