Professional Interviews

I had the pleasure of interviewing a teacher and an administrator at a day care center. The interviewees shed light towards encountering children and their families as well as issues and/or concerns that exists regarding learning disabilities. 

Director Interview

What do you believe are some of the related topics? What are the current issues related to these topics?

"Some related topics regarding learning disabilities are developmentally appropriate practices, reliable assessment tools for screenings, and properly communicating with the families. A current issue related to learning disabilities would be inclusion."

2. What other issues do you commonly encounter in your work or in discussions with colleagues?

"A common issue that I have experienced is assisting and working with parents/guardians to progress or at least make efforts to move from the denial stage. Many parents become defensive after being presented with that child may have learning difficulties or developmental delays. Another issue that often arises is parents or guardians may be under the assumption that if they agree to or receive services to assist their child then their child would be "labeled" in elementary school."

3. What advocacy efforts are currently under way in your area of interest?

"Our center collaborates with programs such as Head Start and CPS. Thus, when situations such as parents who are in the denial stage and when our attempts fail, we receive assistance from a professional such as a social worker for assistance. Sometimes after speaking with professional, parents tend to become a little more at ease with the situation. But not all the time."

4. Which of these topics or issues are of most concern to you? Which do you believe are most in need of advocacy?

"The topic that most concern me is assuring that children who are in need of services receive them. Preventive services are there to assist children and their families to promote developmental growth. This concern is also the most need in advocacy. There are many services that are available to children and there families to help overcome this barrier."

Teacher Interview

What do you believe are some of the related topics? What are the current issues related to these topics?

"Related topics would be the various types of learning disabilities such as dyslexia or ADHD, what measures that can be taken to help children and families and receiving appropriate services. Some current issues would be how learning disabilities effect a child's self-concept and working with children that have learning disabilities."

2. What other issues do you commonly encounter in your work or in discussions with colleagues?

"The issues that I commonly encounter at work is helping parents cope with or the acceptance of their child's learning disabilities and discussing with my assistants with planning and implementing activities that fit the developmental needs of a child with learning disabilities."

3.Do you currently work with a child with a learning disability? If so, what teaching strategies do you practice to accommodate his/her needs?

"Yes. I actually have a child in my class that was diagnosed as autistic. When completing a lesson plan, I must create an individualized plan for this student. This plan consists of activities that builds on his weaknesses which are usually completed individually or adult-child interactions."

4. Which of these topics or issues are of most concern to you? Which do you believe are most in need of advocacy?

I would have to say that planning and implementing activities for a child with learning disabilities. This can be a challenge because children have unique learning styles and their learning needs should fit accordingly. Another issue would be developing and encouraging a child's self-esteem. The one that is most in need of advocacy would be planning and implementing activities for children who experiences learning disabilities. This is a vital issue that intertwines with a child's developmental growth."

Insights gained from your interviews regarding current advocacy efforts and needs in your area of interest within the field of early childhood.

I gained several insights regarding current advocacy efforts and needs regarding learning disabilities. I assumed that parents would be willing to receive services to help their child's development growth. I just always thought that parents would do all the had to do for their child to help their child achieve their learning goals. Another insight that I gained was the individualized planning. I was excited to know that teachers create activities to assist children with moving to their next developmental stage. 

How these interviews may have influenced your decision about which are of interest and topics to choose for your research paper.

This interview have definitely influenced my decision about learning disabilities. I was unaware of the issues that could be encountered  with parents regarding services that provide assistance for their child's developmental growth. I believe learning disabilities would be a good topic to complete a research paper on. There are many areas that could be touched upon such as the different forms of learning disabilities, parents reactions or the process of stages they may encounter, and planning and implementing learning activities.

Which area of interest you are thinking of focusing on for your paper as well as 3 related topics.

See previous paragraph.