This subject holds a special place in my heart because of all the people who need or have received special needs care, myself included. Most people don't understand the intricacies and high level of expertise needed to properly educate a special needs child. I hope to use this thread to better educate people to understand what really goes on in these circumstances and how deeply affected the students are.

One school I would like to mention is League School of Greater Boston which I feel is the best regarding children on the autism spectrum.

Feel free to share what you know and have experienced regarding this subject.

I am in my sixth year of school earning my teaching degree. I have had quite a few classes specifically about having kids with special needs in your class room, the importance of giving them the least restricted environment for their education, and what goes on in the special education classrooms. We have also been properly educated on hundreds of different disorders, disabilities, or pasts and how to help them in the classroom. The people who have decided to continue school to get a masters degree in special education are people I have high respect for because that would have to be the most difficult you can have in the teaching field in my opinion. Not only is the classroom itself more challenging, but the states push special education to the side so often. No Child Left Behind does not separate special education classrooms from the same standardized testing as the rest of the school. That just adds on to the difficulty of the job. I, myself, am a semester away from starting student teaching, so I have never had a classroom with a special needs student, so I am sorry I got no experiences in that regard. But I have worked for the mental health center here for 3 years now, and so I have a lot of experience just being around children with a variety of conditions. I have seen how hard these kids have it in school when they are constantly made fun of right in front of them like they don't understand. Proper education is declining for them because so many don't seem to care. That pretty much assures them that they will not have a chance to succeed in any possible way. So many just assume they won't be able to function in society, that they aren't even willing to give them the chance. 

If it isn't too personal, is there a reason why you picked the League School of Greater Boston? Is that where you attended? 

rcarter2 :

Yeah it is. I went there for 7 years. They rehabilitated me after a very traumatic experience in the public school system to the point in which I'm now able to say I will be graduating soon with two Associate Degrees and a Cosmetology License after only 4 years of study.

They are a testament to what proper education can do for a child with a severe disability as I had. It also set me up with the many connections which set me up with many possible jobs and friendships that I don't think I could be without today. One of which is the sheriff's office in which we now have set up a charity softball game to raise money and awareness for the autism center.

I also was in a special need program, in a way. I was enrolled in the Deaf & Hard of Hearing program, and it supports us by having a teacher or two that is able to speak in ASL fluently, and four interpreters.

However, the reason I said 'in a way' is because, yes, I enrolled into that program, but I had ALL classes in the normal classes and even honors classes. (AP classes in your version), and all I needed was a interpreter.

DHH provides deaf classes, which is kind of 'special need' in its own, and it completely does not match my needed education, so that's why I registered for the normal classes +, not the deaf classes.