Amidst the joys of this summer, such as getting married and taking a wonderful trip to Italy and France, there have been a couple of relatively difficult lessons learned. One of them I have been struggling to digest for quite some time. The lesson is simple and I have been able to read it, write it, and say it, but it has been difficult to live. The lesson is to work on my writing frequently and preferably daily.
I am passionate about my goals and my vision to make a strong positive impact on the lives of individuals who have complex communication needs, their families, and their teachers. Seeing the success of my students in the classroom helped me persevere when I took the first steps as a teacher. Seeing how my idea of creating an AAC system on the iPhone and iPod touch became a reality in the co-created Proloquo2Go, gives me great hope for what I can do through collaboration and the design of technology based tools. I feel like Proloquo2Go was just the beginning. Yet, I have had a difficult time seeing the impact of my academic writing work, during my few years of PhD level training in analysis and writing.
Fortunately, this summer, I have seen just how important academic writing is to my mission. The insight has come suddenly and surprisingly for me. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am excited to share. And yes, sharing my writing work is a strong motivation. Yet, the deeper insight for me is that writing is a way to share what you know and believe in a refined way.
The primary example that has helped me learn this lesson is the current paper I am working on, which has taken me so much further in my understanding of language acquisition. It has been amazing how each step I take learning about language acquisition theory and intervention practice seems to both excite me and also cast me into a place where I am left feeling daunted by how much deeper the next step seems to lead.
Without the writing process I am undertaking, it would be difficult, if not impossible to complete the steps I am taking in the learning process. Additionally, I am starting to see the fruits of writing nearly every day. I can see how that makes the process so much more powerful because I do not spend so much time ramping back up and struggling through writers block. Another fruit is that I am learning more quickly. The current paper is improving to where I am feeling more and more proud of it.
Today, as I was looking up some important demographic data for the conclusion of the paper, I stumbled across a short essay by David Beukelman titled, “Swallow the Lion”: Thoughts about Writing. My mentor has pointed to me to other essays by Beukelman and they have certainly been helpful. We have frequently discussed this concept of blocking out the time and staring at the walls if you can’t write. My mentor has been incredibly encouraging of my processing of this lesson. At times I have felt like I was starting to get it: write every day and you get a lot done. Yet, I see now that for me there was something more I needed to learn.
My specialty in teaching is working with individuals with complex communication needs who often are beginning communicators. In my first few classrooms, I focused my work on individuals who had little exposure to an AAC system prior to working with them. I was amazed at seeing them realize the power they wielded as I saw them communicate for themselves. Last week, I wrote about hearing Jane Korsten speak and about how students can make this revelation and how we as teachers can promote this by giving them opportunities.
I have experienced a similar internal conversion, seeing for myself that writing is powerful and that if I work at it, I too can wield that power. By giving myself frequent opportunities to practice my craft, I can refine my practice. While academic writing is still as challenging as it was a few days ago, it is different because I have swallowed, at least a bit of the lion.
