Everyone in special education knows transitions are difficult.  When Sebastian was entering kindergarten we agreed to place him in an inclusion classroom.  I have always been a proponent of inclusion.  Sebastian had made great gains in a general education preschool, but I was still terrified of kindergarten.  Sebastian’s skills were so unbalanced.  Lacking an obvious better placement option, we chose inclusion.  The experience soured early into the school year.

Having two children with disabilities taught me a great deal about how to conduct myself as a teacher.  I learned how to communicate differently.  When I reach out to a parent I think long and hard about what I actually need to communicate and why.  I work hard to avoid judgement.  I think about who I am speaking to.

It was Sebastian’s kindergarten teacher who uttered a string of words I will never forget.  You can read about it over at The Mighty, “To the Teacher Who Suggested My Son With Autism Belonged in a World of Make Believe.”