Teaching, Public Speaking, and ASD

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I am a teacher, currently back in grad school earning my masters degree in special education with my focus in ASD. I have ASD, have not been diagnosed as yet, but soon. Have been for ADHD, but I just don't fit that mold in many respects. Anyway, I am having a very difficult time with public speaking. I just freak out (heart racing, nervous, loss of concentration/confidence) when I have to get in front of the grad class, although I am fine with kids. I am afraid I won't be able to finish the program if I can't get a handle on this and it's stressing me out to no end, which is one reason I registered. I keep thinking that my classmates are negatively judging me, and I can't seem to get it out of my head. Has anyone had success in overcoming the fear of public speaking, if so how? Should I be looking for a different occupation? Hope not but maybe so. Thanks for reading my post.

JJ

Sounds to me like what you need more than anything else is mentoring and experience.

Practice for anyone who will listen. Talk to family and friends about this. Discuss it with a counselor. With time, you may be able to overcome it.

I'm a teacher at preschool. I work with toddlers which is totally different than having to work with older kids but before obtaining my certificate I did have to do student-teaching in a school with much older children. It was very difficult for me but I just decided to go through with it for the sake of meeting college requirements. I did get nervous at first but then I got used to it since I had to repeat this procedure so often. Also I had a set routine I followed daily on how to carry out my lesson plan which eased my anxiety.
I do work with kids and because they are so young it is quite easy for me because they are simpler than complex older people. They aren't judgmental and are very welcoming towards those who show them kindness.