i dont know anything about paperwork or anything but im studying nuerology and mental disorders right now and i have a brother with autism and i have adhd. since youve been around kids with disablities it should be easier but just be prepared for anything expect the unexpected because you never know what we'rer gonna do next

I've been a SPED teacher going on 5 years now. Some teaching environments are more stressful than others! Either way, now matter what field in education you get into, you will have a tone of paper work....and you really won't have much of a social life outside of school. It is a lot of work, but in the end it is very rewarding!!!!!!

Good luck to you!

Here are a couple of links where Special Ed Teachers were interviewed;

http://www.educatekidz.com/teacher-interview.html

http://www.educatekidz.com/specialeducation.html

In my opinion- the fact that you volunteer your time to work with disabled children in a therapeutic environment shows a personal passion and dedication to such a field of work. Salvage that passion and let it grow! Always beware of burnout and plan accordingly to avoid it. In the end working with exceptional children is truly an enriching experience if you work hard at it!

The most important part is that you have the passion to work with people who have special needs. It's true that the paperwork can be a pain, but it's not impossible by any stretch of the imagination - it just means that you need to include things such as data collection as part of your daily routine. To me, the irritating downsides of the paper trail are more than compensated by the sense of accomplishment. And as a Special Day Class teacher, I do have teaching assistants who are absolutely wonderful, and they support my teaching in every possible way, including their assistance with the reporting mandates.

I have been working with people with special needs for more than 30 years, and I still love my work. I was inspired by my sister with Down syndrome, who was born in 1965, long before there was a federal mandate for special education services. For me, it's an incredibly fortunate situation - I get to make a decent wage by helping kids with special needs achieve as much independence as possible. Every day I get the satisfaction of seeing one or more of my students achieve something they couldn't do the day before. We also have a whole bunch of fun - every single day, even the most difficult days (and there are definitely difficult days), there is something to make me pause to appreciate the students and their efforts. And there is also something most days that makes me laugh out loud - not in any way disrespecting my students - it's just that teaching can be pretty darned funny, no matter who your students are.

It's great that you have experience with therapeutic horseback riding. A number of my students have benefited significantly from participating in hippotherapy programs. You might want to volunteer in a special education class, too, so you can have a better idea of the demands of teaching. But if it's right for you, and it sounds as if you may have the passion for teaching kids with special needs, this can be the most rewarding job ever.

Yes there is paperwork, but it really shouldn't retract from the job. Depending on where you work, you should have time alloted to you (prep time) to do paperwork. It also depends on what type of environment you are teaching in. For example, I teach an early intervention preschool class, which is split into am and pm classes. For that reason, I have 25 children to do paperwork on, which is a lot. However, if you teach in a full day Autistic Support room, you are only allowed by law (in my state, PA) to have 9 children on your caseload, so you only have to do paperwork for 9 children. If you are truly passionate about working with children with special needs, don't let the threat of paperwork deter you. It truly is a rewarding career. Good luck!

Normally nobody likes in your job. So it is great to hear you like this. you would be an excellent fellow.not only as a job, you are getting the self satisfaction too.

but to work with them, you have to have some idea.as its not that easy to CONTROL them. for that have some learning. then you are able to go forward. all the best.