Hello friends!! Glad to see you back to visit my blog. I had quite a casual work week this time around, so there won't be anything to deeply exciting. Don't get your hopes up. Additionally, for all my followers that have mocks this weekend, I wish you the best of luck. I know all of you guys will do amazing, and that doing your best is all that matters.
The two days I spent this week were mainly work done at my little office once again. Since my on-site mentor was offsite this week, there wasn't anything planned for me to work on, so they decided to put me in charge of creating a spreadsheet that compiles a list of items that they bought at the office as well as diagnostic materials (basically a bunch of inventory work). I created a spreadsheet on the specific details of the product numbers, the price, the quantity of the item purchases, as well as the date of purchase. Though it was tiring and dull at first, I did some of my own snooping by looking into the details of what the materials were specifically for. I can't remember them at the top my head other than the Mullen or the ADOS, but if I get the chance, I'll compile a list of items and what each test is used for.
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| Here is a subscription magazine that show the kind of materials they sometimes bought |
Along with the work, I started to tweak my project some more. I decided to move towards more in the direction of the diagnosis practice rather than the treatment. Though I wanted to work on the treatment aspect initially, I had more opportunity (lately) to work on the research aspect of early diagnosis and all the tests involved in completing a child's sort of guideline to what programs to look for in the future. Also, since I've been able to watch some of these sessions of my own lately, I want to also include an early detection aspect to my project, showing what observations I've picked up on the specific behaviors with children the with autism.
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| Lol I don't know where this from. |
Unfortunately, other than the words above, nothing else really happened this week. Once my mentor comes back from Switzerland, I hope that I'll have something more interesting to talk about. I'm also preparing a set of questions to ask more about the reasons why an early diagnosis is important as well as some data that they have compiled that might direct me towards my answer. Otherwise, I want to thank you again for reading my blog and I hope to see you back next week. Bye!
Hi, Robert. That sounds interesting. Being involved with the diagnosis can be very beneficial. Coming up with a treatment could take a very long time. Switzerland sounds interesting, so make sure to ask a lot of questions. Are there certain behaviors that all autistic children have or are they all different? I can't wait to hear even more about you time there. Have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia! Many signs of autism share similar characteristics throughout all children in various ages. It really depends on where the individual child struggles the most in. Additionally, many of these individuals that have autism have a varying degree on where they stand on the autism spectrum, so not every child is going to be the same. I hope that helped.
DeleteHey, Robert! I'm glad you were able to take a break from filing this week, though I'm not sure taking inventory is much of a relief. ;D Thanks for informing us about the slight change in the aim of your project. I think that finding the diagnosis is just important as the treatment. So before, the purpose of your research was to find the most effective way (s) to educate autistic children, but now that you'll be looking at diagnosis, does your purpose remain the same? Meaning, will you now be looking for the most effective way (s) to diagnose for autism? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Kiri! I'm sure glad it's over as well, however, I'm also sure there is more coming next week (or today in this case). Though my project took a slight shift from the treatment aspect at SARRC, the purpose of my project will relatively remain the same but more focused on the purpose on why an early diagnosis is important and indications can help see those signs. That's basically a part of it.
DeleteHi Robert. Although focusing on treatment does sound really cool, in order to implement that treatment, you must diagnose the disease first. While you watched the sessions independently, did you notice anything that you didn't notice while watching with others? If so, what were those things? Thank you and good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia! I do agree that the diagnosing aspect of it must be important, so I'm glad my project took this sudden turn. During these sessions, I do have an instructor in the room with me always, so I never actually watch and observe independently. But if you mean with other interns, I usually the one in there by myself with the instructor and the families. But, an interesting question nevertheless.
DeleteHello Robert! Is there any reason you are changing your focus to diagnosis rather than treatment, besides the fact that you have gotten to learn more about the diagnosis aspects during your time in the senior project?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, have fun!
Hi Serena! It's mainly because the facility I'm currently working in focuses on the research/diagnosis aspect of autism, and the treatment centers for autism are in another building. Though it was somewhat unfortunate that I didn't get to follow through with my original idea, it's quite an honor that they still accepted me into part of their research plans.
DeleteHi Robert! Since the focus of your project is changing, how do you plan to answer your research question? Will you be doing surveys or structured observations? Possibly case studies?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Conner! I think my research question might be slightly changed to fit the diagnosis aspect more of autism rather than the treatment part. I will be doing mainly observations and some interview questions to obtain some of the information I'm looking for. I don't know about a case study, but sounds like an interesting possibility. Thanks!
DeleteWhat are the main differences among the children you've been studying? Keep up the work and good luck; studying diagnosis and treatment are two very different but interesting things.
ReplyDeleteHi Fajr! One main difference of every child I see is their personalities. This really affects how the sessions will go really, if they're more cooperative or uncooperative. Additionally, they can be very different in where they stand in the autism spectrum, so each child can be developing at different paces, depending on how the parents have raised them. Thanks for the question!
DeleteThanks for the wish Robert—I probably need it. :O
ReplyDeleteWhat type of treatment were you planning to do before you changed your project to more diagnostic-based? See you next week!
Hi Sachin! Well, some of the treatments I focused on was the Peer Network System as well as the Picture Exchange System. They do a lot of these at schools and other programs like the one at the other SARRC facility, but not here. The one here focuses more on research and support, like referrals to programs or other resources. Thanks for the question!
DeleteHi Robert. I need that good luck wish for my mocks. How are the tasks that you do at the center going to change now that you are focusing more on diagnosis? Are you going to observe less sessions and focus more on patient intake?
ReplyDeleteHi Mary! You'll do great. My time here will be spent the same way. I'll start of by doing the intern aspect of my project, which includes all the heavy work of filing and data entrying. Afterwards, I'll have the opportunity to work on these sessions and observe as many clients as possible. It'll be quite time-consuming, but also interesting. Thanks for the question!
DeleteHey Robert! Once again, i think what you're doing is super cool! Just one question: what are some specific things does your mentor does to help you out?
ReplyDeleteHi Aria! My mentor and I have an understanding that we both have work to do, so we got to get it done. For this reason, I usually work on the intern stuff in my office alone, while he works on his research paper and contacting parents and so forth. I'm usually okay with any assistance because most of the intern work is simple but time-consuming, so it's manageable. Thanks for the question!
DeleteHey Robert! Nice job on your research so far! What is the most interesting thing about diagnosis? What interesting thing have you learned from your mentor?
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna! The diagnosis may seem really trivial in the whole aspect of autism treatment, but it really is the significant start of it. I learned that by doing these diagnosis we're gathering data that helps not only the individual with autism to get support, but also other individuals that may have autism to get support as well. It's like this really big support group that helps each other out based on the experiences that everyone has had with autism.
DeleteHello Robert. Although nothing much happened this week, I still enjoyed reading your blog. I have a question, though. What is the major determining factor in whether your mentor will show up that week, and in turn, your schedule?
ReplyDeleteHi Will! Interesting question. Well, Dr. James usually comes every week because it is his job, but last week was just an exception. Like with every other job, there are times where you'll need a time off for family business or being sick, he just had to go to a wedding. My schedule is set in stone with no exceptions because I already spent my Spring Break on Week 3. Thanks for the question!
DeleteHi Robert! I feel like the majority of what most of us interns end up doing is spreadsheets and data entry (I know I've been doing a lot of that). Hopefully you have a more exciting week next week. I'm looking forward to the new direction your project is taking!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! Thanks! I hope my week will be more exciting as well. Hopefully we can do something other than more intern work.
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