Field Observation Paper

On September 22, 2016, I completed my field placement observation in a middle school classroom located at The Day School. The heterogeneous group of students that made up the classroom have significant cognitive weaknesses in general learning abilities, functional communication, fine and gross motor skills, social skills, self-care, sensory, and physical development. In addition to their intellectual disabilities, many students in the classroom suffered with health care problems, including eating problems, growth impairments, and respiratory disorders. During my visit, the teacher and paraprofessionals provided support to the students with health care needs. These responsibilities included toileting assistance and diapering, food preparation, …show more content…
For others, the challenging behaviors occurred as a way to escape from a demanding task or situation the students do not want to participate. For these students, the IEP team and a behavioral therapist developed comprehensive intervention plans to address the challenging behaviors exhibited by the students or to address environmental factors believed to be related to the challenging or inappropriate behaviors. The team used visual reminders, verbal cues, prompting, and positive reinforcement to attend to behavior goals, increase appropriate behaviors, and decrease inappropriate …show more content…
Several students from this classroom have oral-motor difficulties that affect their ability to eat. Therefore, the team used a collaborative and transdisciplinary approach to feeding to ensure that the students receive proper nutrition. During my observation, I had the opportunity to watch a Speech and Language Therapist work one-on-one with a student. Before beginning lunch, the Speech and Language Therapist transferred the student from her wheel chair into a chair and placed a towel around the student’s neck to catch any spills. Using picture cards, the Speech and Language Therapist verbally prompted the student to select an item of food when offered a choice. When the student did not respond, the Speech and Language Therapist used a full physical prompt to teach the student how to respond. Additionally, I observed the Speech and Language Therapist using full physical prompts to teach the student how to scoop food onto her spoon and bring the food up to her mouth. The Speech and Language Therapist would place her hand over the student’s hand and guide the student’s hand to grasp the spoon, pick it up, place it in her mouth, and then return it to the