in the la bor a tory

Okay, as TA for a Behavior Analysis course I am in charge of planning and conducting lab sessions. Tomorrow they are going to be finding behavior principles in some of these video clips. It's been a while since I've watched The Office and I am sitting in my kitchen laughing loudly, to myself.

Learn Science experiments at 5min

l'il liza jane

She just may be the cutest damn thing I've ever seen. I know, the glasses are adorable, the nose, the cheeks, and that chin! The chin! I love her little chin.

Seriously though, I found a drawing. Imagine this: A shirt with circles on it in the middle of the page. It's circled and labeled "shirt." There's shorts or capris below that with a box around it, labeled "pants." There's a necklace labeled "necklace," a bracelet, earrings, shoes... all labeled.

Now, picture this: At the top of the page is the title, "What I Would Wear Hanging with my Friends."

blame it on the hormones

I have hypothyroidism, but of course for someone dramatic, it must be worse. It's actually Hashimoto's, an autoimmune thyroid disorder. This is when my thyroid is functioning perfectly, but my immune system is attacking the circulating hormone as if it were foreign.

This means that it will progressively destroy more of the circulating hormone. HORRIBLE. Okay, not really. All it means is that they might have to increase the replacement hormone once in a while. Once in a great while. They've only had to change my dose once since it was diagnosed.

Whenever I am tired or out of sorts I think, it MUST be the damn hormones. I get my thyroid checked and... it's FINE of course. God forbid I might have to find a way to de-stress or create energy for myself by exercising and eating right.

In all fairness, when my body decided to attack itself I did become extremely ill. My roommate that second year of college thought I was on crack. She admitted to such after the debacle was over. I had been running 6-12 miles a day and eating well. Suddenly I was so ill that I couldn't push myself up out of bed. I was feeble. I would get up to make soup and cry to my mom about not being able to hold the small sauce pan with one hand. I would manage to get up out of bed to use the bathroom only to end up on the floor trying to will my body back to the bed. They treated me for 2 UTIs before the dumbasses figured it out.

Now, I am in grad school. Stressed out beyond my wildest dreams (I actually did dream about being in grad school and enjoying the stress along with the dreams of unicorns shitting skittles). I am eating, but perhaps not quite as healthy as I like. I have no time. I am working... privately and for my scholarship. I am going crazy.

I wonder to myself, "WHY? Why am I so damn tired? Why can I barely roll out of bed? Why do I have no motivation to finish my assignments? Why do I not care about hanging out with fellow students? WHY???"

So, I get my thyroid checked.

It's fine.

Damn the hormones. Failed to bail me out when all I wanted was a boost in thyroid production to solve my motivational issues.

i am so excited i just can't hide it.

My little client girl said "apple" today!!

I cannot even express the level of excitement in her home!

The mom cried. I almost cried.

Our chins dropped to the floor.

She proceeded to label the card with the picture of the apple by saying "apple" 13 times! She spontaneously said "apple." Neither me or the mom said "apple."

She's a little genius. A stubborn girl, but a smart girl.

conferences

Get ready to have your hopes obliterated (my family at least). I did not watch the church conference. I am talking about another Autism conference. Florida Tech held their yearly Autism conference yesterday and today. It is so refreshing to listen to the leaders of the field discuss their most current findings. It is one of the many aspects of the field that I love- the constant pursuit of the most effective and efficient interventions. Science is knowledge to me. (I was initially drawn to Behavior Analysis because of the experimental side- rats and pigeons.) The idea that the pursuit of knowledge occurs through questioning the current theories is beautiful. Incessant critical thinking and doubting what you have been taught. Conducting research with the intent for others to find weaknesses in your study so that they can improve upon it and advance it further. Understanding that your answer is not really THE answer and putting your findings out there to be scrutinized by your peers for the betterment of the field... Refreshing, isn't it? Awe-inspiring. I heard so many new research areas this weekend and ideas for my current interventions that will help improve the lives of my client and her family.

For any of you who are interested in Autism interventions, Drs. Koegel from University of California Santa Barbara are genius. I was lucky to attend their workshop on Pivotal Response Training. An ideal form of intervention that includes parents and occurs in the natural environment.

ch ch ch check it

I was emailed the most fantastic you tube video to get people to register and vote. Seriously, check it out. I would post it on "Thing of the Day," but I actually want anyone checking my blog to see this. I love it. You will love it too. Maybe.

Click here to see.

Please, don't vote.

resolved

I believe my mid-school crisis is over. As I continue to work with children with Autism, my love of this field grows. It's amazing the things we can do. I can't describe the excitement I feel after seeing my girl learn a new sign for requesting. Giving communication to a child? I can't imagine doing anything more important.