Sunday, January 4, 2015
Movies, Dinner, and Dance Parties!
Sydney and I were reunited after what seems like FOREVER and went to the movie theatre to see Annie. It was such a great movie and after I went over to Sydney's for dinner with her and her family. We had indian food which was absolutely scrumptious...yum...and then Syd and I danced it off :) Also I was finally able to pick up the pottery Sydney and I made together, I am so excited to make some cat magnets for my fridge!!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Stacy wearing the Seahawks helmet she got for Christmas!
Stacy is such a beautiful human being and is the best listener I know.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Accessibility Redefined
How accessible are our communities? As an outsider I find it easy enough to walk up stairs, walk across the street, and find the bus I need in order to get home. I do not speak/stand for everyone as I am ONE person out of thousands..millions....billions of people who are all uniquely different in their own ways. If I go about my day absorbed in what I am doing, the world seems pretty great and I can function on autopilot. It is when we start to acknowledge and embrace diversity that we begin to notice aspects of societal functioning that can be improved upon for the greater community. There are many things about my own community that I have noticed in its accessibility that are both positive and negative. This post is not one to lecture or blame you for the lack of accessibility present today but instead one to educate and encourage you to have a different outlook on the world from a perspective of someone with a disability. Our communities are NOT as accessible as they could be especially for those who have to overcome challenges on a daily basis.
I am a student at Western Washington University and in downtown Bellingham we have automatic crosswalks which are very efficient and easy to use when getting from one place to another. This may seem like an improvement from the manual cross walks where you need to grab a flag and walk across or press a button, but there are additional improvements that could be made to encompass all people of society. Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) have been implemented in many areas and are a great addition to any community. Instead of relying on visual symbols to indicate when it is safe to cross, APS provide audible indications of when to WALK or NOT WALK. APS are inclusive for those who are visually impaired (blind) or deaf, they have the visuals but are also accompanied with sounds. By being an active member in our community we can help those who can't create this change on their own. The disabled population is one that is under served and not often thought about. If we are aware of our surroundings and have those who have disabilities in mind we can take a stand to make their lives a bit easier.
Photo Credit: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/signs/aps/images/cu79.jpg
On a positive note, I am an avid bus rider and rely on them for transportation. By being more socially and physically aware of those who have disabilities, I have noticed many things that I would have otherwise turned an eye to. The bus station has brail by the different busses and I thought this was so impressive. The best part was I was able to witness a man who was blind successfully find the proper bus, and get on and off without any issues. Simple things like brail at the bus station allow those who are blind to easily function in society and create awareness and inclusion of those who do have a disability.
I challenge you to start being an active member and recognizing the aspects of our communities that are or are not inclusive/accessible. Identifying these things by themselves won't make a change, but by being aware and talking about these things can be powerful steps in implementing and creating change.
Happy New Year,
Brittney
Happy New Year,
Brittney
Monday, December 8, 2014
Change Begins with One
Hello!
I am so excited to share with you all of the great things that have been in the works for the S.I.F.F. (Allies for Inclusion) Club, as well as in the advocacy and awareness for those with disabilities. A while back Western's inclusion club had a movie night in a classroom on campus where we watched Despicable Me. It was so much fun, and the classroom environment felt very incisive, supportive, and warm. After the movie, a club member was doing interviews in order to make a promotional video for the club. Sydney and I both interviewed and she was even wearing a cowgirl hat (shown in the pictures below)!
More opportunities have arisen in fostering inclusion. The S.I.F.F. Club had their Annual Christmas Party open to anyone and everyone who wanted to eat, have fun, and be i the christmas spirit. I unfortunately wasn't able to make it this year because of work (I know, work)....but I think getting others involved is even more important. I was also contacted by a reporter with Western Front, and was able to participate in a phone interview. This interview focused on the S.I.F.F. Club, how Sydney and I met, Sydney and I's relationship, my thoughts and background with the cause, etc. It was incredible to be able to share my ideas and thoughts on this issue and to have my voice want to be heard. They also contacted Sydney to do an interview as well. This should be in the Western Front soon, and when it appears I'll be sure to share it. I'm just as excited and nervous as you probably are!
I am so excited to share with you all of the great things that have been in the works for the S.I.F.F. (Allies for Inclusion) Club, as well as in the advocacy and awareness for those with disabilities. A while back Western's inclusion club had a movie night in a classroom on campus where we watched Despicable Me. It was so much fun, and the classroom environment felt very incisive, supportive, and warm. After the movie, a club member was doing interviews in order to make a promotional video for the club. Sydney and I both interviewed and she was even wearing a cowgirl hat (shown in the pictures below)!
Happy Holidays,
Brittney
Friday, November 14, 2014
Acceptance is Love
I just want to thank everyone who participated in the filming for this video, and for supporting disability awareness/inclusion. I am so humbled to be able to share something I am extremely proud of, and that has the ability to reach many people. Enjoy!
Much Love,
Brittney
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Education For Everyone
When fall arrives, and school is right around the
corner, parents start to worry about school clothes, packing lunches, and
coordinating after school activities. These worries are just a few of the many
that exist, but for parents who have children with disabilities these worries can
be slightly different. These parents want an educational experience that wills the
best for their child, and one that will extract their maximum potential. They
also want their child to be treated with dignity and respect as well as given
the same opportunities as the students who don’t have disabilities. The
educational planning for students with disabilities has expanded recently with
providing more options for the parent and child. There are special education
programs, but more recently certain schools have implemented programs in which
the child is mainstreamed into the regular classrooms. The increase of options
for these children ensure that they can and will be put in the program that is
best suited for them individually. The negative aspect of this lies in the fact
that who can really know what will be the best for that child without a test
run? It is a very important but hard decision that many parents face. They may
be asking themselves “will my child be more successful in a special education
classroom with a designated/trained educator but away from social interaction?
Or will my child be more successful mainstreamed into a classroom with peers but
not have all of the teacher's attention?” There is no definite answer to which
option is best because every child is different, but researchers have done
their part in trying to uncover the answer to this disputable question.
A qualitative study conducted by
Finke, McNaughton, and Drager (2009) was used in order to investigate the
experiences of teachers who included students with autism spectrum disorders
(ASD) in their general education classrooms. The participants were five elementary
teachers (K-5) that met the inclusion criteria and the study was continued for
a period of 15 weeks. At the end of this social experiment, integration of the
student with autism was viewed to consist of mostly positive effects on the
student with autism, the other students, the parents, and the teachers. This
study did show teacher comments of negative factors such as stress, pressure,
and disruptions, but "in their perception, the benefits for the child, the
teacher, and the peers outweigh any challenges” (Finke, McNaughton, &
Drager, 2009). Based on the experiences of the participants it was found that
successful inclusion resulted in increased understanding of diversity and
difference in the classroom by the “typically developing” students. The
integration of the student with autism into the classroom also increased the
teachers understanding of themselves. They now viewed themselves as teachers of
all students, not just those with autism. From this research we can conclude
that mainstreaming education would be a good choice for a child with special
needs. The only downside to this research is that only five teachers
participated, so the opinions aren’t as widespread and accurate of the whole
population as they could be.
In a similar study by Marshall,
Stojanovik, and Ralph (2002), the effects of mainstreaming a child with speech
and language impairments were observed. This study like the one done by Finke,
McNaughton and Drager was a qualitative study in which they interviewed a total
of 19 people (5 men) of their experiences of the integration process. This
study had more participants than the other, and had a different demographic of
those who were chosen to be involved; these participants were students in the
Faculty of Education. This study also focused on children with speech and
language impairments instead of just autism. Marshall, Stojanovik, and Ralph’s
study was short term and conducted the interviews after the student's first
teaching practice was completed, instead of after 15 weeks like in the
experiment done by Finke, McNaughton, and Drager. The interview questions were based on six main
themes, which centered around the effects, benefits, and consequences of
inclusion on the multiple parties involved. The interview responses from these
participants were pessimistically focused, and had a more negative view on
integration. As stated in the study “many of the attitude data suggest lack of
enthusiasm for inclusion under the present provision” (Marshall, Stojanovik,
& Ralph, 2002). Overtly negative comments were expressed when talking about
inclusion of these students in certain subjects. One participant said, “I
didn’t come in to teach children who are in wheelchairs, that don’t have arms,
that can’t see are deaf”(Marshall, Stojanovik, & Ralph, 2002).The
largest concerns from these participants of mainstreaming students with
disabilities arose from lack of resources such as time, energy, knowledge, and
training.
These two similar studies had opposite
results, which shows how debatable this issue still is. There is no right
answer because these studies rely solely on the opinions of the participants.
This can lead to the conclusion that the best choice for the child with a
disability is dependent upon the opinion of the parents and child and in what
they believe is best. In regards to mainstreaming, if the parents choose this
option for their child that means they believed that the benefits outweighed
the negatives, and visa versa. Choosing special education or mainstreamed
education is not what is important, its being given the opportunity to choose
and have the right to the education these students want and deserve.
What are your thoughts on these
educational options for those with disabilities? Do you think special education
or mainstreaming is more effective/beneficial? Do you agree with the first or
second research study? Comment your thoughts.
The links to the peer-reviewed articles can be found below for further reading.
Finke, E. H., McNaughton,
D. B., & Drager, K. R. (2009). “All Children Can and Should Have the
Opportunity to Learn”: General Education Teachers' Perspectives on Including
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder who Require AAC. AAC: Augmentative
& Alternative Communication, 25(2), 110-122.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=1c9970db-0ac9-4e6c-92fe-083b0c1381d3%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4207&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=39656793
Marshall, J., Stojanovik,
V., & Ralph, S. (2002). 'I never even gave it a second thought': PGCE
students' attitudes towards the inclusion of children with speech and language
impairments. International Journal Of Language & Communication Disorders,
37(4), 475-489.
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