English Writing Assignment – Anonymous Quote

English Writing Assignment – Anonymous Quote
“Everyone has peak performance potential- you just need to know where they are coming from and meet them there.”
-Anonymous Quote Driving a standard car has been one of Michelle’s passions for many years, but due to fear and hesitation this passion of hers hasn’t materialized into reality. In this paper I will examine the process of working towards achieving the rehabilitation goal, from

the initial planning and setting of the goal to the practicum, whereby Michelle is able to practice towards the achievement of the set goal, which is to learn to drive a standard car.

After much discussion with Michelle and working towards developing readiness, Michelle was ready to make her Overall Rehabilitation goal statement which is, “I will learn how to drive a standard car by March 31, 2003.” This statement made by Michelle is the building block for achieving the goal. It provides Michelle with needed structure and focus.

Once the rehabilitation statement has been set, Michelle and I examined the various behaviours required in order for Michelle to successfully master her standard car driving skills. The required behaviors are divided into three categories, the implicit behaviors, explicit behaviors, and personally important behaviors. The implicit behaviors include upstanding driving laws and regulations, not stalling the car, and remaining immobile on hills. The explicit behaviors include developing personal techniques of driving and controlling the car, listening to the mechanical sounds of the car, steering with one hand, and investing time in understanding the individual car. The personally important behavior for Michelle includes the ability to successfully master the finesse of driving a standard car.

While all the behaviors listed above are needed in order for Michelle to successfully drive the standard car, there are four specific behaviors that are critical for Michelle’s success, and they include, developing hand/eye co-ordination, listening to the mechanical sounds of the car, maneuvering in all conditions, and understanding the driving laws and regulations for driving a standard car. The reason why such behaviors are critical is that without the ability to master these behaviors the car cannot be driven successfully, and there may be legal implications involved.

Once Michelle and I listed the critical behaviors, we looked at strengths and deficits in these behaviors. Michelle was able to identify which ones she was having difficulty with and needed to work on, and which ones was she comfortable in doing. The first behavior which is hand/eye co-ordination was stated as a deficit (-), the second behavior which is listening to the car’s mechanical sound was also stated as a deficit (-), the third behavior which is maneuvering in all conditions was stated by Michelle as a strength (+), and the fourth behavior which is understanding the driving laws and regulations for driving a standard car was also stated as a deficit (-).

The initial stage in the process of setting and working towards achieving the rehabilitation goal are comprised of exploring the various environmental requirements
and looking at the critical skills, which Michelle needs in order to achieve her goal.
The second stage in the process includes the functional assessment, which focuses on the
development and evaluation of the critical skills. For Michelle the chosen critical skill
which she would like to work on is the being able to listen to the car’s mechanical sounds
and know when the gears need to be shifted.

The skill use description for Michelle is, the percentage of times per week where she does not stall on the road, and this is what we will be measuring. In order for us to measure this skill, an evaluation method was needed. There are two methods which I applied in order to measure Michelle’s skill building effort. The first is driving lessons, which are done on the prompted use level, which means that Michelle can only practice her driving under the supervision and directions of the instructor in driving school registered car. During the driving lessons Michelle will be taken by the driving instructor to practice her driving. The reason why we have to evaluate Michelle’s driving at the prompted level and not at the spontaneous use level is because spontaneous use cannot be tested until the prompted use level has been mastered due to legal implications and the safety of the driver.

The second method is a driving log that Michelle will keep with her in order to document her driving lessons. In the log Michelle will put in the date of the driving lesson and she will also document the number of times the car did not stall because the gears and the clutch were shifted properly. This evaluation procedure will provide information on Michelle’s present ability to be attentive to the car’s mechanical sounds and how much practice is needed in order for Michelle to master this skill. Michelle’s skill use goal is that, she successfully shifts the car gears 95% of the time and the car does not stall. Michelle’s skill use goal or the needed level can be evaluated using a driving log, whereby she documents her driving and her ability to shift the gears successfully.

Michelle has shown quite the determination and interest in successfully mastering
her Overall Rehabilitation Goal. Working together towards the goal has enabled Michelle and I to break down the process into smaller components and to really focus on the methods and examine carefully the strengths, deficits, the needed skills, the required behaviors and ways of evaluating Michelle’s success. The process provides Michelle
with structure, guidance and focus. She is able to examine why achieving this particular
goal is so important to her and what is required of her into order to be successful in
achieving the goal.