The children I worked with through Pressley Ridge Schools’ Autism Program. I consulted with teachers in schools who worked with my students whose home programs I developed. They were desperate for support on how to tackle behaviors, to develop motivators and behavior systems, and to learn ways to modify work. After traveling throughout Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties and consulting for five years, I decided that I’d had enough of consulting and educating parents, I wanted to work directly with kids again.
I was a consultant with the Center for Autism, consulting with teachers in schools and teaching Therapeutic Staff Support and parents in homes. I also ran seminars for families and professionals working with families through PRS talking about Autism, behavioral modification, and support for families. Currently, I am an Educational Support Teacher in Fox Chapel Schools.
No matter how much the field has changed and continues to change, I love working with students. Watching a student learn something new for the first time, or mastering skills she/he has been tackling never ceases to excite me.
A true focus in education on helping children to achieve their individual potential based on their abilities rather than expecting them to all learn the same material, skills, and curriculums. With testing as a center focus, thinking about social and emotional skills as well as differentiation has somewhat been lost. In other words, focusing on teaching our children how to truly think and learn outside of the box would be my greatest hope for the future.