Thursday, June 9, 2022

What I had envisioned - I I really really enjoyed my experiences working virtually through dr. schwichtenberg slab on the systematic review for the lymphatic system as well as a caregiver implemented interventions. I enjoyed the caregiver implemented interventions study because well that's where my interest lies. I also asked for the lymphatic system review I really enjoyed conducting a systematic review and challenging myself to learn something that I was not aware of my phone just a weekly lab meetings and collaborative projects really fun and exciting. and then as for my work with Doctor fine I absolutely love that I love being involved in the implementation of the early start Denver model as well as even just quoting videos I just loved that work and being involved and as I was having these experiences I realized most of the other participants were graduate students so I figured Next Step was okay I want to do this as my career I want to work in a lab not necessarily run it but just worked in a lab or clinic then I undo research published studies Etc I need to get my Ph.D. Therefore I started applying to PHD programs and when I saw that the EC idc's but was a doctoral program specifically for early intervention children with disabilities and their families I thought it was ideal so I applied and was absolutely delighted when I was accepted. The opportunity to sit in on sessions with the first cohort further strengthened my excitement and just Readiness to get involved I loved hearing about the work and knowledge of other experts in the field such as and Kaiser and Doctor strain etc etc... And I thought well this is the one opportunity my lifetime to really get involved with these Brilliant Minds and do this great work and hopefully do that as my career in the future. What I want (future) - My absolute dream would be to work in a lab examining early intervention (e.g. hybrid coaching on NDBI strategies for providers and caregivers, pre-emptive interventions, identifying active ingredients in NDBIs, working in a lab preschool, etc). I would also like to be a professor and help educate/train future generations as well as share my enthusiasm for early childhood development. Most importantly, my family is my top priority and being there for them and and active in my daughter’s life (e.g. helping out at school, attending events, etc) is a must. My limitations - I struggle a lot with executive functioning and require extra time to process information which directly affects my ability to carry out the complex responsibilities required of an ECiDC fellow, especially at a quick pace. This means that I require more time to complete tasks which results in less time I have to be actively involved in family matters.

Friday, October 29, 2021

masking --> social exhaustion --> social isolation

 I have engaged in quite a bit of social isolation, it became really significant during my high school years and  something continued to do throughout college, young adulthood, and now. After listening to a behavior speak podcast episode on ASD in girls I realize that one of the primary reasons I isolate(d) is because masking is exhausting and I was/am terrified that if people found out who I really am without the "Act", they would no longer like me. This led to lots of social isolation and missing out on building real, true relationships. Only a handful of people truly know me and still love me, my family and my husband....and I still am amazed by him and think he is unbalanced or something to love me in spite of knowing the real me

ASD, girls, social motivation and language thoughts

 Girls --> more social motivation (as evidence by Chawarska 2016) and my own experience with girls (ES, MW, Am, etc) ----- does this increase in social motivation lead to them attend to language more (conversation with Naigles about importance of helping children with ASD realize value of language and attend to language because they are completely capable of learning...it seems to be more of a fact that they are not attending likely because they do not realize the importance) ------perhaps this is why so many girls without language delays go undiagnosed or get misdiagnosed..more evidence that there are likely more girls with ASD than diagnosed and why the few girls that are diagnosed tend to be more impaired especially in terms of language. 

Choi dissertation study 2 - mid dump

>Gesture use predictive of receptive language and ASD outcome -- Eigsti?? When testing reliability of instruments are ;populations considered? (e.g. not just testing reliability and validity it neuro-typical individuals but ASD individuals as well? >Power of responsive parenting(Developmental) + power of contingencies (ABA) --> potential great strategy to 1st draw child's attention to you and build rapport through non-contingent responsiveness (non-contingent imitation, narration,  responsiveness) and THEN (mastery criteria of perhaps minimal engagement time??) make responsiveness contingent (narrate, imitate, etc only behaviors you want to increase)

sensory processing????

I think I know what may be a key contributing factor to all my anxiety....i constantly feel bombarded by information (both sensory and intellectually) and I have no idea what to pay attention to (weak central coherance) or how to process it so I eventually shut down because I feel so helpless. I have always had this issue of seeing the big picture, identifying main ideas (my text books and annotated articles are basically all highlighted) but it has grown exponentially worse in the past year and honestly interferes with my ability to function...I think that is why I feel so down and flat, it is because I am so overwhelmed by everything and tired from trying to sort it out....not that knowing this helps me...

all of this does not help my goal of pursuing a career in research and obtaining my phd...how can I possibly navigate the application process and (if by some miracle get into a program) degree program when I cannot navigate daily living and am so far removed from academic experience. I would love to audit a bunch of statistics and research methods courses to brush up on my knowledge...maybe I should contact old professors at SCSU...
Covid-19 has obviously turned everyone's world upside down and like the majority of the population i am struggling. Adding to my anxiety is the awful l guilty that I feel l because other people have are in far more difficult situations; I cannot even imagine what this entire social-distancing and self quarantining must be like for individuals with disabilities and their families who are left without school, services, support, etc. I am thankful that I am at home with my wonderful daughter and husband but I am struggling and am not sure how much longer I can keep this going. I am intensely concerned about my daughter because I am so tired and worn down that I am not the mom that I know i can be (this may be due to my incredibly low hormone levels or the fact I did have brain surgery in January but the reality is that I feel wretched and anxious about what this social isolation is doing to her development. Sure I make detailed lesson plans to keep her engaged and learning but I am incredible concerned about her lack of exposure to peers. One of the primary reasons that I send her to daycare is to foster social skills and now she is an only child left at home with two exhausted parents...this cannot be healthy. 
Worried about husband - has taken the lead in care-taking for months and continues to help out (when he is not working from home) and I can just tell that he is mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. 
Feel like this whole situation is magnifying my weaknesses and that I am not good at anything. I need to feel like I am useful and I know that being a good mom and making my daughter happy is my most important job right now but I am just not good at it and am honestly so tired that I can barely function. I feel like I would feel a little better if I was able to engage in something that helps other people...
In the time of heightened anxiety I am fully employing my not so healthy coping mechanisms of controlling my food and exercising ...
feel like daycare would be helpful to not only give my daughter a sense of normalcy and opportunities to interact with others but will also give me a time to recharge so that the time I spend with her is ??high quality??....My mom has said that she noticed a marked difference in both my daughter and I when I began sending her to daycare and went back to work. I am actually working (remote ei sessions that I have been wanting to do for years) but can only have sessions when my husband rearranges his schedule which he does and is amazing but unfortunately the way in which EI operated prior to the outbreak relied heavily upon therapist led interventions even though we are supposed to be utilizing more of a coaching model for parent led intervention. I wish that we engaged in best practice and utilized parent training manuals with structured sessions and goals (I really like Project Impact and would love to sessions based on it but it would require parents to engage in weekly readings from a book that they would have to buy and I have been informed that this is not what "birth to three does". 
How wretched of a mother would I be to send my daughter into daycare?

invisible illness

I can walk and talk without a problem and you cannot see a scar so I am "fine", I look like everyone else (just grotesquely thin because my method of coping is controlling my food and exercising) but the problem is that i am not fine and I have not been for quite a while. To further complicate things my struggles did not begin after my surgery (no that would be too easy as it would be an identifiable cause), rather my struggles have slowly progressed throughout my life but definitely progressed particularly fast over the past 5 years....I am not who I used to be, It is not like i was ever normal but I was better....I wasn't always so tired, easily overstimulated, overwhelmed, unfocused... I am also not the clinician that I used to be, I find it a lot more difficult to "think on my feet", improvise, and engage like I used to which is really frustrating...on a positive note, my analytical skills have improved and I just know that a career in research would be a perfect fit for me now but I worry that I missed the boat on academia by not pursuing my phd right away.