Before I even began working part-time as a substitute skills trainer, I had worries fo' dayz about what client I would be working with, what if I got spat on, bitten head-butted, tackled, scratched... what if I got dodo smeared on me?!?! Oh hell to the no! I know Brooks Brothers has the best wrinkle-free and odor-repellent apparel. So where do I go for feces-repellent clothing? Haha! No, I wasn't seriously thinking that, but honestly my worries were endless! Funny thing is, is that after having worked with several kids, no matter what their diagnosis, I was always smiling and giggling like a little girl about a thousand times a day, on average :o) The only stressful part about my job is dealing with conflicts that arise with the adults whom are in some way connected to the child or the child's Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Luckily, I haven't encountered any major problems thus far, but I hear horror stories all the time about many people disagreeing about what they feel is best for the children.
SUBBING: Bottom line: It kinda sucks! Reason no. 1 - The first week of calling in was like a dry spell, you know, kind of like the romance in my life! Hahaha kidding! Seriously though, I was calling in at 5:30 am to ask for available openings for a sub position and I got NADA. The two weeks following turned out to be a lot better and by the end of the third week, I got a permanent case. Reason no. 2 - Okay so do you remember that one cool teacher back in high school? Young, hip, charming, got along well with the students, was hilarious, and laid back. Yeah, remember now? Do you also remember when you showed up to class one day and all of a sudden "Mr. Cool" was out sick and a stranger was standing in the front of the classroom with their name written in bold on the chalkboard. It was kind of nice handwriting, too. "Hi class, I'm Mr. 'Whats-his-face' and I'll be subbing for Mr. 'Cool' today." It kind of throws off the alignment of everything. Now you know your school day is going to be jacked because you don't know what to expect from the sub. And that's what I feel like I'm doing to these kids. I'm Ms. Whats-her-face and I came to replace Mr. Cool for the day :o( It sucks to seem like the bad guy, but I'm really trying to step in and do my best for these kids (since Mr. Cool is still hanging from last night's punani patrol LOL).
After having subbed a couple of times my worries were out the door and my perspective about people in general has totally changed 10-fold after I met a girl whom I will call "baby girl" for privacy purposes. Baby girl is mostly blind and deaf, non-verbal, & autistic. When I first saw her walking off the handicap school bus, I noticed slight bruising on her head and a helmet attached to her backpack and I thought, "Oh no! Baby girl is a head banger!" Upon introduction, she walked up to me, touched, and pressed her face against my chest to get acquainted with my scent. Baby girl is lucky I showered that morning! Hahaha just playing, I'm always clean before work!! Anyways, real talk, despite Baby girl being a high-profile case, she is super smart and totally capable of doing things that we, as fully functioning as we are, would NOT be able to do under such conditions. Although she is blind and deaf, I believe that her other senses have extraordinary capabilities. She knows when I'm around and she'll bolt up quickly to catch me if I'm not next to her. She has superb sense of direction because she makes her way around campus effortlessly, can ascend and descend from stairs and over water hoses, uneven walkways without ever stumbling. She can identify her friends through touch and scent--she is sooooo smart and such a lovable little girl! A lot of the students around campus would greet her saying "Hi Baby girl," others just stare, but I was glad to see that most of them were respectful to her. One student during lunch said "Hi Baby girl," and Honey girl next to him said, "I don't know why you said that to her, it's not like she can see!" After overhearing that, I got a little defensive and told Honey girl [in my sweet adult voice of course], "It's okay Honey girl, he can say 'hi' to Baby girl if he wants to. You see how she's looking in his direction? Baby girl is smart and can sense that he's there."
Despite getting b*tch slapped, and at times rejected by these kids, they are amazing and have such a great capacity to love others and support their peers no matter what and that's what makes them different from high functioning students who only know of one world--their world. In their world, they put down their classmates, call each other mean names, and refuse to support one another. On the contrary, although autistic kids have deficiencies in communication and social interaction skills, they know how to give love and give support. I've never heard an autistic or disabled kid put down any other child and it's sad that these are the ones that get teased in school. They have two worlds--their world and the world that they are trying to become assimilated into. I love and respect these kids so much and hope only for the best in regards to their future well-being!! They truly are "special," and I'm not talking "special needs," but more so special as in precious little beings :o)
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