The Special Child.

Working in the early childhood field for almost 15 years I have experienced great joy teaching the students who have crossed my path but I won't ever forget the one child that really showed me what it really means to be a teacher. Three years ago I had a child enrolled in my class who had autsim and this was something I was not familiar with at all. I had no clue what to do and how to react to this child. Every little thing would set him off and I just didn't know what to do. After about 2 weeks of school I was just about ready to quit my job. I would pray each night that God would give me the strenght to carry on and show me how I could accept this child. I knew that child had been put in my classroom for a reason but I just didn't know why yet. To make a long story a little shorter this child and myself finally clicked. We begin to understand each other and we were learning from each other. This child did not talk so he would mostly point or take me to what he wanted. Every day I would get my flashcards out with pictures on it and try to get him to say what he say but nothing never happened. One day after many weeks of this I was working with him and showing him the cards and out of the blue he said cookie. You could have heard me scream from a million miles. The other teachers came to see if I was ok. I was thrilled. From that point on words were slow but he would verbalize some things. What this comes down to is I thought I wasn't going to make it having this child with special needs in my room. I was clueless to what I was doing. Having this child showed me that I should never underestimate myself. I am the teacher I set out to be and if we believe we can overcome many obstacles we may face. After having this child with autism I have had several child since then and by going through what I thought I couldn't do I have amazed myself by working with these children with special needs. They have all been a blessing and have opened my eyes to many things. I can see clearly now.