Reflection

ESP 621 has helped confirm what I already knew and applied in my practice everyday.  The great part about this class is I now have peer journal reviews, books, and knowledge from the professor to back up my beliefs in formal and informal assessments.  The hardest part is trying to convince others that informal assessments are just as valuable as formal assessments of children on the spectrum.  I believe that the wiki projects will be very helpful and a great resource to have my colleagues go to and use.  In addition to having my colleagues look at the wikis I feel that I could have my students create wikis in our classes.  This is a project I think my students could do on a specific topic or even to have them reflect on how they deal and cope with their disability.  I think that the annotated bibliography is a good skill to know how to do.  Unfortunately I have already finished my ILP but this is something I did prior to writing my ILP.  One of the most valuable topics I found was the topic of co-morbid disabilities.  One of my students this year is labeled as Emotionally Disturbed and I feel, after taking this course, that he is more of a student on the spectrum and have ED as a secondary diagnosis.  His ED is due to the lack of communication skills.  We are working on a better placement for him for as he transitions to the high school next year.   I learned a lot from this course and will apply it as I take the national exam for my BCBA as well.  Assessment is essential, but what is most important is being able to apply the results appropriately to minimize testing and maximize learning.