Teaching

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I have always loved school. Looking back now it was an escape for me. Learning made sense and I could hide myself in it from others. Since I always had such a passion for learning and buying school supplies, I figured teaching was the job for me. And I absolutely love the work I do with the kids. They give me purpose and fill my heart with so much joy, but sometimes I worry I am failing them. Who am I to teach them skills on socializing and working with others, when those are things I've always avoided? I've never been good in confrontation, and teaching those skills is lost on me.

Are there any teachers who could offer advice?
Any teaching tips at all would be appreciated. How can I be a successful teacher with Aspergers?

There are many successful teacher with Aspergers.

What age group are you planning to focus on?

I tried to get into the profession prior to being diagnosed. I always excelled academically and liked the overall environment of schools: controlled, predictable, focused on learning.

I did have many challenges with executive functioning and reading students' social cues (and responding to them appropriately) while student teaching. It was enough of an issue that, even after I tried student teaching a second time, I figured I wasn't able to handle the "full load" of being a full-time teacher. I now substitute teach instead, and I prefer this. I particularly excel at being a teacher aide, where I can rely on the primary teacher's social skills and executive functioning to help guide me as I teach smaller groups of students.

All to say, your level of success will be affected by how strongly your condition affects your social and executive functioning skills. Confrontations are inevitable; kids will test you, and then you get the parents and other teachers all giving their advice and opinions and time. I say give it a shot, but don't give up entirely if you find you can't handle full-time teaching. Districts are ALWAYS looking for subs, and there are always niches you can fill.

Best wishes!

I've always wondered about taking on the role of a teacher in schools. Though it's not what I primarily want to do, depending on how tied up the field I want to get a foothold in turns out to be after I graduate, I wouldn't mind taking on teacher training as an alternative step. I'm still doubtful however that I could learn to speak confidently and clearly in front of so many people, even if they were children.