More updates...

To my small but loyal group of followers.. Greetings and apologies.. apologies for not keeping up with this blog. My life gets very busy. I guess a sociological insight i can give is this.. when it comes to the special needs community, we are a quite homogenous group. In order to actually "get" a person who has special needs and know how to relate in a way that doesn't come off as perhaps insulting or ignorant, you either have to have special needs yourself, or know someone who does. Society in general does not understand autism as much as a parent of an autistic child does. They do not know what the word "autistic" truly means. They may know in their head what that entails..oh yeah, they have difficulty with social commutation, reception etc. But they dint know what that MEANS until they are face to face with someone who has those difficulties. I realized myself its one thing to read about autism and having meltdowns and perseverations and the like and another to actually work with persons on the spectrum and see the good and the bad aspects first hand. No doubt my own experience on the spectrum proves useful to understanding my students who have asperger's and autism and the like..

It also strikes me how the special needs community is a quite small world. Ive run into the same people (children, usually) at two different settings or more.. and its funny how we all "know" the same people and have similar connections.
Speaking of the special needs community, i have been proud to serve in one capacity or another..respite care worker, summer camp counselor, etc...but the jobs i had were always temporary, or always filling in. But my perseverance and patience have paid off. I landed a Part time job as a recovery coordinator for an organization known as SAIL or Superior Alliance for Independent Living. What it entails is providing outreach and resources for individuals living with serious mental illness who no longer qualify for services at community mental health. This definitely a step in the right direction. The only down side is it requires driving out of town i the winter..which im nervous about..but ill manage somehow.. pay is definetly worth it..12 bucks an hour. Peace out!