Slowly We Progress Forward
Good morning … it’s me!
We’re in a pretty sunshiny mood today. I’ve been at work for an hour and 15 minutes and only a tiny bits gotten accomplished. Sr. Tess held me up at the front office for the first hour, then we went back to show her the technology survey we did with the staff yesterday. It turned out pretty good … it was a good survey.
There was a lot of things on her mind. She’s concerned still with the movie that the center will be making because its only a couple of weeks away now. There will be people in filming the center in action hehehehe. Pretty cool, pretty cool. We each have to do about a 3 minute presentation. YEEKS!!! And, I’ve been reminded that I have to have my hair pulled back. LIKE YAH! Do that every day! *Sigh* She gave us about 5 things we need to incorporate into our part like when the center opens, about the workshop and programs, and basic needs of independence and community. Man oh man … you know what my memory is like. And, we have to talk like everything is just a casual conversation. This is going to take some work. Might want to start a script today, then reduce it to an outline and start practicing the things that are most important. You would think with all this camera work we’ve been doing I’d be better prepared.
Then there was a little movie she wanted me to watch that someone had sent her on the Internet … It was a good tape about another program for people with DD. I found myself thinking I wished I was them, because their production is already done and over with and looks great!
We also talked about the newest big news. We officially have a QHSP Intern! YAYYYYY!!!! The person who has been the Q Assistant has accepted a full time position starting July 1rst. I cannot tell you in words how happy that makes us on multiple levels. She’s real smart and the daughter of one of my best friends on staff. She speaks Spanish, and did I mention how smart she is??? Oh man … beauty! She talked things over with Sister and Sister talked things over with us. Probably one of the neatest things is that Sister said … she can work with the other Q one day a week, but we get her the remaining FOUR DAYS!!!!!!!!!! Woo HOOOOOOO!!!!!
In my mind, we’ve already begun the process of developing her work. Sister is most concerned with her learning how to do annual meetings, Annual reports, ICAPs, Qnotes, (we’ll throw in here Q Chronotes), and she told the intern that I’m going to specialize her toward working with families. I’m going to turn most my case load work over to her and just oversee what she is doing … and of course, we’ll train her to do all that. We are going to start the family work by having her read 8-10 pages a day in a book called Families, professionals, and Exceptionality: Collaborating for Empowerment by the Turnbull’s (a husband and wife team). I am soooo excited. I have the book already though haven’t read it … have skimmed through it several times. It’s a great book. And, we figured out yesterday it has a companion site with the publisher, so as we are doing the work (I’ll match the intern’s work), there will be little tests and ideas that will be completed and evaluated. This is going to be a learning process for both and we will together integrate the work into the program. I figure it will take 7-8 months to get through at about 10-12 pages a week. That can’t be too bad. At the Master’s level you are required to read about 100 pages a week. She will be graduating with her BA in psychology on May 21rst. We would get her sooner, but she was given a week vacation with friends for her graduation gift and will be visiting family in Guatamala for the last couple of weeks in June. Hehehe We’ll live with that.
She will continue the work she has now started with Client goals and developing goals for the client is something she’s going to need getting very good at. I had heard from her yesterday that she’d be working 4 days with me. This morning we heard from Sr. that she had discussed “night and day” differences between the other Q and me and that Sister had agreed saying she doesn’t want the other involved more than the one day she has with her now. So, I get basically the entire training task. YAYYYYY!!! I can’t tell you personally how happy that makes me feel in that not only the boss, but the new intern thinks that much of my work or ability. Just the neatest, neatest thing. It’s also going to be nice, because she will have a desk and her own computer, right in the office behind ours. She’ll do some of her work on my bigger computer, and of course, we’ll share the files which are 4-10 feet from both desks. So cool, sooo cooll!
I asked the Sister what the other Q was going to think … hehehe we won’t say that exactly, but pretty much we figure it doesn’t matter, because things are set up and their not going to change! I feel lucky here that I ‘ve built up almost two years of staff training experience. Feeling pretty regulated with that kind of work.
Hmm, thinking here now … I’m going to want to give her a fairly regulated schedule. I think we will look at …
Intern’s General Agenda
Per Average Week under Ann’s Supervision
8 hours – the other Q.
3 hours – Qnotes
2 hours – Q Chrononotes
3.5 hours – Goal work with 5 individuals group 1
1 hour – ICAP
1.5 – Development of client goals (Q, DSP, Client)
3 hours – Annual staffing reports (prior, after, goals-objectives)
1 hour – staffing (staffing schedule complete all 20 clients, plus new clients between July, 2006 and February, 2007)
3 hours – reading and respond to learning tasks for Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality-Turnbull (complete 400 pages – approximately 15 pages per week 7 months – July through February).
5 hours – Client observations, files - including CSO progress notes
5 hours – Case reviews and performance analysis with Q and DSP Chrononotes
1 hours – Staff training
1 hour - Teacher Skill Training
2 hours – Organizing, planning and research week/month – questions asked and answered by appropriate resource (Administrator, staff, books and articles, or Internet)
40 hours per week (8 month internship July, 2006 – February, 2007)
Lotus Organizer program will be utilized to structure schedule by Intern according to the priorities listed above and notes entered if and when the schedule veers course so that Intern and Ann can reevaluate the load.
Ok ok. Got that down … Cool, cool. We submitted a copy to the boss and we’ll see what she says.
In the meantime, we’ve been working with the secretary, because her Excel went down. We loaded the new program, but there was a problem in finding where she had the files. I guess she’d always used her “My recent files” from the start button and doesn’t know where they were and because she saved them only under dates the search feature isn’t doing so good at picking them up. *Sigh* It was a little messed up because the other Q was mixed up in it and saying a bunch of umm stuff that nobody needed to hear. *Double sigh*
The day is getting away from me, so we’re going to have to think clearly here. Major project still should be the technology reports, but I have to think a few moments about the Thinking Group coming up this afternoon. Last couple of weeks we were going over understanding the five working domains of the center. This week, … hmmm I think I’d like to bring it another level of comfort in their understanding. Basically though, we’re still working on general comprehension of the Performance analysis report. Hmm, I could work with them on understanding the positive and negatives and drill them on the domains in the meantime. I talked to Dr. M. about the report and he said officially the positive and negatives are valences. Pretty cool. We’re doing something official. It took us a few moments to explain the report, but after we were done I think we must have been impressive enough, because Dr. M. said this was the kind of thing that people wrote papers on, and that the interest level would be high. I though WOW! Very Cool.
Hmm, let me see … I wonder if I saved the original pictures so I could make a few pictures large enough for everyone. Be really nice to have a set on each table. That might be excessive, but would give a lot of people a chance to identify the “Correct answer.” Let’s see.
AHA … we’ve progressed. Couldn’t find the originals … have to look harder later, but we had extras done 2 weeks ago. So, I made 9 copies (9 tables in multipurpose room) and I taped a set of 5 pictures of the domains on each paper. I figure that about 9 lucky people who worked specially hard can take them home at the end of the session. Hmm, now I wrote with big black marker a plus or minus on either side of the center picture (like with dice). I want representatives at each table to pick up the tables picture sheet and point to the right picture and valance according to the statement on board. This will let me know who is getting it and who is not. And for the people with less understanding it will give them a chance to learn better identification. We will simply say which picture has a “P” or show me the picture of the water. Hmm, now should we keep score? Need to figure out how we’ll rephrase the questions. Hmm, interesting … what happened we took a copy of the DSPs Chrononote, let me see …
Ok, we came up with something different … we decided to just work with one group at a time and give them some more depth with it. So we put a “social” type picture for the first domain, then drew lines out from it so the paper was divided in 7, and then we typed in the coded name and number for all the social activities we teach for this domain. The numbers are part of our system, but it was also to help people find the right picture box. We then took most the hour and worked at drawing things that might remind them of these areas. Like you may not notice, but most drew the other Q for Town Hall, because that’s the group she leads. Or down in language there might be a pizza representing Italian language, hmm one more … for the leadership group, a couple of advanced people drew either the newspaper or computer, because that’s some of the stuff that happens in that group. You are seeing with this next set pictures drawings from the most advanced to the lowest advanced clients. Regardless what was drawn, they each know and remember what that picture meant to them. Where the people might look the same to us they say oh no … that is Ms … or that’s me with my best friend, etc. The last few moments of the group we learned quickly how fast they could pick up something, which was really cool. I showed them the plus sign + a few thought it was a cross, but they were quick and most understood that a plus sign meant adding. We told them it was also a symbol for positive. Then we showed them the minus symbol – They knew if the one was adding the other was “take away.” So, I told them that it was also a symbol for negative. The rest of the five minutes I used only the terms negative and positive and they followed suit. I said we were going to set up some situations and I wanted them to tell me if they were negative or positive. I created a guy named Jack and stated, Jack walked up to so and so and kicked them. Is that negative or positive. YAYYYY ! They got it first round. Jack helped his teacher, negative or positive. Jack went to work … Jack went to work at the grocery store and dropped the milk, negative or positive. Heheheh I just love this group.
I think we’re going to continue this thread over the next month, each time working with a different domain. Then when I get all the drawing in, I’m going to make a little booklet out of it and then give it to them so they can eventually start helping me decide not only was the experiences Jack was having was negative or positive, but as well, were the experiences part of the social domain or the personal domain.
I’m not sure why this much teaching of structure is important, but it has remained so in my mind over the last 3 weeks. A big part is CARF of course, but the thing about CARF is that its basic premises are actually an outstanding means to be teaching the clients. It is important I believe that not only do they come to the center, but they show an interest in it, what’s happening with it, and how they can be a part of designing its future. This is all
the good stuff.
This is a tired, but happy camper. Again, like many meetings. They were a happy exuberant group today. Makes our time feel worth while.
In the meantime, Sr. has gotten back together with us concerning the Intern’s general Agenda. Everything went over, with the exception I could only have the intern in the thinking group like every other week and dwindle that down to once a month. Shoot! I thought the group would be good for her to see how everyone is working together … I guess she can still do that once a month. We’ll make it ummm let’s make it the last Friday of the month. Then she will have a good summary experience from which to write the next set of Qnotes. I like that just fine … AND it frees up another 3 hours during the month. AHA! I know … Let’s make that time to be reading again. This time from Saphier & Gower’s “The Skilful Teacher!” Yes, yes … that will work. It’s another good book, because it teaches structure. This particular book gives very comprehensive lists of about any kind of behavior, intellectual, or developmental trick in the book! Very good. So, for about 3 hours less of meeting time …giving up on some of direct teaching client’s experiences for non-direct … she’ll have to read for 3 more hours. Just an extra hour a week, AND she’ll be able to skim the book during that time looking for the items she’s most in need of at the time. Love it! Whoops gotta go. Time to go home! YAYYYY! Friend waiting with meatball sub!
Smmooooch!
posted by Ann Marie @ 5/13/2006 12:37:00 AM
Comments: 1
