Week 5

I think my internship site embodies many different disciplines, most notably education and psychology. In my educational psychology class, we discussed internalized and externalized learning. Internal learning is when students desire learning on their own terms, while external education could be classified as learning certain subjects due to things like grades. In my internship site, the clients are students and are most likely influenced by guardians to attend the sessions. Either way, they understand that attending these sessions benefits them in the real world which makes these clients more internal learners.
In a psychology class, we discussed the possible causes of autism. It is interesting to interact with children suffering from autism and their guardians because they seem to not let it interfere with their lives in a negative way. A lot of people believe that autism is a result of a child's vaccinations and some believe it is a result of genetics. Although I haven't discussed these theories with the parents of children suffering from autism, I can see that they are not blaming anyone or anything for what their child is going through, but instead, they are making the best of the situation and simply moving forward.
In another education class, we have discussed the self-fulfilling prophesy which would be described as acknowledging the restraints of people in the same situation and falling in the trap of these stereotypes. The entire speech pathology clinic is getting rid of the self-fulfilling prophesy because these families and clients are not giving up on their situation, and instead, they are taking steps to make their lives better. They are refusing to allow the stereotypes associated with their mental disorders to slow them down to lead the most rewarding lives possible.
And lastly, in one of my psychology classes, we discussed the social learning theory which is a result of learning in a social atmosphere. The speech pathologist does provide an essence of fun while teaching. When we do activities, everyone is involved and the client doesn't feel an intense amount of pressure. The client can also see that everyone is or has learned this information, and the client isn't learning this information for no reason. The activities are things like the game "memory", so it's actually fun for all of us participating.

Week 4

I think my internship site is more interdisciplinary than multidisplinary in many ways. When I work with the speech pathologist and her client, she is not only trying to teach the client knowledge, the purpose is also part of a hidden curriculum. The client and the speech pathologist know that being able to speak articulately is important int he world and especially in the work force. When I work with Ben who has down syndrome, he is not only learning the names of colors and shapes, he is also learning how to speak them clearly and articulately. Its not just about the actual names and colors of the shapes, but the words themselves and the sounds those letter combinations make.
The disciplines are so intertwined that breaking them apart is difficult. In one aspect, the speech pathologist is creating benchmarks for setting goals for her clients. She also reinforces the skills that they have already learned so as not to allow her clients to get "rusty".
Lastly, there aren't quite "departments" and the employees don't collaborate much except for advise on activities and ideas. The employees work independently with their clients which wouldn't make them interdisciplinary at all, but more multidisciplinary.