There is a student with severe autism with very aggressive behaviors. I have been extremely fortunate that he has not "attacked" me (although he has come close). I'll admit that if he's standing in the doorway and I need to scurry past him, my heart probably skips a beat.
The "good" news is that he has been doing extremely well in his individual speech/language therapy sessions with me. I say "good" in quotes b/c it's a bit like a double-edged sword. I will most likely need to be taken off his case for safety reasons in a few months; however, if my boss knows that I'm working out well with him (i.e., he's making progress and not attacking me), then I'm not sure if she'll be convinced that I should be taken off this case.
Anywho, he has an NPA behavioral aide and a County aide who both accompany us in the sessions mainly for my protection (doesn't this sound crazy??). At the end of today's session, his NPA, who has been collecting data on him for the past few months, said to me, "He does so well with you. I never knew that he knew so much and could say so much."
Later on, I was working with another student and she happened to be sitting in the room for a break and at the end, she said, too, "I barely hear him talk. I didn't know he could talk so much, too, but he did really well with you."
I was really appreciative of her observations and compliments. :) But then I thought about it later and realized that it's bitter-sweet. Sure I might be doing a great job with the students individually, but what good is it if it is not carrying over and generalizing across settings with other individuals? I know that generalization and maintenance is generally the most difficult phase with learners with autism, but it just serves to remind me that my job will never be complete. Maybe this is what Yahoo and Monsterjob articles mean when they talk about SLPs having job security. 1/2 j/k
On the real, that's what so great about this field. There is always something new, challenging, and intriguing. It's constantly evolving...and it's just plain fun. At the end of a group therapy session, another aide said to me, "You look like you really enjoy what you do."
I broke out into a huge smile and said, "Yes, I LOVE it." :)
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