Member-only story
The Soul of a Special Needs Teacher.
Reaching the Summit in Teaching Special Needs Individuals.
“But, he can’t do that.”
“She has no idea what you are saying.”
“Why are you bothering- it makes no difference.”
The “difference” of my 25-year teaching career has been in
single.
silent.
moments.
Unexpected eyes, glances, smirks, tears, jumps, claps, and laughter.
The Art of Knowing something tiny concept has been communicated. The marinating of souls has begun.
Human commonalities far outweigh our differences.
Timothy is a seventeen-year-old teen labeled “autistic” by the educational community. We all have labels, by the way, but that is a whole different piece.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. Autism is a spectrum disorder; each person has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. How people learn, think, and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged.
