I was asked my Teach.com to share about how I got my start
in special education and how I decided that I wanted to teach students with
special needs, specifically those with autism.
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I did not come from a line of teachers (I’m the only teacher
in my immediate family), I did not have any family members with disabilities
when I was deciding what I wanted to be, but I did have a group of kids that
changed my image of students with special needs. When I was a senior in high school, my mom
took a job as paraprofessional in the self-contained special education
classroom at my high school. During that
time, I rode with my mom to school every day.
Some mornings I would stay in the classroom as the students came in or I
would go in at the end of school. The
kids in that class made an impact on my heart.
They were so loving and loved having me around to help them. Their teacher was always more than willing to
show me strategies that worked with kids and would let me play educational
games with some of them, to cook with them, and to just have a conversation. It
was then I knew that there had been a special calling put on my life to help
students with disabilities. I wanted
badly for those students to learn and love.
I wanted to advocate for them and teach them everything from academics
to social skills. I knew when I chose my
major the next year in college that special education was what I was meant to
do.
Over the years, students with special needs have taught me
so much! Here are the 3 things that I learned that cannot be learned in a
college classroom.
1. Each
student has a unique story. I have never
met two students that are alike, even if they are diagnosed with the same
disabilities. There are so many factors
that make each child special.
2. Kids just
want to be heard. I’ve heard over and
over that behavior is communication. I’ve
learned through trials and celebrations that each child has a different way to
communicate. Some kids can use their
words, others signs and gestures, and still others behavior (sometimes
undesirable behaviors). This is why a
relationship with my kiddos has been so important to me over the years. If I want a student to communicate in
whatever way works for them, then I need to build the relationship of trust
first so that they will communicate wants and needs in a way that is effective
and appropriate.
3. All
emotions with a special needs student are strong, but especially love. I love my kids…that is why I do my job. When I get bogged down in meetings,
paperwork, behavior plans, IEPS, I have to regroup and remember the love. I think it is incredibly important to show
each student love. I make it a point to
get to know each student as an individual.
I want to know their strengths, their weaknesses, what their hobbies
are, about their families, what makes them tick, what makes them cry, and what
makes them smile. At the end of a school
year, what I what to do the most is that I have touched a kid’s heart, even more so than reading, math
and writing scores!
I’m still learning everyday and appreciating each child that
I have the privilege to teach and hopefully leave a lasting and positive impression
on their life.
