An autistic person teaching grade school...Is it impossible?

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You could also try out being an 'aide' in a spec ed class. Apart from speech, their is also occupational therapy with additional sub groups of social skill therapists, play therapists, I could go on and on, but the opportunities are vast.
Cheers
http://whitterer-autism.blogspot.com

Perhaps you'd do well to sit in on various classes, just to get an idea of what works for you. Certainly there's a big diffrence in the various teaching jobs people have mantioned on this thread.

Thanks, everyone for your encouragement and suggestions. I've considered both K-3 and special education and wasn't sure which one would be a better fit more me personally.

I live in Memphis, TN where the school district is a rather rough one. This is one in which we have fights, crime, gangs and all kinds of nonsense.....and this is, 99.99% of the time, coming from the "normal" kids who simply don't care.

Special needs children do have their own learning and behavioral issues. However, it's one thing when children mis-behave due to problems with a developmental disability. It's another thing to deal with NT kids who think they're grown and can do whatever they want. The parents here don't demand they respect adults and get angry with the teachers when they try to disipline them...hence the out-of-control behavior coming from students as they're not afraid of the consequences.

If I go into special ed, I'll feel more at peace knowing I can do something to make the lives of children with disabilities easier than it was for me at that age. It won't be easy as the burn-out rate averages two years (yikes!). But it'll be much better since I can deal one-on-one with each student rather than forcing all of them to keep at a pace that may not suit all of them.

Yeah, I'm still scared but I think this will be a good turning point for me.