Another School Year In The Books.

 Another school year is coming to an end. With summer approaching, we staff and most of the students are feeling it and ready for a break. Passing other staff in the hallway in recent weeks, Ive heard many comments with heavy sighs such as “we’re in the home stretch”, “it’s almost over” and this morning, “Seven more days, Thank God!”. I get it, I’m ready for a little time off too, but this year there have been a few co-workers who are just drowning in negativity. It’s so hard to be surrounded by it and avoid letting it bring me down. I found a saying on the internet and I wrote it on a white board at school to encourage people but per usual, the ones who could learn from it, rarely see themselves as the ones who need it.

Someone else is dreaming of the job you hate, the home you complain about, the smile you forget to wear and the health you take for granted. Don’t let the difficult times make you forget your BLESSINGS!

One coworker read this today and said “yeah, who would dream of this job?” I just don’t understand why people who don’t enjoy their jobs or enjoy working with children, do it? Why be miserable and make sure everyone around you is too? As this year comes to an end I will have been working in this district for 22 years and 8 months and although every year is different, I still find joy in it. I have been so blessed to work with so many great students and many great coworkers too.

I am an LNA (Licensed Nursing Assistant) in the Intensive Needs, Special Education program as well as a Paraprofessional. I have learned so much about many disabilities (or as I sometimes say “diverse abilities” because everyone has abilities and “dis” means “not” as in “not able”) and conditions, diseases, personalities, pros and cons of different medications, therapies (OT, PT, Speech & Psychiatric), the benefits of parental support and the disadvantages of the lack of support. Some of the conditions some of my students have had are:

• ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
• CP (Cerebral Palsy)
• SB (Spina Bifida)
• Batten’s disease also known as NCLs (Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses).
• Down Syndrome
• ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsion Disorder)
• PICA (an abnormal desire to eat substances that are not normally eaten.
• Intellectual disability or Intellectual disorder-limitations in cognitive skills such as language, self carer & social skills (formally known as Mental Retardation).
• ED (Emotionally Disturbance)
• LD (learning disabled
• TBI (traumatic brain injury)
• DD (developmentally delayed)
• OHI (other health impaired-seizures that affect learning often fall in this category).
• Leukemia
• Vision (blind or partially/legally blind) & hearing loss (deaf or partial).
• Cancer
• Epilepsy 

I’m sure there are more I am not thinking of at the moment.

I think about how mentally and physically exhausting this line of work can be, especially during scary times like witnessing a seizure or performing the Heimlich Maneuver which I have had to do several times over the years. I’d be lying if I said I have never gotten frustrated but I truly feel the good outweighs the bad. When a child reaches a milestone, the feeling of pride knowing I had helped them  get there is indescribable. The love some kids feel toward me, their smiles when they see me, things like that make my day. The innocent mistakes they make or some of the phrases they blurt out, never fail to make me laugh. I can honestly say that with all the students I have worked with, they have all been special to me in one way or another and they have enriched my life. 

Once in a while I have had to deal with difficult parents who seem to expect that the world owes them a living, give attitude like you are beneath them or act as if you are their enemy. I never understood and still don’t understand those that don’t appreciate what we do for their kids. Fortunately I personally have only had a few parents like that. More than not, through this line of work, I have found life long friends in parents, grandparents and siblings who have appreciated my love and dedication to their loved one. The majority of families work with us staff as a team for the common goal of helping their child reach their full potential and to feel happy, safe and loved at both home and school. Whether I’ve dealt with supportive parents or unsupportive parents, I have never let their actions or feelings influence the relationships I develop with their kids (my students).

So as my twenty third year approaches, I look forward to another year of familiar faces, new faces, new challenges, new laughs and another year of blessings.