Just watched Temple Grandin on HBO. It is a movie about an autistic woman who has acquired a BS, MA and PhD in Animal Husbandry.....she is a phenomenal woman. She offers her terrific insight into the world of a person who has autism. I want to take this opportunity to take my hat off to my collegues who continue to work in special education. I have done it all my life and seem to have no more reserves to share. The job is immense.

To be a good sped teacher, one has to assemble all the important knowledge in their head. They have to learn about sensori motor integretion- SMI(how the senses work and integrate into the structure and function of the mind). They have to learn all about how children develop, the "normal" or average way and then the development that may have become skewed through poor SMI or brain damage or some other hinderance to development that may contribute to developing some other way than "normal". They have to learn how to task analyze any and every task, activity, skill or event and break it down into manageable segments. They have to learn the scope and sequence of any subject area attempting to be taught.

Then comes the most important areas for sped teachers.... They must then assemble the puzzle of each individual child. How do they learn best, what do they already know, what skills do they have that you can build on, what motivates them, what hinders their learning and performance, what is important about each subject to THIS child, how is their sensory system organized....on and on....THEN they attempt to get inside that child's head and experience how that child learns. This gives insight into how, what, where and who needs to be taught what.

A side effect of obtaining this insight is an emotional connection to the person and the disability. It becomes a part of us. So not only do we carry who we are personally (and struggle to continue to figure that out as we go) but we also carry the emotional stressors, highs and lows and complexities of the students we teach and their disability as it effects that student. Over the years there are many personal experiences that we keep inside us. This collection in itself can be a valuable tool for a master teacher. It helps us put together each and every puzzle of a learner that comes through our door. It helps us connect and plug in what the student needs at that time in a manner that they can obtain and use a skill or a concept.

But what I have not noticed until I am without the need to put myself in their shoes (retirement), is that I carry EACH emotional experience with me..... The stuggles that the child has, the frustrations that they have, the peer pressure and the individual struggle to discover and value who they are. When I watched the Temple Grandin story, it was an emotional release for me in that she was speaking for all those students that I have been carrying with me....all their frustrations...all their insights.....their lost opportunities ...and the doors that did and did not open for them.....thank you Temple.