*Please note that all students and staff members have been assigned a letter and no names

are disclosed in order to protect their identity*

Week 1

Thursday, May 16th, 2019 9:00-4:00; 7 hours

Thursday was my first day at Jacob’s Ladder. We (the interns) were unable to begin on

Monday because the school was not quite ready for us. So, starting on Thursday we began with a

two-hour orientation that was from 9-11. After this orientation we were assigned several training

videos to watch while filling out a comprehensive exam. This lasted from about 11-1 and after

that some of my fellow interns left but I decided to stay and begin observing. For the first week

and a half we will be doing this same sort of schedule every day. We will observe a variety of

settings as well as complete training videos and comprehensive exams. Once we complete

observations, we can be assigned a more set schedule.

My observation on Thursday was with a young child (I will not disclose names in order

to protect his identity) but he was of the age of 9. He suffered from a stroke in the womb and his

medical protocol was one of the more severe cases at Jacobs Ladder. Because of his stroke, he is

full time in a motor wheel chair and unable to verbally communicate. He was given an electronic

tablet that would allow him to communicate slightly. This included answering questions with

“yes” or “no” or telling us how he was feeling. There were several buttons he could select with

options that would answer those questions out loud. My observation with him also included his

speech therapy session where I was able to observe what goes on during that. Although those are

all case by case it was interesting to see how his speech therapist interreacted with him. The last

hour spent with this student was focused on getting him to drink his water. This was a really

challenging task for him and required the full hour to drink the small cup of water. This was an

eye-opening experience and reminded me how much we take for granted.

Friday, May 17th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

On Friday I was assigned to work at the nursery. This setting was for newborns and

children up to around the age of 3. Most of these children were children of staff members at

Jacobs Ladder. While I was happy to help in this area, I am definitely more interesting in

working with the special population that the school is designed for. I think working the nursey is

a great help for the organization but will not give me the same experience that I am hoping to

gain. This felt more like working at a typical daycare. Two of the children do attend the school as

well so I did enjoy interacting with them and learning about their medical protocol but again I

think I would rather work in the school/ therapeutic settings.

Total Weekly Hours: 30 (15 independent study, 15 on campus)

Total Hours to Date: 30

Week 2

Monday, May 20, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I was in the nursey from 8 to 8:45 to observe and help with nursery drop-off. From

9 to 1 I observed an LE3 (learning environment 3) class room. Learning Environment 3 means

that the students are capable of being in a group setting and integrate more academics then the

other settings. Here, I observed E who was 19 years old. We began our day with running

program which most students have but it looks different for everyone. For E he was encouraged

to run for about 10 minutes. The purpose of the running program is to really get the students

moving and ready to start their day. There is also a lot of emphasis on cross lateral movement

and how this encourages the brain to activate both hemispheres of the brain.
 After running program, we moved to academics where E completed some of his tasks.

Every student has a hefty binder which is their program. Each program is specific to the student

and tracks the completion of tasks and progress with those tasks. E completed some of his math

module. In between these tasks, movement is integrated in order to get his body re focused and

allow him to have a calm body. After this we moved on to a snack and then back outside for

some exercise. This included the walking trail as well as a few cross lateral exercises such as

cross knee taps.

After this we went into the mat room to do mindfulness. This was a 5-minute activity

where students were encouraged to lay down on the mats with the lights dimmed and listening to

soothing music. The goal here is to really relax the student and get them ready to continue on

with their day. E seemed to respond well to this and really relaxed. The rest of the day consisted

of more training material and independent study times. It has been really interesting to learn from

the training videos and then see those things being implemented in person throughout the day

Tuesday, May 21, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

This day I began at 8:00 with student prep until 9 and this was just getting the classroom

or learning environment prepared for the day. It was a good time to get to know the teacher who

I would be observing for the day as well. I was in learning environment 2 today and this is sort of

a little more dependent and less group work then LE3, like I observed the previous day. LE2

consisted of students around the same age range for the most part and had students that needed a

little more guidance than those in LE3. They started off their day by asking a social question to

their friends. This was to encourage social interactions and work through verbalizing those social

interactions with the students and their peers. After this I went with my teacher and student to

work on her program which started out with mat work. My student for the day had just gotten
reevaluated and was beginning a whole new program so some of the mat work that was

complete, she had never done before. After mat work we did the running program where the

students run for about 10 minutes and C seemed to really enjoy that. After running program, we

moved on to her lessons for the day. My teacher for the day really let me get involved with C and

that was great to get some hands on experience after most of my training coming from videos.

At 1:30 I was able to go observe animal therapy. This so far as been one of my favorite

programs at Jacobs Ladder. I have a passion for both children and animals so being able to work

with both is awesome for me. This was for about 30 minutes where I just helped to lead the

students with chores around the barn area (they have lots of animals on site) like brushing the

mini ponies and giving them water.

After animal therapy I was back in LE2 because they were down 2 teachers, so they

called for me to go back and help out where needed. 2:00-4:00 looked the same as most days

where it was my time for more training and independent studying time.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

This day started out like Mondays where I was in the nursery for about 45 minutes

helping out with the arrival of the staff’s children. After the nursey I was scheduled to observe D

and his teacher from 9-1. D is 47 and came to Jacobs Ladder about 3 months ago completely

nonverbal and has already made great progress. D is able to greet others and verbalize

sometimes. What I noticed with D was that when asked questions for the most part he had a hard

time expressing the answers especially when it came to what he may want. Instead of asking yes

or no questions where he could simply move his head to answer, his teacher would give him to

options and make his choose and vocalize that option.

 My day with D was spent mostly outside and consisted of lots of trail walks. When D

would get heightened it was typically him searching for some tactile and vestibular movements

so we would work through some of those like a tactile glove or deep pressure. There is a lot of

logging involved in those job and my teacher for the day allowed me to do some of the logging

so I could get a feel for what it’s like.

After lunch D felt very sleepy but his day wasn’t over, so we really had to encourage him

to wake up and get some movements in. We took him to the trampoline to get some vestibular

movement in and this was his favorite. It was the first time I saw D smile. Once my day ended

with D at 1, I had training and independent study material again.

Thursday, May 23, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today was my favorite day so far. I had the chance to obverse the HOPE school from 8-1

and this has been my favorite setting thus far. The HOPE school is designed for students that are

independent and focuses a lot more on behavioral aspects versus the other environments that may

have more emphasis on motor. Another thing about HOPE school is that ultimately the goal for

those students is to transition out into a more traditional school. I was lucky enough to participate

in their “moving on” ceremony where 5 of the students were leaving Jacob’s Ladder and

transitioning out. I am so glad I was able to witness this because I got to see the impact Jacobs

ladder and the staff has made on their students. These 5 students prepared a short speech for the

ceremony where they thanked their teachers and staff for the experience. One thing that was said

that really resonated with me was one student said “I never knew I could live the life I am living

now, I never knew I had the capabilities to learn what I have and become who I am and I owe it

to you all”. This really stuck with me and really solidified my happiness in my choice to be at

Jacobs Ladder.
 After the ceremony and a few academic lessons, we moved on to the walking trail where

a local Eagle Scout had built a new ropes course for Jacobs ladder and the students. We took the

students out to test it out and that was another highlight of my day. These kids were so excited

and not one wasn’t smiling. When 1:00 rolled around I continued working on my training

materials until 4:00. I also had some time to discuss with Allie and Kelsey that we will be doing

hand washing for our implementation project.

Total Weekly Hours: 43 (32 on site, 11 independent study)

Total Hours to Date: 73

*Note: we do not receive an official lunch break, so time is not taken out for that. We work
through our lunch with our students.

Week 3

Monday, May 27, 2019 (Independent Study); 6 hours

The school was closed today and Tuesday, so I worked on my off-site material level 1

block. Throughout our time here at Jacob’s Ladder we have been assigned several hours of

outside training material to complete and so the days the school may be closed we are to work on

this material. I decided for this week I would complete the “Smart Moves” reading and the

corresponding write up assigned to us. I decided to split the book up this week and spend time on

it the days I have off.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 (Independent Study), 6 hours

Like I previously mentioned, I worked on my independent study material since the school

was closed and spent the hours reading the assigned book.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today the school was opened again, and I worked in the nursey from 8-9 just to get the

day started. Allie, Kelsey, and I helped sanitize the nursey and the children’s toys. From 9-3 I
was placed in Hope School (one of the learning environments on campus that I have previously

mentioned). We started the day with mindfulness. The students watched a film and would pause

the clip to discuss the emotions that characters may have felt in those moments and learned new

emotions. After this we went to running program where the students rain the trail for 10 minutes

to get their bodies moving. After running we worked on a math lesson with the student I was

shadowing for the day. After lunch we had music therapy which was interesting to see the

students participate in. The music therapist was actually a GCSU alumni so that was neat. The

kids were very engaged during this time and it was great to see how therapeutic music really

could be. From 3-4 I worked on my on-site training materials as well as discussed my project

with my site supervisor.

Thursday, May 30th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Thursday looked very similar to Wednesday as far as my time from 9-3. From 8-9 I was

trained on animal care. There are several animals on site and because of my experience with

animals I will be placed in animal care in the mornings and evenings. This just includes chores

like feeding, watering, and general care of all the animals. There are miniature donkeys, alpacas,

miniature horses, chickens, bunnies, and goats so a wide range of animas to attend but something

I thoroughly enjoy. My time from 9-3 in the Hope School was very similar to the previous day.

One thing I really enjoyed was during their “interactive” block, the students dug up time capsules

they had buried in the beginning of the year. It was really fun and great to hear the progress the

students had made over the school year and that was something very exciting for them. After this

the students did their mat work. This just means they spend about 30 minutes on whatever

exercises are on their program. Each student has different exercises to complete. 3 to 4 o’clock

was animal care again.

Friday, May 31st, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Friday was my last day of observing and I found out where I would be placed for the

summer. For the rest of the summer I would begin the day with animal care for an hour and then

an hour at the end of the day. For the majority of my day I would be in LE2 (learning

environment 2) working with the ISE program (intensive summer experience). This program was

designed for student who wished to stay for the summer and still have a program. I would have

two students in the classroom the remainder of the summer along with one teacher. Essentially, I

will be her TA for the reminder of my time. A, one of the students I have worked with before and

B, is a new student who comes just for the summer program. AB, the neurodevelopment teacher

I will be with this summer, trained me on B since I have not met or worked with her yet. Friday

was the last day of regular program work, so the students had a field day. This was really

awesome to see all the children interact from all the different learning environments and play

games. After field day, we went in for lunch around 12:30 and spent the rest of the day doing

little activities like reading, playing a game, and continued some mat work. A, who I was with

this day and all summer, tends to do something called scripting. Essentially, he will ramble on a

conversation with himself but not be forming any real or relevant sentences. I had to do a lot of

redirecting of this by just telling him to talk to me and ask me some questions or I would ask him

some questions. I am really looking forward to working with A this summer. I finished my day

from 3-4 with animal care.

Saturday, June 1st, 2019 (Independent Study); 5 hours

I spent some time throughout my day finishing my reading of “Smart Moves”.

Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 (Independent Study) 3 hours

 Because I wanted to get this task completed by the end of the week, I dedicated some

more time on Sunday to finish up my reading and work on my corresponding write up to turn in

to my supervisor.

Total Weekly Hours:44 (24 on site, 11 independent study)

Total Hours to Date: 117

Week 4

Monday, June 3rd, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today began with animal care from 8-9 which just included my usual animal chores.

After animal care I began working in LE2 from 9-3. Today was the first day of ISE (intensive

summer experience) which is a program designed for some of the LE2 students during the

summer semester. This program is just designed to keep students in their usual program work

routine but includes more fun and creative activities and less academic work. The two main

students I will be in ISE with are A and B. Throughout the day some of the LE1 and LE2

students will come in and blend for some of the activities. For example, some students come in

for our peer exchange which is from 9:00-9:15. This is where the children will sit together, and

all greet one another and ask a social question to help improve their social interactions.

A is fairly independent but needs a great deal of prompting. He typically can process

directions 2 at a time. One challenge for A is something called scripting. Scripting is a repetition

of words, phrases, intonation, or sounds of the speech of others, sometimes taken from movies,

but also sometimes taken from other sources such as favorite books or something someone else

has said. If A scripts too much, he gets in his head and it makes it very hard for him to focus. To

redirect this we encourage him to talk to us all day long. We try to ask him questions when he

begins to script in order to prevent him from getting too far into his head. This was something I
never knew about and also realized it’s a very exhausting thing to do. I found myself having to

redirect this every few seconds which really wore me out by the end of the day.

Something A does is reply “yes” to everything you ask. This typically means he is not

actually listening to you so you have to say “yes, what?” and that is usually what catches him. I

also had him work on using full sentences so I would say “A are you ready for running

program?” He would say “yes”. So, then I follow up with “Yes, what?” and then he would say

“Yes, I am ready for running program. This is a constant conversation all day long.

It’s important to try and stick to the schedule we have made because students really work

well with a routine and some even get upset with a routine is off. This first day was hard for A

because it was a new summer schedule, so we really worked on having him read the schedule

each time we moved on to the next. So, this day was mostly a trial and error to make sure the

schedule would work and see how the students responded to it. I ended the day with animal care

from 3 to 4.

Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

I began the day with animal care from 8-9 and then headed to ISE. We stuck to the

schedule but today was a little tougher because A was less focused. This made it really hard for

us to get stuff done because he was kind of stuck in his head all day. One thing he really did

enjoy was our art portion for the day, we made slime and A really loved that. B needed a lot of

hand over hand assistance during this activity and mostly worked with the lead teacher while I

was with A all day. I think A and I are getting more comfortable with one another which has

been nice. AB, my mentor and lead teacher has also been letting me do more one on one with A

which is allowing me to really learn a lot. ISE ended at 3 and I did animal care from 3 to 4.

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

 I had animal care from 8-9 and then went up to ISE. Today was very similar to the

previous days. I mostly worked with A while AB worked with B. One thing that happened today

was there was a fire drill. I was not really prepared for this but around 11:50 AB let me know

that we were having one at noon. I was a little nervous for this because I know for A and for

many of the student’s loud noises make them very anxious and sometime have a behavior.

Luckily, I was told that the alarm is not the same as it is in traditional school and is much quieter.

We headed up to the parking lot and A actually did well. Only issue we had was the waiting

around for roll call made him a little anxious I had to really keep him busy while we waited so I

had him do some cross lateral exercises while we waited to go back in. The rest of the day went

smoothly, and we stuck to our ISE schedule. I ended my day with animal care from 3-4.

Thursday, June 6th, 2019 8:00-5:00; 9 hours

Today was very similar to everyday this week. I began my day with animal care from 9-

3. At 9 I headed up for ISE. Our schedule was the same and we did some activities based around

our Under the Sea theme for the week. We made a surf board for art and painted the kiddos feet

and put them on the surfboard. I had to paint A’s feet for this which was a comical moment. A

was very sensitive and tickled by this, but it was awesome to see him laugh because I do not get

to see it often. At 3 o’clock we had our facetime meeting with Dr. Kaninjing. After discussing

this project, we decided to sit and work some stuff out with our supervisor. She was also having

a hard time figuring out what we could or could not do so we also spoke with administration and

the director of operations to get some ideas flowing. This meeting lasted until 5.

Friday, June 7th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today A was out of town, so it was just B in the classroom. Before she arrived at 9, I did

animal care from 8 till then. It was nice to have B for the day because AB was able to really give
me some one on one training. I recently accepted a job here at Jacob’s Ladder so this extra hands

on training is really helpful. B, although its summer has a lot of program work so AB was able to

work with her and I on a lot of her program. She made me do a lot of the things on my own like

the processing activities and oral motor. She also had me log everything in B’s log that goes

home to the parents so I could get used to doing this as well. You really have to take detailed

notes of everything you do with your students for the parents to have. We followed our own

schedule for the day and did a lot of program work and took breaks when we felt like B made

needed them. AB had trained me on her bathroom protocol as well because she had a meeting

from 2 to 3 so I would be with her for the last hour of the day. This was also great experience to

be with her on my own for an hour. From 3 to 4 was animal care

Total Weekly Hours: 41

Total Hours to Date: 158

Week 5

Monday, June 10th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today began with animal care from 8 to 9 and then I went to LE2 like I have been doing

thus far. Before we picked anyone up from carpool, my lead teacher just went over a few of A’s

behaviors (my primary student that I work with). She explained what they were and if he was to

have one, she went over how to handle that. Coincidentally enough, A actually had a behavior

this day. He has a bad habit of putting his fingers in his nose, so we immediately told him to get

sanitizer when he does this and today when he was told to get some, he closed his eyes and

screamed very loudly. Jacob’s Ladder uses a zones strategy where the students’ moods are

categorized into these zones. For example, sleepy is the blue zone, calm and ready to learn would

be green, anxious or silly would be yellow, and red is when behaviors are occurring and there is

extreme compliance or anger. We told A he was in the red zone, that he needed to take a seat,
and then use a tool to get him back to the green zone. The behavior made me slightly nervous but

I’m just glad I was able to experience it while my lead teacher was in there with me, so I

prepared to handle it on my own again if it happens.

Overall this was a pretty tough day, there was a lot of non-compliance from A. At carpool

time his babysitter was the one to pick him up. Right before the time to go I reminded A that it

wouldn’t be his mom today (changes are a challenge for him) but he immediately started crying

and got very anxious. He did it again when he saw his babysitter’s car and not his mom’s car.

When we took him in the care he began to scream again, and we had to take him out of the car

and have him reset. Once we got him back in the car, my lead teacher explained to me that his

dad has had some serious health problems causing the mom to be with him at the hospital all

week and that A isn’t handling it well. This really explained the extreme behaviors this day.

After finally getting A home, I went to animal care from 3 to 4.

Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 11:00-4:00; 5 hours

This day I was not able to go into work until 11 because I had to have the vet come out

for my horse. Once I got to work, I saw we had Colton for the day as well. Colton is atypical and

one of the staff member’s son who joins us every now and then for the summer. This day I saw a

lot of non-compliance and scripting in A again and I think this still had a lot to do with what was

going on at home. It definitely made the day very challenging; it was very hard for me to get him

out of his head all day. Before carpool today we prepped A and reminded him that his mom

would not be getting him in order to avoid what happened the previous day. He still got slightly

anxious but overall did much better. I ended my day with animal care from 3 to 4.

Wednesday, June 12th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

 I began with animal care from 8-9, then 9-3 in ISE, and then 3-4 back in animal care.

This was a much better day. A seemed to be slightly better and more compliance with directions.

Instead we saw a lot of non-compliance from B (the other student that is primarily in ISE). At

lunch time she was refusing to eat her food and began stealing other students’ food and putting

her hands in other peoples’ food. We have to keep our eye on her and assist her through the

whole lunch, we all switch off. She knows how to hold her utensils but when she eats, she seeks

so much tactility that she will just grab crumbs and play with them, so we try and keep her hands

calm during lunch. This just made the day more of a challenge but that’s how it always is when

there is a student who is really disobeying directions. It’s also a challenge sometimes to really

step back and recognize when a student is not able to do a task and when the student is being

noncompliant, that is something I have really had to learn to pick up on.

Thursday, June 13th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today was the same schedule, started and ended with animal care and I was in ISE from

9 to 3. It was a much better day for both B and A, we saw a lot of less defiant behaviors. One

challenge has been keeping A engaged in his afternoon running program. He does well with the

morning one but come time for the afternoon running he has been extremely non-compliant; he

closes his eyes and scripts loudly so he can’t hear your directions. This was beginning to

frustrate me so I communicated that to my lead teacher and how I was just unable to get him to

run and engage himself. We decided to come up with something new for the afternoon and gave

him tasks and directions along the trail. By this I mean we would give him directions in sets of 3,

make him do that and then go to the next point and complete 3 new tasks. This kept him way

more engaged and moving. I also learned how this is just a good strategy as well because for a
student like A, any alternations to their daily routine can be a challenge so its good to push them

outside of that sometimes and switch up their routine.

Friday, June 14th, 2019 8:00-3:00; 7 hours

This day was a little different. I still started with animal care but then I was told that I was

going to be working with a new student from 12 to 2 today. I was really looking forward to this,

but it ended up that the student was not actually coming but we were not aware of that till about

noon. Because the nursey was short staffed as well, I was put in the nursey from 9 to 12. This

was a little different and I still don’t prefer the nursey, but I didn’t mind just helping out for a

few hours. When I came back to ISE around 1, everyone seemed to be a little anxious or tired.

This probably had a lot to do with it being Friday so we just kind of took the afternoon easy and

didn’t push for too much. I left at 3 this day because I was leaving for out of town, so I did not

do animal care.

Total Weekly Hours: 36

Total Hours to Date: 194

Week 6

Monday, June 17th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I started with animal care from 8 to 9. From 9 to 3 I was in ISE. Both A and B

seemed to have really great behavior today. AB (my lead teacher) and I, decided to try something

I litter different today and really switch off between who we worked with. Most days I work

primarily with A and she works primarily with B but switching it up throughout the day really

seemed to benefit us. B and A are both very different students and can make you frustrated in

completely different ways, so we found that switching off really helped us and allowed us to

have the breaks that we needed. We discussed if maybe this is the reason for much better
behavior today, that possibly both A and B also did better with a mix of teachers versus one

teacher giving order all day.

Our theme this week is “Around the World” and we focused on South Africa today. B

does not seem to be as engaged with the themes as A, but it makes for fun crafts and lessons

throughout the week. I ended my day with animal care from 3 to 4.

Tuesday, June 18th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I began with animal care from 8 to 9. At 9 I went to ISE and began my day with A

and B. This morning I started with B and worked with her through most of the morning. To go

along with our theme, we focused on Argentina today. This country seemed to be a little less

engaging for both A and B. Like I have mentioned before, because they are on two opposite

levels, it’s hard to find things that will equally engage both of them. B was seeking a great deal

of tactility today so just made for a long day for us. When she seeks that tactility it usually means

we are having to do a lot of redirection which can wear you out by the end of the day. We did

pretty good about switching off to try and avoid this again. A was also having a bit of a “yellow

zone day” but this could have been due to his lack of sleep. Around carpool again A got very

anxious again, but we were able to work through it with him. I ended the day with animal care

from 3 to 4.

Wednesday, June 19th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

My day began with animal care from 8 to 9. In ISE today we focused on the country

Argentina. Again, we couldn’t find as much material that was suitable for our students, so it

made it a little harder to engage both A and B. AB had a parent meeting with a previous student

from 11 to 12. This meant I would have A and B alone, along with the student that was

transitioning out, Lillie. Luckily there was a TA (teacher’s assistant) available to provide some
assistance. This overwhelmed me slightly just because having three students to one teacher is a

greater challenge and typically not something they do. I was really glad that AB trusted me

enough to leave me with them. She even had me lead the ISE for those two hours so when other

students came in to blend, I was put in charge to let the teachers know what was next. I think this

was really great experience for me to take matters into my own hands and sort of lead. Overall it

was a good day for both A and B which always makes it a great day for us as their teachers.

Thursday, June 20th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I started with animal care from 8 to 9. I have really been enjoying this aspect of

my jobs. It’s nice to start and end my day with the animals that are on site. At 9 I headed up to

LE2. My days typically flow the same way. We stick to that same ISE (intensive summer

experience) schedule so for the most part my days don’t change much in that aspect. It does

change day to day with the music, art, lesson, and group story but that just follows the weekly

theme. Like I said, this week was All Around the World so today we chose to focus on London.

A loves The Beatles so since they are from London we listened to the Beatles for music and it

was really great to see A so happy and sing all the words. A did get slightly anxious at some

parts of the day today, this is typically when he hears another student being loud but we have

been trying to redirect this and let him know that everyone is okay and that there is no reason to

get anxious but they are in good hands.

AB had me work with B some today and really go over her program work since I will be

beginning as a full-time employee in the fall. It’s been nice to have this time to get some

experience and have someone observe me. It has made me feel a lot more prepared for my

future. Once again, I ended my day with animal care from 3 to 4.

Friday, June 21st, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

 Today I began with animal care from 8 to 9. At 9 I was up in ISE with A and B. On

Fridays the school has two music therapy sessions where a music therapist actually comes out

and does music with the students. AB had a meeting during this time which meant I had a TA

help me with B and A. I let the TA work with B because I know A might get a little heightened

during music and he did. This was hard for me because he was really excited and having fun but

his body was just too excited and it needed to be controlled. I had a really hard time getting him

regulated during music but it was good for me to learn to deal with those kinds of situations on

my own. Other than that, it was a pretty typical day. From 2 to 4 I had new hire training since I

will be beginning in August as a full time employee which I am really excited for.

Update on project: I have been working with my lead teacher, AB and confirmed my project. I

plan to do communication resources for LE2. First I will be making 2 communication devices-

these are binders that allow those students who are nonverbal to communication. Some students

have these and some students who need them, don’t have them. This way we are making sure

that all of the students have a way to communicate. Some students who have one of their own

will often forget it at home so this will also be very useful in those situations. In addition to this I

will be making story blocks. These will include images to help students form social questions to

ask their peers.

Total Weekly Hours: 40

Total Hours to Date: 234

Week 7

Monday, June 24th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today began with animal care from 8 to 9. Today in ISE we had a new student come in.

Because of this, our day was slightly different just because we had to make some adjustments to

having him in the classroom. The new student was very active, mostly nonverbal and had lots of
moments of loud yelling. This always make A very anxious, so we had to really keep him

regulated today. AB was working closely with the new student which meant taking on more of A

and B on my own. This was a little overwhelming just because having both at the same time can

be a lot, their needs and independence levels are very different, so my brain was a little scattered.

The new student also has a very long list of allergies, so this meant really having to keep the

classroom sanitized and cleaned. Because Fourth of July is next week and school will be closed,

our theme is USA. Today we made American Flags and the students really enjoyed this. I

finished off my day with animal care from 3 to 4.

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I began with animal care from 8-9. From there I went up into ISE from 9 to 3.

Today I worked primarily with A. Straight out of the car A was really stuck in his head so I knew

the day would be tough for us. I saw a lot of closing of the eyes and scripting. Every time I saw

this I would have him stand up and do a green zone tool. Usually A will choose to take deep

breaths but we really saw that this was not working for him so we would have him do a

movement tool. This was either jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc. it’s really important to

communicate with A while doing this and letting him know that he can be done when I see he is

ready which means a calm body, quite mouth, and his eyes are open. This was a pretty frequent

thing throughout the whole day which left me feeling a little drained by the end of my day.

Towards the end I did switch and worked on some program work with B just because I felt like I

really needed that break. Our new student was much more regulated today which did make the

day a little easier than yesterday where we saw a lot of yelling and running away. I ended my day

with animal care from 3 to 4 but finished up around 3:30 so went and prepared the classroom for

tomorrow like sanitizing and getting art supplies ready.

Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today I did my usual animal care from 8 to 9 and then went up to ISE for the day. It was

a pretty similar day today. A stayed in and out of the yellow zone again today. He will be gone

for summer break for the whole month of July so that begins on Friday and I think he has just

been anxious and is checking out at the moment. I think I have been as well. We do not have

work Friday or the next two weeks and instead I will be doing a lot of work at home and a lot of

training materials. We have been given several books to read, reflections, and other assignments.

This being said, I think everyone has just been anticipating this break which is making everyone

a little anxious.

B did have a fall today. I think someone had bumped into and she went down. This was

concerning because she does have some joints that will pop out sometimes. She ended up being

okay, but we did call her mom just to let her know as well as fill out an incident report.

Tomorrow will be a picnic day on the campus where parents will come, so I am looking forward

to that. I finished up with animal care from 3 to 4.

Thursday, June 27th, 2019 8:00-4:30; 8.5 hours

Today I had animal care from 8 to 9 and then went up to carpool and picked up A.

Because today was the last day before everyone’s break, we had a “bring your own picnic” day

and many of the kid’s students came to have lunch with their kids. This was from 11-1. Prior to

this we had a kind of different day because typically on Fridays we have music therapy come but

we had it today since we wouldn’t tomorrow. This kind of threw off our schedule. A does not do

well when we change up the schedule a lot on him so I knew today might be a little harder and

because he knew he was going home for his month-long summer. On our trail walk we ran into a

friend who tends to make A extremely anxious because he makes a constant crying noise. Being
around this friend will put A in the yellow and sometimes red zone and we saw this happen

today. When the friend’s teacher asked A a question about his day, A closed his eyes and tried to

keep walking. Instead, I made him stand there and answer the teachers question because that is

something we are working on. We try to remind A that his friend is okay and that is just the way

he communicates. A entered the yellow zone and had a really extreme behavior. He screamed

and cried and began to hit his chin. A also seeks a great deal of input of his body, this explains

the hitting of his chin. This was a really hard behavior for me to see. It broke my heart but there

is not much you can do in the moment other than just let him have the moment and tell him to sit

down while he does it. After about 5 minutes of zones tools we were able to get A regulated once

again.

Once his mom came, he seemed to be having a better time. The picnic was really nice,

there were games and music. A left at 1 with him mom and I finished the day with B. At 3

o’clock I headed to do animal care. Because of the break there was a lot to and prepare with the

animals, so I ended up working till 4:30 making sure I helped with all that I needed to.

Friday, June 28th, 2019 10:00-3:00; 5 hours

Like I mentioned above, there was no school today. This meant spending some time on

training and study materials off site. I worked from 10 to 3 on my Habitudes book 2 and wrote

my 2-page reflection on it.

Total Weekly Hours: 37.5

Total Hours to Date: 271.5

Week 8

Monday, July 1st, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

This week and next week will look very different than the previous weeks. Jacob’s

Ladder is closed for two weeks so to make up those 80 hours we have been assigned several
novels to read and reflection papers to write on them. Our supervisor has provided with those

books and list of equivalent hours. To be sure we are reading them thoroughly, they will be

submitting our reflection papers to our supervisor. That being said, there is still a great deal of

material for us to learn by doing this. I decided to start off with the book “Spark: The

Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”. Later on in the week I will begin with

the book, “Ghost Boy”. All of the assigned readings are actually required for new hires within

this first year, so each novel is used as training materials and supports the methodology at

Jacob’s Ladder and provided employees with further knowledge and research behind that

methodology. Today I spent my hours reading through the beginning of “Spark” and will

continue to do so tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I continued with my readings and just taking some notes while reading so I can really

grasp what I was reading, and a lot of the info will be very useful in my job.

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I continued with the readings and working on the book “The Spark”. I also began writing

my reflection that I will be turning into my supervisor at the end of the semester.

Thursday, July 4th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I finished up my paper on “Spark” and began reading the second book, “Ghost Boy”.

This was is super interesting already and has been very enjoyable to read.

Friday, July 5th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I spent my hours continuing reading “Ghost Boy” today and taking notes as well for my

reflection.

Saturday, July 6th, 2019 10:00-3:00; 5 hours

 Like yesterday, I am still continuing to read “Ghost Boy”.

Sunday, July 7th, 2019 10:00-3:00; 5 hours

I was finally able to finish up the book and began to write my reflection just as I did for

the other book. Both readings were very intriguing and having those notes will really become

useful and something I am going to keep to just refer back to at times.

Total Weekly Hours: 40

Total Hours to Date: 311.5

Week 9

Monday, July 8th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

This week is very similar to last week because the school is closed again this week. So,

for this week I am reading two more novels that will continue my training and further my

knowledge. Today I spent my hours reading through the beginning of “Stopping ADHD” by

Nancy O’Dell. This book challenges the current medical diagnosis and treatment of

hyperactivity, ADD/ADHD, and many other behavioral and learning problems.

Tuesday, July 9th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I continued with my reading of “Stopping ADHD” and taking notes in order to have

something to refer back to.

Wednesday, July 10th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

I finished up my reading of “Stopping ADHD” and worked on my reflection paper.

Thursday, July 11th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

Today I began reading the last book, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal

Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Dr. Norman Doidge, M.D. This book shows the

brains ability to change itself through stories about scientists and doctors who help patients

transform their neurological conditions. The stories come from different patients with different
types of brain disabilities. They either participated in experiments to test and improve their

abilities or have gone through their transformations in other ways

Friday, July 12th, 2019 9:00-3:00; 6 hours

Today I continued and read and take notes on the last book. This one so far has been one

of the most interesting ones. It’s really helpful to read these stories and use those experiences to

help understand the brain.

Saturday, July 13th, 2019 10:00-3:00; 5 hours

I spent part of the day still continuing to read the book and take notes.

Sunday, July 14th, 2019 10:00-3:00; 5 hours

Today, I was able to finish reading the last book and work on my reflection paper that

will be turned in to my supervisor.

Total Weekly Hours: 40

Total Hours to Date: 351.5
Week 10

Monday, July 15th, 2019 8:00-4:30; 8.5 hours

Today was a crazy day back from break. We had a lot of new students begin and a lot of

teachers shifting around which just made it a little hectic. I did animal care first thing in the

morning and then went to ISE. I now have two students for a 2:1 pairing but only on Monday,

Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I just have B. My new student, Katie, was

a joy to have today. It was a lot more challenging to have two students especially when they are

at different levels as far as independence. We also had a lot more students come in and blend into

ISE which made the day a little more chaotic as well. We were able to make it through and I
ended with animal care from 3-4 and stayed for an additional half hour to help plan and set up

the classroom for the next day.

Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 8:00-4:30; 8.5 hours

Today went a little better than yesterday. I only had B today so that made it a little less

hectic for myself. I did animals from 8 to 9 and then picked up B from carpool. We went through

a lot of program work and she had great focus throughout the day. The theme this week in ISE is

“Let’s Go Green” so we have been participating in activities relating to that theme. I finished my

day with animal care from 3 to 4 and stayed again for a half hour after just to help plan and set

up for the next day.

Wednesday, July 17th, 2019 8:00-3:30; 7.5 hours

Today I began with animal care from 8 to 9 then I was in ISE for the rest of the day. I had

both of my two students again today, so it made for a little bit busier day. We typically go

outside several time throughout the day, but the heat was just too much today. We tried to stay

inside as much as we could because of this. I ended up leaving a little earlier today at 3:30 so I

could get home and do my mock interview.

Thursday, July 18th, 2019 8:00-5:00; 8 hours

Today was my presentation day so I did not do animals in the morning because I typically

sweat a great deal and I wanted to stay looking presentable. All week, AB, my lead teacher has

been in lots of training, so she is often out of the classroom. This kind of lead to me naturally

becoming the leader of ISE. I was excited to kind of take on this new role, but it did mean a little

more responsibility just making sure that teachers are following the schedule and that we are

staying on track and just incoming teachers and students in ISE when we move on to our next
activity. I had my presentation around noon, and it went really great. After that was over, I went

back to ISE to finish out the day and had animals from 3 to 4 again today.

Friday, July 19th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today was another busy day. I had animals from 8 to 9 and then ISE all day. I had both

Katie and B today, so it was a little hectic again. I had some challenges with compliance with

one of my students throughout the day, so I was a little worn out by time the end of the day

rolled around. I made it through though and finished out the day with animals from 3 to 4.

Total Weekly Hours: 40.5

Total Hours to Date: 392

Week 11

Monday, July 22nd , 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today looked like the past couple of days. I began with animal care and then moved into

ISE. This would be my last week with my kiddos because school officially starts next week, and

I will have a new case load. The day went pretty smoothly, and we had lots of support, so no one

felt overwhelmed at any point. We had a new theme this week and it was “Mad Science” so we

focused our lesson and craft on science. Once my kiddos went home at 3, I headed up to do my

animal care.

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019 8:00-4:30; 8.5 hours

Today was similar to yesterday except I only had my one student because the other only

comes on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. This made for a little but more relaxed of a day just

because I was down a student. I really focused on program work with my student today just

because I was able to provide full support to her. Like every day, I did the animals from 3 to 4

and stayed some extra time to help prep for the next day.

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019 8:00-4:30; 8.5 hours

Today I began with animal care and then went up to ISE for the day. I had two students on my

own again in ISE today. I was also asked to help lead the day in ISE because my team lead

would be in meetings all day. This was a little nerve racking for me, but I was really excited to

take on the responsibility. There were a few moments where I felt overwhelmed, but I was able

to work through and just made sure everyone felt supported and that we were still focusing on

our students. Overall it was a good day and I am glad I was able to step in and help. I headed to

animals after my kids went home and then I ended up staying past animals to help plan and get

the classroom ready for the next day.

Thursday, July 25th, 2019 8:00-4:00; 8 hours

Today was my last day with my students. Because it was the last day and many of the

summer kiddos are only here for the summer, we made it a fun last day. One of the other

students had a birthday today so we went and sang happy birthday to him and played games

together. It was a really happy day but, I was a little sad because it was the last day for some of

the students.

Friday, July 26th, 2019 8:00-5:00; 9 hours

Today was a teacher workday so we did not have any students on the campus. I attended

this and will attend the others since I will be starting on August 1st. I still began the day taking

care of the animals and then had my first training from 9 to 11:30. This was a training on one of

my four students that are on my case load. Next, I went to a second training for another one of

my students. Then I have a two-hour gap where others were getting CPR certified but because

my is still active, I helped put some furniture together for what our new library will be. After that

I attended another training for a student that I will not have in the fall, but they like to train

additional teachers for other students just in case they were ever in need for a sub. I really liked
how they did this, that way a random teacher who is not familiar with a student is not just thrown

in. I took a break to help do the afternoon animal care and then finished my day with one more

training.

Total Weekly Hours: 42

Total Hours to Date: 434