Morelli,+Melissa,+Intellectual+Disabilities

(The picture above was taken in Uganda Africa, in mid-December 2011.  The children in the picture are all from a fishing village of about 400 people.) **Who am I? ** My name is Melissa Morelli, I am one month away from being 23 years old and I am a Junior at SOU. Something interesting about myself is that I have been a Christian Missionary and I love new places. In the last five years I have traveled to 5 continents, 4 countries with extended airport layovers, lived in or visited 8 countries (not including the U.S.), and revisited 2 of the 8 countries a second time. Needless to say I am an adventurer and I truly enjoy immersing myself in a new culture.  Educationally my goals are to get my Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education with a double minor in Journalism and Psychology. Later I plan to get a Masters of Education most likely specializing in art, reading, or speech. Career wise, I have a few goals: my short term goal is to teach English abroad and a long term goal I have is to teach grades Pre-K through possibly First grade.
 * Goals in life? **


 *  What brings me joy? **
 * People
 * Swing dancing
 * Listening to the acoustic guitar
 * How simple the world looks through the eyes of a child
 * Traveling
 * Coffee
 * Creative opportunities
 * Visiting the ocean and listening to moving water

 My greatest fear about being a teacher is that "I won't be good enough." The way that I have coped with this fear is to develop a counteractive goal for how I want to shape myself as a teacher. My desire is for my students to gain an excitement for learning, that even when they are challenged that they can still have fun. I think it will important to engage with my students in an objective, positive manner and to remain teachable as a teacher.

 Did you ever experience a time when something was extremely difficult to learn? Yes, one word: Math. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Struggling to master math concepts all through my schooling, but especially the teachers series of math here at college has been a major challenge in my life. I have felt frustrated and angry with myself that it takes so long to understand a new concept. I have felt lost and unsure, I have felt elated when I do finally understand something even if the rest of the class has already moved on.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This piece of my history will help me connect to students with learning differences, because I will have more empathy and patience in finding an approach that fits the student. Having felt myself how frustrating it is to desperately want to understand a concept but continue to struggle with the basics of it. I have realized that for many students there comes a line where they will either become determined to succeed or want to give up. It is really important as a teacher to recognize this and find a ways to motivate and connect to the student where they are at.

<span style="color: #000080; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 210%; text-align: center;">Intellectual Disabilities Introduction: >> Children with intellectual disabilities (sometimes called cognitive disabilities or mental retardation) may take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their personal needs such as dressing or eating. They are likely to have trouble learning in school. They will learn, but it will take them longer. There may be some things they cannot learn. (http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/intellectual)
 * **// What is an Intellectual Disability? //** An intellectual disability is a term used when a person or student has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills. These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than a typical child.
 * // **Why did I choose this topic to research?** // Mostly I chose this subject because prior to conducting this research I didn't have much of an understanding as to the nature of this disability.

Resources: **Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.** "Intellectual Disabilities." - Project IDEAL. 2008. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://www.projectidealonline.org/intellectualDisabilities.php>. This website is helpful for teachers because it discusses everything from the characteristics of what this particular disability involves. The authors of this site give an overview of teaching strategies, the prevalence of and the impact on learning that students with this disability can experience. This would be a good resource for teachers who have not had students with intellectual disabilities previously in their, and are looking to effectively integrate them into their classroom.
 * 5 out of 5 stars **

**Rosenberg, M.S., D.L. Westling, and J. McLeskey**. "Primary Characteristics of Students with Intellectual Disabilities." Education.com. 2011. Web. 13 May 2012. <http://www.education.com/reference/article/characteristics-intellectual-disabilities/>. This article is a summarization of academic, cognitive, and social skill performances that students with intellectual disabilities may encounter difficulties with. I would recommend this article as a resource utilized by teachers or instructors as opposed to a resource given directly to parents. The authors talk extensively about what types of things are found to be difficult for students with a mild intellectual disability. Some of things they mention in addition to academic, cognitive, and social skill performances are; memory, attention span, generalizations, and an intellectual IQ.
 * 5 out of 5 stars **

**Vize, Anne.** "Teaching Students With Intellectual Disabilities: Tips and Strategies."Bright Hub Education. 25 Dec. 2011. Web. 12 May 2012. <http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusion-strategies/9893-teaching-students-with-intellectual-disabilities/>. **4 out of 5 stars** The author wrote this article specifically intended for teachers. Vize first address's what an intellectual disability is (as do most articles I've seen) then she talks about using supplemental technology based tools as resources that can aid students with this disorder in the classroom. This article would be most helpful for a teacher looking for new strategies to integrate students with a mild intellectual disability into a gen. ed. classroom (in full or partial emersion).

**"Intellectual Disability- Fact Sheet."** Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 May 2012. <http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/IntellectualDisability.pdf>. I think this article would be best used as a resource of initial information that is made available for parents of students with intellectual disabilities who have recently been diagnosed with this disability. The authors use everyday language to describe basic facts about the disability and what some affects of this disability could be.
 * 3.5 out of 5 stars **