Former Special Ed Teacher Offers Advice

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I worked as a Special Ed Teacher for three years for Los Angeles Unified.
I left because of complications mostly surrounding my inability to communicate my unique needs to an unsympathetic administration. It didn't help that my Asperger's was at that time still undiagnosed, and I was projecting my difficulties on everyone around me with increasing levels of frustration.

Now that I have a diagnosis, and I am successfully integrating most of my needs, I am thinking about going back into teaching or into professional counseling. I really loved working with the children.

On that note, my feeling is that the greatest gift people with Asperger's can bring to the special education environment is the lessons that we have learned through enduring our own struggles towards living productively with our own special needs. When applied well, these discoveries can bring necessary rays of hope to children and parents who are struggling to accept, and adapt.

Both children and adults need to know that having special needs, while challenging, is not a life sentence to misery and hopelessness; we can live successful productive lives filled with joy and are doing so.

In regards to a specialty, it is my not so humble opinion that people with Asperger's are uniquely qualified to assist others on the autistic spectrum many of whom are much much more challenged then us. We can relate to autism in ways that people who are neurologically typical may not be able to, and we can serve as a voice for those on the spectrum who have far less ability to communicate then we do.

My advice, own your Asperger's. Strive to live successfully with its challenges. Commit yourself to a life of service. Help everyone who honestly wants to understand the world of autism. Help all you can.

Once you get out of school, and are in the interview process, when you are asked why you want to be a special ed. teacher, be open about your own experience as a person with Asperger’s, and tell them honestly that you want to help young people navigate the realm of being disabled as others have helped you so that both you and those you help can live more joyful productive lives.

Will you find administrators who are closed to this message? Sure! But, would you be happy working for them. Better to find an administrator who can relate to your vision and who can help you expand it early.

Am I projecting my own desires? Yes! But, go for it.
A career as a special ed. teacher can be rewarding on so many levels.

This was supposed to go under Space Case's Topic.

I don't know how it got way out here.

This posting is so good that I think it deserves a thread all to its own.

As a special needs school bus driver, I can tell you that it does make a difference to the children to have an adult that respects the children for who they are rather than try to change them. I like to hope that the children that ride on my bus are better off for having known me and from what some of the adults/managers/school admins say, I am having that type of effect.

Yes, there will be school admins that do not believe that special needs adults should serve special needs children (as GH found out in an interview). I say it is their lose, not mine. There are other admins that are receptive to that idea and you can work with them. In fact, I find it ironic that the person that interviewed GH would also be aghast at the idea of a person like me being a special needs bus driver but it is obvious that it works and works well.

I agree this is a great thread idea.

I also agree that there are some admins who would be shocked by the idea. I shutter because my older son (non-ASD but special ed in other ways) is going to the school that shut GH down. But another school seems to be seriously working on GH's behalf.

My younger son's very, very best learning disability teacher was herself very, very dyslexic. That made for some interesting e-mails back and fourth but it was worth the extra seconds spent decoding the notes to have the very best for my son.

It can work but it will be hard for teachers/aides/and others on this cutting edge.

BeeBee

That is the only problem. When school admins put their agenda ahead of the children, it is the children who suffer.

i agree with the above.

hmmm sounds like a possibility 4 me - how did you get in2 it? what training did you need?

What are you interested in...aide, tutor, teacher.....

Smiley:

Depends on what you want to do. I think you need a HS diploma or equivilent if you want to be a paraprofessional (person who assists the teacher with a child or children).

To be a bus driver, you need an HS diploma and go through training to drive a commerical vehicle (class B DL). You also do not usually get to pick what type of route you get (I was assigned to a special needs bus).

To be a teacher, you need to be certified as a teacher (and additional certification as a special needs teacher). For this, you usually need a BA in Education plus take a test. Each state has different requirements.

Louis is right although some of the districts around here are starting to require a two year degree of their paras. And some experience with children is a plus although not necessary.

One of the local colleges here has started a exciting (to me anyway) program for special education students. The core training (to become a special ed teacher) is combined with other classes. For example, all students in the college need to take a writing class. Special ed students may take the normal intro to writing OR the sp-ed intro to writing. The special class would expect one to do reports on special education topics and would introduce forms of writing rather unique to the sp-ed world, such as writing an IEP as well as the more normal forms.

I beleive there is a shortage of special education teachers nation wide.

One way to tell if it is for you is too try to find a job as a para for a year. If it is, you can go (back) to school for further training.

BeeBee

BeeBee,

There is a shortage of teachers in general that will get worse as most of the teachers are reaching retirement age.

I would not mind being a teacher if it was not for the politics in the school system.

I always thought I'd be a horrible teacher but its worked for me to coach my younger son's DestiNation ImagiNation group. But still, not for me full time.

I think it would be important to get into a good school. Some admins really set the feel for the school, for better or worse.

BeeBee

Wow, what a great discussion.

For the person who asked how one enters the field.

California's standards are some of the toughest in the nation, and that is where I taught.
For California elementry schools you need a Bachelor's degree in just about anything, 45 hours of volunteer time, and the passage of a standardized test called the CBEST http://www.cbest.nesinc.com/ before you can apply for most special ed. credential programs.
Then the passage of a credential program. Here is the link to the credential program for where I went. http://www.csun.edu/%7Esch_educ/sped/pdf/mm.pdf

To be a High School teacher, one needs certification in their area of specialty then a special ed credential.

Then, once you've gone through all of that, and have a jab, it's time to go back to school and get a Level II Professional Clear Credential.

Hope this helps.

People who enter and can maintain a high interest in helping others usually make the best teachers. For special education, it helps to have special needs, or be very close to someone who does.

Im so excited. Right after I wrote the above post, I recieved a call from a recruiter at
the Help Group http://www.thehelpgroup.org/.

"The largest, most innovative and comprehensive nonprofit organization in the United States serving children with special needs related to autism, Asperger's disorder ...."

They are definately striving to part of the solution, and I have a job interview for 11:00 on Thursday.

I applied to be a special ed. assistant while finishing my special ed. credential.
With three years teaching experience, and conditions stated here I should be one of the more qualified candidates.

Getting the job would mean that my three year journey to figure out what the bleep was wrong with me has come full circle, and I can return to work I love. So everyone wish me luck.

I am just jumping up and down in excitiment for you!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

BeeBee

Ok, here's the latest.

First, I want to personally thank the student who made me realize how much I love teaching Special Education. Thank You! Without your question I probably would not be pursuing with this with as much emotion as I am. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Ok

Had my interview with The Help Group at 11:00am on Thursday Aug. 25th. http://www.thehelpgroup.org/

After the initial question and answer period, they had me meet with the director of the gifted program. Everything went tremendously well, and I am waiting for my background check to clear. Not expecting any problems there.

One question to note.

The director told me that from her experience, people with Asperger’s are less flexible to changes in routine and environment then NTs. She then asked me if this was going to present a challenge.

I told her "My working here is likely to create many interesting challenges. I feel that I would be lying to you if I said otherwise."

She said "Good" Then thought for a moment and said, "Yes let's do this."

Now I just need my background check to clear, and I will be back working in Special Education. This time I know, and my director knows that I have Asperger’s and will face many interesting challenges because of it. Because of my decision to declare my Asperger’s during the interview, we agreed before my ever working there to face the challenges it creates together.

I hope this adds informative details to the question of how a person with Asperger's becomes a Special Ed. Teacher.