Utilizing Resources

One of my roommates is volunteering at a rehab center at one of the nearby hospitals.  She never discloses any names or information she shouldn't share about the patients but she often shares information about the patients she thinks that I may benefit from.  For example, the other day she came home and asked me if I've ever worked with a student who has Echolalia.  I had never worked with a student with this disorder nor have I ever heard the term echolalia before.  She began to explain to me that one of the therapists that she works with has a patient with this speech disorder where she repeats everything that she hears.  For example the therapist would ask Patient X, "Did you eat breakfast this morning." The patient would answer, "Did you eat breakfast this morning." The therapist would then answer, "Yes I ate breakfast." Then the young girl would also answer, "Yes I ate breakfast."  My roommate told me that this continued for the whole session.  She would repeat just about everything the therapist said. 

I found this so interesting that I had to research it.  It is actually a common speech disorder in people with Autism, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimers, schizophrenia, and Asperger syndrome.  I have witnessed my grandma with Alzheimers repeat everything that my aunt tells her to say but I have never seen such a disorder in a child.  The young girl is only 5 years old so she has plenty of time to either grow out of the syndrome or learn how to communicate properly with further practice. 

This has been the first year where I have found myself utilizing my peers more often as resources for new knowledge and different experiences.  My roommate is going into occupational therapy and works with many children with disabilities that I will probably see in my future classroom.  She asked the therapists that she works with if I could come in to observe and now I will be able to see children that could potentially be in my classroom outside of the classroom in a different setting.  This conversation between me and my roommate shows just how effective and important collaboration is in the teaching profession.