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IstominFan
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21 Feb 2017, 9:58 am

I taught English at the junior college level for a year (1994).



kdm1984
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21 Feb 2017, 8:16 pm

Yes! I substitute teach. I prefer (and do better at) paraprofessional assignments.



burnt_orange
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21 Feb 2017, 9:39 pm

I taught English as a second language in other countries. I don't think it was the best job for me, I kind of got shoved into it. That said, I did enjoy most of it. I like teaching adults better than children though. They do not have to be controlled.



liveandrew
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22 Feb 2017, 3:46 am

I know it's not exactly academic but I teach children climbing - mostly 8 to 16 year-olds but occasionally 3 to 8 year-olds as well. I've also coached adults but not regularly. I really enjoy it.


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gottateach
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19 Apr 2018, 9:17 am

I wanted to share an update. This year, I changed districts and in my new district I will have a real chance to change the lives of kids with exceptionalities as an integration support teacher with a relative small caseload. We've had to begin homeschooling our son who is completely miserable in his classroom despite wonderful adults working with him and this has left me even more passionate to help change the system from within for kids like me when I was little and my own two children on the spectrum.

My question:

What do you wish the adults had understood in work with you?

Some of mine:

Treat every child with dignity. IE stop bossing them about looking adults in the eye and formally answering informal greetings or casual comments.
Create diverse environments to make room for differences
Reduce sensory overload whenever possible. This mlmeans being open to looking at class size.



elsapelsa
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20 Apr 2018, 4:39 am

I am a teacher, well currently a stay at home mum.... but I was a teacher and I will hopefully return to teaching next year. I have taught in many different settings. First off I taught English as a foreign language to refugees and international students, then I taught English in Japan, then whilst doing my PhD I taught undergraduates philosophy and politics. I will go back into teaching as a secondary school teacher for religion, philosophy and ethics. Or so is the plan!

My HFA daughter is in mainstream education but I am also ready to homeschool her when needed over the foreseeable future should it come to that. Hopefully she is going to be ok at school though as we are moving her to a school with half her current class size soon and hope she will settle well there.

In answer to your questions:

My first priority would also be to teach children with greater respect. Not pick on them for things that bother you. Explore sensory needs and how to best to meet them in the classroom without drawing attention to particular students. Allow for regular meetings with children with special educational needs and let them drive the conversation as to how to best support them in the classroom. And to realise that the things that are good for autistic kids are good for all kids - reducing stress levels, having clear and simple instructions, providing breaks for movement and space for time alone. Everyone benefits from this. Also to realise that environment is potentially the biggest factor in educational attainment for kids with autism and for teacher and leadership to to take responsibility for ensuring each kid is holistically supported to feel good at school.


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gottateach
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20 Apr 2018, 9:00 am

Thank you Elsa. I wholeheartedly agree and especially like your comments to about letting the child drive the conversation. I'm so happy for you and you daughter and that she is moving into a better setting. I wish that was a possibility for us, but in our area there are no such school - even private ones. It is unfortunate that the very architecture of most schools is intended to assimilate rather than create or embrace diversity.



elsapelsa
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20 Apr 2018, 9:50 am

gottateach wrote:
Thank you Elsa. I wholeheartedly agree and especially like your comments to about letting the child drive the conversation. I'm so happy for you and you daughter and that she is moving into a better setting. I wish that was a possibility for us, but in our area there are no such school - even private ones. It is unfortunate that the very architecture of most schools is intended to assimilate rather than create or embrace diversity.


You are so right about the very foundation of education being about assimilation, containment and ticking boxes. True diversity is not fostered. Saying that, whilst the early years of mainstream education were hellish for us (nobody took me seriously and my daughter was too young to fight for her needs or in many way even understand her needs), now we have a diagnosis they have been bending over backwards. I think in part to make up for the earlier lack of interest. Whilst they found it odd at first that I wanted my daughter in on all meetings and that they would have to seek her approval to share any information about her with new people, they are on board now. Taking that stance, I feel, has been really beneficial for her. She owns this information and feels in control.

I am super nervous about moving schools. It might backfire. But she will have a class of 16 instead of 32, much more pastoral support.... and it means she won't ever have to shift schools again. So fingers crossed.... there are definetely going to be tricky patches, I am sure, but something that absolutely kills me is seeing really intelligent people not get the access to education they deserve because of special needs.

Sorry you haven't found the right school near you but good job for homeschooling. I can't even begin to fathom how tough homeschooling might be. My daughter has a lot of demand avoidance and it would literally require the patience of a saint.


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gottateach
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20 Apr 2018, 7:12 pm

LOL - It's a good thing my hubby has the demeanor of a saint. He's absolutely amazing with our son. I've never seen our little guy so happy or relaxed. Summer days have always started with demands to know how many days until school starts again. The circles under his eyes are even gone. It's amazing. I would have a hard time staying home, but I think it will be good for father and son. They are really enjoying their time together.

As for the demand avoidance - our guy's issue is always perfectionism. What works well is taking the task away as soon as his energy begins to become negative and not allowing him to come back until he's ready. His perfectionism drives him to want to do it - but he wants to do it in anger which we are not allowing. So far, that's working and in areas outside his usual triggers (ie swimming), he's really developing a growth mindset - Hooray!! !



starcats
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20 Apr 2018, 8:07 pm

elsapelsa wrote:
[
You are so right about the very foundation of education being about assimilation, containment and ticking boxes. True diversity is not fostered.



This is so true. I am a teacher, and most of the teachers and staff I work with are well intentioned, but just have no idea how they are perpetuating that. We are not supposed to be test-based and have all minds of pd about individuality, but assessments turn into assimilation, kids who can't sit still or move on too fast are held back to everyone else's speed. Real quotes: "he's not autistic, he can make eye contact," "what do you mean concrete, what's more concrete than the list of instructions I put in front of her," "it's not our job to figure out how students learn," "letting the student work how they want sounds nice but sped interventions are to help the student fit in, how will they have a job if they can't process the same way as everyone else." I could go on and on. I intervene directly to help students who I can tell are struggling to process in the way they are "supposed to," but when I try to advocate to teachers I usually get blank stares. I can't tell if they think I'm too far out there or they just don't comprehend.



SplendidSnail
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20 Apr 2018, 8:30 pm

Not a teacher, but I get along really well with kids.

I think the biggest thing that would prevent me from teaching is faceblindness and my total and absolutely inability to learn names. I just can't anyone being a successful teacher who can't learn the names of a large number of kids quickly.


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gottateach
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20 Apr 2018, 10:19 pm

That, for me, has come over time. I no longer look in the mirror in surprise at my face - it's not that I didn't recognize it, but more that I've forgotten what I look like. It took me a really long time to get to know kids faces and I used to make a lot of mistakes, but the kids were pretty forgiving. I always tell parents that I'm good at getting to know kids faces, but have difficulty with adults - a stretch of the truth. It's more that I've really made my students' faces a priority. It helps if they have different hair and body types as that is easier to remember than faces. I think learning to visualize when I'm reading has helped too as I didn't do that before, so the visual parts of my brain are more active now.

I always remind myself that autism is a developmental delay and some things just take me longer. It also helps to know that neuroplasticity means I can grow and change all my life.



gottateach
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20 Apr 2018, 10:30 pm

[quote=I intervene directly to help students who I can tell are struggling to process in the way they are "supposed to," but when I try to advocate to teachers I usually get blank stares. I can't tell if they think I'm too far out there or they just don't comprehend.[/quote]

Yes, exactly. I say hi to a kid and the EA stops them, forces them to make eye contact, and to respond with a formal greeting. I want that kid to like me, not to dread being greeted by me because it always turns into a huge pain. We don't stop other kids who give us a casual wave or a smile when greeted. It should be up to adults to meet the kids, not the other way around. When a response is necessary, wait time should be given and a chance for the child to infer what needs to happen next. Imagine if that child is greeted five times while walking down the hall - do they have to stop each and every time? No other child is forced to socialize in this way.



gottateach
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20 Apr 2018, 10:35 pm

Still working on how to use quotes on this board. Sorry.



SplendidSnail
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20 Apr 2018, 10:38 pm

gottateach wrote:
Still working on how to use quotes on this board. Sorry.

Too late now since there's two replies on it, but you can actually edit a message without it being labelled as an edit as long as nobody has replied to your post yet. I very often do this to fix my mistakes with quotes and things like that.
:D


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rowan_nichol
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21 Apr 2018, 6:53 am

Yes, exactly. I say hi to a kid and the EA stops them, forces them to make eye contact, and to respond with a formal greeting. I want that kid to like me, not to dread being greeted by me because it always turns into a huge pworld :evil: ................ We don't stop other kids who give us a casual wave or a smile when greeted. No other child is forced to socialize in this way.[/quote]

Well written.
That must be extremely humiliating for the young person.

I recall attending the AGM of one of the major charities in Autism. It was also a bit of a family day as well, lots of parents and children.

I noted lots of children diligent practicing their social scripts, dutifully making startsxat conversation, and I felt pulled in two directions.

The first was to respond in such a way that the young person or family could view my responding asva success for their young one to build on.

But my second thoughts were that this style of teaching or drilling or whatever was going to set the young person up for a ton of grief out in the world because the openings sounded stilted and contrived,and the schoolyard bullies of the world would delight in using that to mock the person, and it could also combine with the unawareness of context and situation which can affect us on the spectrum, and result in a person blindly making a conversation opening to quite the wrong sort of person.

I can't help thinking we sometimes need a bit if teaching in camouflage and quietly blening in and not being noticed rather than drilling meaning we get picked up as odd whenever starting a conversation.