What is the first thing the comes to your mind when you think of the term Autism?

This is the first question I was asked in my course study on this journey and would stick with me for a very long time. I felt very dumb in class shouting out words such as "aggressive, slow, emotionless, strange/different, mental institutions." The look the professor gave me was so shocked, I was almost certain that I would not be allowed to continue my education down this path. I remember staying after class and apologizing for my answers and I will never forget hearing the professor tell me how she wasn't surprised and she really hoped I could gain more factual knowledge about the disability.

Through my internships, coursework, and brother, I was able to gain a new appreciation and meaning for child with autism. Graduating from school, I remember the amount of hope I had for the future with all of the new organizations that were popping up to support children with Autism. I gleefully accepted a position as an Autism Specialty teacher for middle school children with Autism. I thought my life could not get any better and I was finally able to do my part in helping our children learn as well as teaching the community. Boy was I wrong. To this day, I'm still concerned with the well-being of my previous students and the lack of a meaningful education I was able to provide them. The organization I accepted a job with was no where near ready to be having an Autism Education program available to clients.

I spent years working on different strategies to teach with, different sensory needs, calming techniques, you name it-I researched it. I had high hopes starting as a first year teacher, but my first day there I was essentially told I would be giving the children iPads to play with for most of their school day.