Blowing dust off the ol' blog

Man, it's been awhile! I've honestly been enjoying time away from the classroom and the clinic for a while. I've been in college for the last 7 years and I relish my small breaks. I've been reading all of my blogs, though, even though I'm a bad commenter. I also haven't given blood yet because my town hasn't had a blood drive. I'm going to start looking in other towns, since mine kind of fails.

This summer my clinic is doing a writing program to help kids whose written language needs some polish. I really want to make messes with the kids and get their hands dirty, make Oobleck or volcanoes or bring in live newts or take a field trip to a creek to find crayfish or make beautiful art with construction paper and glitter and way too much glue. I know that lots of time needs to be spent writing and typing and revising, but I am a firm believer in messy learning.

Stick a fork in me...

...because I am DONE! Sweet freedom. I bummed around all morning and then volunteered with a cutie this afternoon. Very, very good day. :)

I was reading a post from Three Ring Circus about another cutie who relies on donated blood to bolster her immune system. My blood type is the universal donor, but the last time I donated blood I almost passed out and they had to stop the procedure prematurely. The Red Cross people were super-nurses; the second I said I was feeling sick I had a cold cloth on my forehead, a bag under my chin in case I was sick, and a Sprite in my hand. They assured me that they could still use the plasma, but I felt bad that my body decided to freak out.

I haven't been back to donate blood in several years, but I want to try again because needles do not bother me and donated blood is needed so badly. However, this time I want to be a smarter donor! So I googled "donating blood tips" and found the following information from the Red Cross website:

Before Donating

	Get a good night’s sleep
	Have a good breakfast or lunch
	Drink extra water and fluids to replace the volume you will donate (avoid tea, coffee, or other beverages with caffeine)
	Eat iron-rich foods — red meat, fish, poultry or liver, beans, iron-fortified cereals, raisins and prunes

Avoid fatty foods, such as hamburgers, fries, or ice cream before donating. Tests for infections done on all donated blood can be affected by fatty materials — lipids — that appear in your blood for several hours after eating fatty foods. When this occurs and required testing cannot be performed, the blood may need to be discarded.

During the Donation

	Wear clothing with sleeves that can be raised above the elbow
	Show the staff any "good veins" that have been used successfully in the past to draw blood
	Relax
	Take the time to enjoy a snack and a drink in the refreshments area immediately after donating

After Donation

	Rehydrate by drinking plenty of fluids over the next 24-48 hours
	Avoid strenuous physical activity or heavy lifting for about five hours after donation
	If you feel light headed, lie down, preferably with feet elevated, until the feeling passes
	In rare cases when bleeding occurs after removing the bandage, apply pressure to the site and raise your arm for 3-5 minutes; if bleeding or bruising occurs under the skin, apply a cold pack to the area periodically during the first 24 hours
	If for any reason, something doesn’t feel right, call the American Red Cross toll free number provided to you after your donation
	Enjoy the good feeling that comes with knowing that you may have saved as many as three lives.

Remember, if you start feeling really cold/light-headed/nauseous while they are taking the blood, tell one of the nurses. They know exactly what to do! They deal with this all the time. And if you need to stop the transfusion, they can still use the plasma. The site I linked has information about how to find a local blood drive. I'm going to find one this month and go for it!

Thank You

The student clinic is winding down this week. The semester ends on Friday, and our summer session doesn't start until June. We generally switch clients every semester so students can experience with lots of different kids. And I wanted to say thank you to parents who bring their kids to student clinics and put up with crazy schedules and long breaks from therapy during summer and Christmas, nervous students with sweaty palms who are getting graded on how well they work with your child, supervisors coming in and out, a new nervous student with sweaty palms every four months, and all the awkward moments that must happen to students so they can grow. Thank you for trusting us with your child, and being willing to trade off therapists like hot potatoes. I will tell you that we spend hours preparing for your child's session, and writing up the progress note afterwords. We talk to each other about ideas for therapy so we can always keep activities fresh and creative. We talk about how we think your kid is cute and how much you and your kid teach us. We celebrate their triumphs with you. We are jealous of our friends who get to work with our favorite clients. Thank you for trusting us with your child.

So close...

Next Thursday my semester ends and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then I get a week off before the first session of summer clinic starts. I am actually looking forward to summer clinic; I will continue doing Wednesday mornings in my public school placement, so I don't have to adjust to something completely new. I feel like I am just starting to get comfortable with that placement, so I'm glad to continue there.
In other news, May is Better Speech, Hearing, and Language Month! Woot!

IEPs and PLOPs and AYP, oh my!

I'm currently making up an IEP for a hypothetical student as a class assignment, and it's taking me forever! Granted, some of that is because I am having to make up details about a made-up child as I go, but some of it is because I don't have much experience with IEPs...yet. ;) I am wishing that some of the parents whose blogs I read were here to help me write this thing, which amuses me because it's a bit of role-reversal from what people typically think. I think that usually the SLP or the special education teacher writes the IEP and the parent agrees or disagrees. Now that I think about it, however, maybe the other way around is better. Maybe the parent should write the IEP and the SLP or special education teacher or whomever should agree or disagree. Maybe everyone could come with a draft IEP and compare. Anyone want to make a draft IEP for my hypothetical child named Ivy League? ;)
Incidentally, if you live in Virginia, here is a link to a sample IEP form: www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/sped/iep_form.doc If you live in another state, poke around on your state education website and see if you can find a draft IEP form there. I had to use the search engine on mine, but I eventually hunted it down.

Lackluster week

I gave my first articulation therapy session on Wednesday. I don't know how I went so long without having an articulation client, but there you are. I went a little overboard and wrote this long story with the kiddos' target sounds. I read the long sentences in the long story and expected the kiddos to say the sentences back to me. I was setting the poor dears up for a hard time, but they tried their best for me, and I am grateful for their patience as I learn with them.
A friend of mine has a client who uses sign language. The client is not hearing-impaired, but was not communicating verbally. Apparently he has now started talking all on his own. They didn't teach him to talk or encourage him to talk. They just encouraged him to sign. I think that is the coolest thing I've heard all week. :)
I am behind in working my student aide hours and my hair is still sopping wet and twisted up in a towel. Perhaps I should work on this. Yesh. I have night class tonight and it's a grey day outside, but I shall soldier on!

So proud of my advocate future husband!

My advocate future husband (AFH) was substitute-teaching today and overheard some kids using the word "retarded." The entire class was promptly lectured about how the word "retarded" is ugly and hurtful. He said he did it because of me, and therefore because of you, my blogging community. You really opened my eyes to that word, and I shared what I learned with AFH. It really made an impression on both of us, and when he heard those kids using the word, it really rubbed him the wrong way. So I am very proud of him for speaking up and hopefully planting some seeds of tolerance!