As I was writing my foundation questions, I decided that maybe I should re-word it a little bit. I wanted it to flow more smoothly. I think I found a better way to state my question. My new essential question is:

*How do Augmentative Communication devices improve a patient's quality of life?

I am more than open to suggestions for my question. I am trying not to make my question too broad. If anyone thinks the old question was better, TELL ME (please)!

(Old question: How do Augmentative Communication devices affect the lives of those who use them?)

My essential question is:

How do Augmentative Communication devices affect the lives of those who use them?

Therefore, my foundation questions are:

1. What is Augmentative Communication?
2. What is the purpose of Augmentative Communication?
3. What are the benefits of Augmentative Communication?
4. Who is a candidate for an Augmentative Communication device?
5. What kind of Augmentative Communication devices are available?

*Actually, I was sitting here writing these questions I came up with another way to write my essential question.....it doesn't really change the question, but it makes it flow more smoothly I think.

*New* essential question:
How do Augmentative Communication devices improve a patient's quality of life?

Someone get me off of this Tilt-a-Whirl "life", before I toss my cookies..... I can't even begin to explain how utterly crazy my life has been this week. It has definitely been my worse week yet.....actually, I hope I won't have to endure any more like it. Why was it so crazy you ask? Well, let me tell you in a nutshell. One of my best friends, Rebekah, got married yesterday (Saturday). I was the maid of honor, and somehow my mom "agreed" to be the decorator. (Trust me, she didn't have a good week either) :) On top of all that, I had Fiona everyday from 8am-1pm. So every afternoon was spent getting ready for the wedding, yada, yada, yada.... About the middle of the week it hit me that I better get some work done. It seemed for a split second that I totally forgot about being in school. I did some rough calculations and found that I lost about 25 hours of sleep this week. The next wedding I want to go to is my own.......ha ha ha......and I don't forsee that coming any time in the near future. ;)

I could definitely *feel* the increase in content for the week. I almost dropped my jaw when I realized that we had 3 assignments this week due on the 30th. Of all of the weeks.......... My only goal for the week was to get the 3 assignments done which were due on the 30th. I knew I was going to have to sacrifice some work time this week for the wedding. However, I don't think that the content, in and of itself, was that hard. It just took time to sit down and do it. Time was definitely of the essence this week. Assignments like subscribing to the mailing list, searching the WWW, and reading were relatively easy. But the other assignments took more thought and time to complete. Some of the assignments were even *fun*! Between last week and this week, I am finally beginning to see the class take shape......

My process for the week was simple: GET IT DONE! I usually try to go in order, but the assignments due within the week were listed last. It didn't take rocket science to figure out that I should definitely get those done first. I was a little concerned about the webliography, but I made it through. I am glad that we decided on a *rough* draft, because mine is definitely rough. I didn't have as much trouble subscribing to the mailing list as I did last time. And actually the problem wasn't even my fault. The email address had changed and I didn't know it. (Thank you Mrs. McComas for saving me) After I got the correct address, things flowed smoothly. I subscribed to an Augmentative Communication mailing list, since that is what my research topic is centered around. I am still thinking about my foundation questions, although I already have about 5 or 6 done. I just need to get them posted........ASAP! I only have about 9 hours left........ Searching for my last name was a blast. I didn't know that there were so many people with my last name, plus all of the other interesting facts I ran across. Searching for my research topic was amazing. There are so many websites available. I didn't even know how to pick which ones to go to. I don't think that I have finished the other assignments yet. My goal next week is to finish the rest of this week and week 4 by Friday night. (ha ha...that's the same goal that I have had since the beginning..)

Well as I look back on the week, all I see is a dust storm....... I just cannot believe how much I had going on. It's like feast or famine in my life. The wedding was fun, but oh-so-tiring. My mom and I both need a vacation after this week. I definitely don't like it when I am constantly on the go. I knew that I had all of the weeks assignments looming over my head. It was hard to do stuff for the wedding knowing that my school life was hanging in the balance. Hopefully next week I will be living at a much slower pace...... I can't handle much more of this chaos. I NEED SLEEP! I definitely wasn't happy with the amount I got done this week, nor the time frame in which I did them. I really want to chill out next week, and get stuff done at home. I am excited about getting some peace and quiet in the near future.

The only question I can think of deals with our foundation questions. Are we going to be able to revise/polish them if we need to? I have my list of questions, but I figure that they will need some more work. I might even need some more questions. I didn't know if we would be told if we were on the right track or not.