July 9 2010 iPod touch presentation and iStore

Joanne amd I finished working on our "Home" category for "Sally", and then joined the rest of our group to write the IPP. Again, this was of great interest to me as I have never sat on an IPP committee before. We discussed ways to enhance other students ability to respond, or have more effective communication with "Sally". In one of the classes I taught, there was a grade 3 student with signs of FAS, along with other diagnosed medical issues. Although he was verbal, some people had difficulty understanding him, and some of the other children were scared of him. He was picked on out in the playground, and couldn't control his anger there, so he wound up losing his recess time. I started keeping him in, so he wouldn't encounter the negative feelings that set him into an upset. Although he had free choice when inside, sometimes he still wanted to go outside. But I thought, this isn't fair - he loses his recess for factors that aren't his factors. So, I started having a recess buddy for him. Every day, a different person would stay in with him, and I would facilitate a game or activity with them. Eventually, the whole class recognized how to communicate with him, and the signs of when he was getting really upset and needed teacher intervention. The rest of the class started teaching the rest of the school. At that point, he started going back outside (at first with me always out with him). He and his classmates had less conflict at recess, and he was much happier being able to go outside. Before this course, I looked at this problem as a conflict or a discipline problem. But I now see it as a communication breakdown. My little grade 3 was trying to convey a meassage, but the rest of the students didn't understand the message, were scared and stopped being communication partners. This really inspires me to reflect on other experiences I have had to see if I can relate the courses I am taking now to them as well.