My Progress: No Shortcuts, Work Harder!
Hellos!
Less than two months at WA, and here's my first blogpost. Yay! ^^
How's everyone doing? I am a little embarrassed sharing my tiny successes here but here it goes!
If there is anything I am proud of in my life, top of the list would have to be how my students have progressed with treatment. Most of them were non verbal and did not know how to communicate when they started with me. From their first eye contact to eventually fitting into group settings in school, every milestone fills my heart with joy.
Another achievement I have unlocked is picking up Muaythai (Thai Kickboxing). It's a sports that require respect, discipline and endurance. It involves pain; but it also teaches you to pick yourself up every time you feel defeated. Plus, it isn't a celebrated trend for females to pick up such an aggressive sport in my country. I was repeatedly advised to stop hurting myself and stay away from "bad influence". Nonetheless, I am proud that I followed my passions and stood firm to how the Thai martial arts has shaped me the person I am today.
Last but not least, I'm proud that I am right here, working hard for a better future. While I could have just worked on one job being a behaviour therapist, I wanted to do more. That's why I joined WA. Also, if my websites ever turned into an alternative income, it may help sponsor my future plans of furthering my studies.
So I just started on my first website on educational tools for special needs (http://specialcrayons.com). I am a behaviour therapist and works with children struggling with speech delays or symptoms of autism. Most of the time, the worksheets and teaching materials that are utilised differs from that for typical children. And by sharing, I hope my personal experience will be useful to parents and special needs educators out there :)
So far, I posted two articles " Early Signs of Autism in Toddlers" (http://specialcrayons.com/earl...) and "Special Educational Learning Tools - Flashcards" (http://specialcrayons.com/spec...). I guess what was difficult for me was churning out the articles in an organised and understandable manner. Sometimes I have so much to talk about I ended up with nothing done as my points are everywhere. Then I had to delete and start all over.
Furthermore, I just don't feel inspired after a long day of work at times. While i try my best to come up with something, it had not been very efficient.
Having said that, I am 1.5month into WA. I am getting a little anxious and wish that I could speed up a bit. In 3 months time, I am hoping to get my first revenue, even if its little. And in 6 months, I hope I would be able to set up a few more sites on different niches. My goals aren't too farfetched, are they? I guess more hard work has to be done! >.<
Wells, that's all for this post!
Have a great day everyone and tata~~
~Zhuang
Recent Comments
22
I think your goals are definitely achievable if you keep working hard and don't give up! I also love your niche as it helps people that you care about! :)
Thank you for your kind words! Such encouragement keeps me motivated!
Let's work hard together :)
~Zhuang
Hi Yi,
I love hearing testimony like that and the progress your making with these children. It's great to correspond with people like you and my friend Mary @ https://fourfoldwellness.com/ who is doing similar work.
Godspeed to you're success here! Brad
Hello Brad,
Your friend is doing very interesting work there! I have little knowledge about CEASE and I cannot thank you more for introducing me to it :)
All the best to you too!
~Zhuang
Great Carol! Tell her I said Hi. She is doing great work here in our small town here in N Idaho.
Brad
That's awesome , you are a leading a life of production while helping others. Success is around the corner, keep it up!
Hi, Kaen.
I am an occupational therapist with a strong interest in autism. My 17 year old grandson is autistic. I really enjoyed your post and wish I could meet you because I think we probably have a lot in common.
I had a certified therapy dog who went to the library with me. Most of "my kids" were elementary school children with reading problems. One day a family, which included a 3 year old little girl with very little speech, her parents, and speech pathologist, came into the library. On their way to the children's library, Abby noticed the dog, let go of her Daddy's hand, and came running over to Raven. Her father told me he had never seen her respond to anything like that before. She even climbed into my lap and let me read her a story. She is now a first grader, and gets in trouble at school for talking too much! Her parents told me that she (and they) worked so hard to get her talking, that they weren't about to tell her to stop! But she was having difficulties with boundaries. Watching her respond to Raven was a life changing experience for me. Carol
What a heartwarming story Carol!
I would love to meet you too but I think we are very very far apart (I reside in Singapore) >.
Thanks for your nice message, Zhuang. I am aware that we are many miles away physically, but not spiritually. We'll be friends online, and maybe someday when we've made some money we'll be lucky enough to meet in person. I've always wanted to travel to places I've never been.
That would be a great fit if you were to combine your behavioral therapy with OT. I did a lot of behavior modification when I was working with psychiatric patients
Is there a university that offers the training, or would you need to come the the US for that? The University where I got my degree in OT is currently offering a Master's Degree, and students can work one more year and earn their Doctorate. I have been retired for several years and might be a bit behind the times, but the last I knew, graduates of the Masters program qualified to take the National Registration Examination, but the American Occupational Therapy Association is working on requiring a Doctorate entry level, like the physical therapists now have to have to practice on an entry level.
Most of the training for pet therapy involves learning to train your own dog. The first course was basic obedience training, then I took Raven to a more advanced class so she could pass the American Kennel Club's Good Citizen test. The behaviors the dog learns to pass that test are all included in the Therapy Dogs International certification exam, plus other things. The dog is also evaluated for temperament and personality, and has to accept being petted by evaluators in wheelchairs, on crutches, using walkers, canes, and pushing an IV pole. This is to ensure that the dog won't be frightened if it is taken into a medical setting like a hospital or nursing home. I did that a little bit of that with Raven, but mostly did my reading program in libraries and schools because I love interacting with kids and helping them improve their reading skills.
As far as taking care of a therapy dog, it's the same as any other dog owner's responsibility...good quality food, plenty of fresh water and exercise, lots of love and attention, heartworm, flea, and parasite prevention, immunizations, and prompt medial care if the need it.
As you can tell, pet therapy is one of my passions, and will be the niche for my next website.
Have a wonderful day, Kaen.
Carol
Yes Carol, it is really fortunate to have met a likeminded friend like you online! And thank you for sharing so much useful information with me.
There are courses in Singapore which I can take to become an occupational therapist. However, because I've graduated for some time, it is not easy to get a scholarship for that. Hence I am hoping to save up quicker by making a second income here at WA. Wish me luck >.<
Oh, do you think being trained in behavior therapy makes teaching Raven easier? I think the underlying principles are the same (conditioning and rewards). But somehow it doesn't work for me! Haha. I am so terrible at controlling my friend's dog which visits my place regularly.
Anyway, all the best for your upcoming website! I'm sure it is going to be very interesting :)
Have a lovely day Carol!
~Zhuang
Your WA income can help you finance your OT degree when the time comes. I wonder if you might be able to get credit for some of your courses you had for your existing degree. Did you take any neuroanatomy and/or neurophysiology courses?
I think you are right that your background in behavior therapy would carry over to training a dog. Does the dog you referred to mind its owner? Your description of it not minding you reminded me of my sister. She and her husband live with their dogs instead of the dogs living with them. They do not train them or make them mind. Although I don't know the situation, I'm guessing that the dog that doesn't mind you doesn't mind its owner very well either.
I was so lucky with Raven. She was such a good dog and wanted to please. It seemed like she just trained herself. Leia, the dog I have now is another matter. She is very anxious and timid. She has been doing well in her training, but she certainly is no Raven!
We are going to be getting snow this week, and the skiers will be flocking into town. The town I live in is a little tourist area, and many of them go farther south to escape the cold weather, but lots of people come here to ski when we have snow. Do you get snow where you live
You said you're a behavioral therapist? Your expertise solves a certain problem people have. And experts, when guided properly, can make great websites that are high in value. Keep going! :)
Hi!
Yes I am a behavioral therapist (ABA-VB) and specialize in treating toddlers with autism and speech delays.
Thanks for your encouragement, I will keep it up!
All the best to you too.
~Zhuang
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Hi there are u from Singapore/HK/China?
Anyways your website is lovely. The typography (font) is perfect. Makes it easy to read. Here are some tips, use Canva or logomakr to make a logo.
The crayons header is cute but you might not want to continue with that in the Long run. Is there a reason you used the name specialcrayons? I think it's okay but could have been better. The crayons thing makes it look like a children art school or art site. :(
Add more relevant photos to your articles. Even if it's just for show. It helps with the user experience to have a large beautiful photo at the TOP of the article.
I wish you luck and all the best! Take care and keep in touch. I followed you.
Ps: I hope you can find good products to promote or it would all be only for charity.
I think since you're really busy at work it may take 6 months to get your first revenue. But keep at it little by little, the kids have your support and you have mine. :) take care.
Hey Jason,
Thanks for your honest feedback. Really appreciated that you took the time to look through my website!
The reason I named it Specialcrayons is that I feel my students are like crayons. The drawings created by these crayons depend on the hands manipulating the crayons. Educators and parents are the hands. We can make a difference in what these children can achieve - it takes patience, faith and the right methodologies. Plus, autism is on a spectrum - just like how this crayons look like when they are put together. Every one of them seems similar but yet different at the same time. I guess I should have included this on my website. Thanks for pointing it out! :)
My website is targeting parents and educators working with very young children, and I was looking for a theme that is fun, vibrant and colorful. Do you think it makes my website less credible? :/
By the way, I viewed your profile and figured you're from Malaysia? Both my parents are Malaysians (they still are), but I am a Singaporean as I grew up in Singapore. So that's cool - we came from almost the same place!
Keep in touch mate, and I believe you will do very well!
~Zhuang
Hey Zhuang,
Even your reply is well written, structured and lovely to read. The reasons you gave makes perfect sense and it should appear in your blog somewhere.. Might i suggest the side column? Include your photo in the side column as well. There's just something about people seeing your face and that small passage you wrote above makes me feel like you care a lot for your students and that just gives you more credibility and feel more genuine. Your readers will love you.
I used LogoMakr to create a quick logo for which you can edit here " logomakr.com/0LozGW ". Maybe change it to a pastel like colour. I used to own a baby and children dropshipping store but we had it closed down. Couldn't make any sales =(.
It only took like 30 seconds. so im sure you can create a more fitting one.
I think you need to describe your blog instead of giving the catchphrase a priority. People may know what your article is about but you want to ensure that they know what your blog is about.
" A Blog Dedicated to Bettering The Lives of Parents and their Special Needs Children! "