Personal Narrative: My Field Experience

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During my field experience there have been many times when I need to help and advocate for parents. There was a recent experience I had with a newcomer student and her family. The child came from Puerto Rico with her mother and brother. The girl’s father past away violently in her country and the children and mother needed support to deal with their loss. This student had an IEP in Puerto Rico for learning delays and was receiving speech services. When mom registered her and brought her to my room, she explained that her child had learning problems and this was her second time in first grade. She wanted to know what she needed to do so her child can continue to receive Special Education services here. She also wanted to know how I can help …show more content…
The mother had a copy of the children’s IEP from Puerto Rico and their medical record. I took the mother to the school nurse and translated for her. The nurse explained the protocol the mother needed to follow and advised the mother to enroll her child in the school clinic (our school has a clinic that parents can sign up their children to received medical and dental care) so she can get her physical done and any treatment they might need. I took the mother to the clinic so she can talk to the secretary and fill out the parental consent and other necessary paper work. After she was done with the medical part, I referred the mother to the Special Education teacher that is in charge of first grade. The teacher read the IEP and coordinated a meeting (PPT) to discuss the child and transfer the services. During the meeting I was able to present information regarding the student’s language and academic performance (I administered some benchmark assessments to determine her academic level) and I was able to support the mother while she shared her story and the struggles she had trying to help her