Foundation Questions

Well my essential question is: Why do people who can't chew or swallow feel like life has less meaning for them?

1. What is a swallowing disorder?

2. What causes swallowing disorder?

3. What are some signs or symptoms of a swallowing disorder?

4. What are some treatments for swallowing disorders?

5. Who is involved in the treatment of a swallowing disorder?

6. What tests are required to diagnose a swallowing disorder?

7. What is the prognosis for someone who has a swallowing disorder?

8. We all know that food satisifies a fundamental need within people. We need food or nourishment to survive. What other needs does food satisify?

9. How do we help someone accept their inability to chew or swallow?

Geneva :)

Learning Highlights

My history as a learner is an ongoing process. The reason I say this is because almost everyday I learn something new. Currently I am learning to be a detective because I need to discover what information needs to be in case history's, what to ask in interviews and how to determine errors in sound productions. I feel like its in my nature to organize and analyze and because of this I am always learning new ways to accomplish this.

Going back even further to high school many many years ago I really wasn't impressed with my teachers. My learning experience for the most part was negative. Even then I felt like many of them were there for a payday and didn't care if we learned anything or not. My most memorable teacher was a substitute teacher in eighth grade. She was a great teacher because she wanted us to learn and she managed to let us know that she cared about all of us. She now works for the Floyd County Health Department and she still has that same wonderful attitude.

I guess math could be considered my learning barrier. I was never really good at math because my high school teacher was too busy flirting with the girls and patting the jocks on the back. I always thought he was there to socialize instead of teach. Then in college my math teacher was one of those really intelligent people who have a difficult time bringing it down to your level. I passed that class with a "C" and just wanted it to be over. I realized that I really didn't get anything out of the class so I decided to take another math class at Marshall. I chose to take a development math class and I was really glad that I did. Mr. Blatt was the greatest math teacher I have ever had. Because of him I now realize that I'm not totally ignorant when it comes to math. I just have some gaps that need filling in. I feel like in some small way I overcame my math barrier.

For me there is always both excitement and tension associated with learning something for the first time. For instance in doing the assignment for my webliography. I had no idea what I was doing so this learning process caused me a great deal of tension. But once I finished it I was really excited that I could actually create links in my work.

I am so thankful that my learning experience at Marshall has been positive because I don't think I could take three years of negativity.

Thanks for listening,

Geneva

Learning Needs

What are the areas of professional practice that capture my interest (this might be a disorder, anything related to treatment or diagnosis, etc)? With respect to this general topic, what would an essential question for me be? What do I already know about this topic? What don't I know about this topic?

Swallowing disorders have always interested me. I think this first occurred to me when my brother-in-law could no longer swallow and had a feeding tube inserted into his stomach. It really bothered me that Kenny could no longer eat because he enjoyed his food a lot. I kept thinking there has to be a better way. Because of this feeding tube he seemed to have less interest in the activities going on around him. I felt like he was starving to death. I hated this feeling of helplessness and I wondered why there wasn't a device or something to make it better for him. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about swallowing disorders or how the swallow reflex was triggered.

I feel like my essential question should deal with this aspect. After talking to Ms. McComas about this I decided on: Why do people who can't chew or swallow feel like life has less meaning? I am also interested in swallowing disorders in children, as I truly love working with children.

What do I already know about swallowing disorders is very little. I know that some of the causes could be a disturbance of the nervous system or there could be a problem in one of the swallowing phases. I can't fully answer what don't I know about this topic because I have so much to learn.