Interview With a Teacher

I had the opportunity to interview Jana Dixon, a teacher at a school for children with autism.  I loved talking with her about her experiences and how she feels about the school that she teaches at.  Here are the questions and her responses:  

How was your school different from a public school special education program?

The DIR focus is different, I don’t think any other public school do activities by using the child’s lead.  We still had to follow all the laws about goals and parent teacher conferences but I don’t think it was quite as paperwork intensive as a public school.  It was different because it was ALL autism whereas public schools have more of a variety of disabilities and students. 

What was your favorite part of teaching at a school for children with autism?

When the kids showed progress especially progress in relationships.  I love when you knew that they trusted you and loved you and thought you were cool.  When they would smile at you and they typically would never smile or even look at your before or when they would grab your hand when they normally wouldn’t do that, those are some of my favorite moments.  It means that I am doing a good job as a teacher but it is also a great indicator that the children are progressing in their social skills and interactions.   

What was the hardest part of teaching at a school for children with autism?

Working with the para educators and trying to keep them motivated and learning and having fun.  It was hard to do this and  still be in charge.  I had to keep my leadership role and be a good advisor and role model for them.  It was difficult to balance being their friend and their mentor at the same time because I needed to keep the respect, but I also needed to be on their level so they could trust me and be comfortable with me.  

What are the benefits of having a separate school for children with autism?

There is a lot more focused training for the teachers and para educators.  We had weekly training meetings which really helped the teachers and paras know what they should be doing, kept us updated on new ideas and new information.  They were really helpful and it helped all of us to be better teachers.   We also had smaller class sizes and more paras per kid.  With fewer kids and more aduts, more interactions took place, more learning, and more progress. 

It was a safer environment than other schools might be. All of the teachers were very much involved with autism and learning about it and caring about it and so the kids are what the teachers needed as much as the teachers were what the kids needed.  

What are the drawbacks of having a separate school for children with autism?

Peer interactions, they didn’t have any interactions with typical peers.  It is harder to learn social skills when you are teaching among other kids with disabilities.  

What types of instruction did you use?

We did DIR so a lot of following the child’s lead and things like that.  We did a lot of centers.  The only whole class we did was circle times, sensory activities, and art activities.  During this time I would use a little bit of direct instruction but it was more just trying to get the kids involved in the activities.  It was more guided learning than direct instruction.  

What were your responsibilities as a teacher?

Teach the children and to work with the parents by keeping the children’s goals updated and keep them informed as to what went on in school and how their children were doing.   One of the biggest things was to work with the para educators to make sure they were trained and helping the kids and teaching as well.