Motor and Self Help Skills

Oscar is becoming more independent in his motor and self help skills. Oscar is able to serve himself fruit, cereal servings, bread, and other types of foods. He is also able to clean up after he eats, brush his teeth and wash hands. He is able to take off and put on his own shoes. Oscar needs assistance with toileting; he still uses diapers and it is hard for him to tell the teacher when he needs to use the bathroom when he is involved in an activity. I think Oscar’s gross and fine motor skills are developing according to what is expected for his age.

Social Story

I chose to write a social story for Oscar that shows different ways that he can approach other children and adults and express his needs and wants.  This story will have different settings and it has to do with the daily schedule. Oscar parallel plays with other children at the head start program. He is very quiet and points to what he wants. In the story I will include words that can express his needs like “I want, I like, I need”; also to express interest in playing with others “Can I play, can I have this toy?” I hope this book will help improve his communication skills.

How Goals/ Objectives are embedded into activities

Oscar is the child in my practicum that has language delays. He is almost three years old. His primary language is Spanish. 

The goal of this activity was to increase Oscar’s vocabulary.

The objective for my first activity was: Oscar will be able to name correctly five out of the eight body parts.

For the first activity we sing the song “head , shoulders, knees and toes” in English and in Spanish. The students repeat the words in both languages. Oscar just looked at his friends. He seemed shy and reticent. Then I took the children to play with a puzzle of a body. Each child had a part of the body. I named the parts of the body and the children repeated them. Oscar was able to say “cabeza” (head) and “brazo” (arm).

It is important to embed the goals and objectives into the activities because it gives purpose to the activity. It helps us to evaluate which activities are appropriate for the child and shows what changes or modifications may be necessary to make the activities more effective for the child’s individual needs.

The Importance of the Intervention Plan and the Collection of Progress Goals

The intervention plan is built to provide individual services to meet the child’s needs and to assist the families. The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) provides services for the children and the family. The services provided can be through an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for newborns to age two. In the IFSP, the family and the services provider work as a team to implement and evaluate services that the child needs. The services are provided in a natural environment such as the home or a child care center. The goal and objective is for the child to attain developmental (motor, cognitive, communication, socio emotional and adaptive) progress. The progress of goals is reviewed every 6 months.

For older children ages 3 to 21 IDEA has in place an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). Here the child will have special services within the context of the school system, giving possibilities for this child to be educated as the non disabled peers. The child’s information about present level of academic achievement and functional performance is essential to identify how the disability affects the child’s participation in age appropriate activities. The goal and objective is to prepare the child to learn with the non disabled children in the school system. The progress of goals is reviewed periodically at least once a year.

The intervention plans and the collecting of progress goals help us to see how the children’s needs change during a period of time and to provide adequate services for them.