…for anything. I haven’t posted in ages. Granted, I had a good excuse. My life the past few months has been complete chaos. I barely held it together. I am so glad summer is here!
So, the class I was teaching was and elementary self-contained class for kids with emotional and behavioral disorders. I mean, I knew when I took the job that it would be hard and out of my comfort zone, but I needed a job (having moved here in March and not having a lot to pick from). But, wow! Did that stretch my abilities! I did learn a lot, though, mostly that I never want to teach a class like that again.
The difference between the kids in this class and what I’m used to (autism) is that even though many behaviors are the same, the “what’s behind the behavior” is totally different. Instead of cluelessness, I had to deal with manipulation and overt defiance. I did come to love the kids (I always do), but I don’t think I’ll take on that challenge again. I do feel much more confident in dealing with challenging behaviors.
It looks like I’ll be working in a different school district next year (official offer coming soon), and I’m really excited about this position. It’s a class for kids with high-functioning autism (and the like), and it’s more like a resource room where they can go when they can’t handle the regular classroom. So, it’ll be a lot of training of aides and teachers and the like. While I had hoped to work with younger kids again (this is elementary and not preschool, obviously), I’m excited to be going back to my autism expertise, plus, I think I will learn a lot that will help my managing my own son’s program and progress.
So, that’s where I am. I’m looking forward to a quiet summer, moving into the new house (next week), working on getting my thesis ready for publication submissions and preparing for the BCBA exam (behavior specialist). I had considered doing some work this summer, but I think I’m just going to wind down and get ready for the next school year, which will probably be here before I can spit.
