Hello Everyone! My name is Lauren Vader (yes, like Darth Vader, ;)). I work for a program called Set SAIL (Supporting Autism with Intervention and Learning), by providing Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy to children at an elementary school in Walnut, California – a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County. Primarily, the children that I service are between the ages of three and six, but I also provide classroom support for older students who need additional one-on-one care before being transitioned out of the program. I am relatively new to the education field; I am one week into my third year. Prior to this, I worked as a nanny for a few years after graduating from the University of California, Riverside with a B.A. in philosophy and a minor in music. I felt unsure about the direction I wanted to take next until I began working with Set SAIL and came to realize that I am passionate about teaching special needs children, and desire to be an advocate for those who do not have a voice. It is a rewarding job and very much a …show more content…
But, only if it is carefully monitored. For children with disabilities, it can be a means to connect with other persons - with the outside world. Technology allows non-verbal students to select pictures, or a sequence of pictures, to create sentences to make requests; it can give these students an independence that helps them to gain confidence and learn the skills necessary to function successfully in everyday life. However, I do fear that with excessive use, our children are losing the ability to live in the present and that this is threatening the completeness of self, and the understanding of cause and effect. As technology is so prevalent in our time, I believe that, as educators, we need to use it wisely and teach our students to do the same. It is a way to connect us, and our students, to the outside world, but must be used with