Introduction With the goal of working with students with anxiety, the purpose of my Boundary Object project is to work with this population to extend my learning while solving a community problem. This topic became an area of interest for my project because of a number of Beiseker Community School students I worked with during field experience 600. These students exhibited generalized anxiety disorder, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed. diagnosed. I proposed implementing the use of the HeartMath program with these students. HeartMath is a self-regulation tool that allows people to improve learning, manage stress, and strengthen relationships through the use of biofeedback relaxation techniques (Institute of HeartMath, 2014). In collaboration with Beiseker Community School I will work individually with a number of the students, instructing them on the HeartMath process. Although I initially planned to work specifically with students with generalized anxiety, I ended up working with ten students, all with different diagnoses. During my time, I designed a professional development session for teachers and support staff to educate them on the process to ensure the maximum number of students benefit from the program. The program combines a pair of self-regulation techniques that the student will learn to perform on their own with a series of games on a computer program. Computer programs are a fun way for students to regulate their heart rate while reducing stress. Before using computer programs, students must demonstrate their ability to master self-regulation techniques. The learning support teacher at Beiseker Community School had started introducing the computer programs to the students before I started my… half of the assignment… Psychology in a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Educational Psychology: Student Development (6th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Silverman, W. K., & Ginsburg, G. S. (1998). Anxiety disorders. In T. H. Ollendick & M. Hersen (Eds.), Handbook of child psychopathology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Plenum. Spencer, T., Biederman, J., & Wilens T. (1999). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and comorbidities. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 46(7), 915-927.Rapee, R.M., Schniering, C.A., & Hudson, J. (2009). Anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence: origins and treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 311-341. Wicks-Nelson, R. & Israel, A. C. (2012). Abnormal child and adolescent psychology (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearsons Education, Inc.
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