Not much has been cracking these days, except the usual work-associated stress briefly followed by several sets of deep-breathing exercises. Working summer school has its ups and downs. The ups are working with the adorable and highlarious kiddos. The downs are scheduling conflicts and unhelpful administration. Fortunately, all the staffmembers that I've met have been polite, flexible, and helpful. Unfortunately, I realize how unhelpful and unfriendly my regular co-staff is.
I've also realized how sensitive my autism radar has become; I am confident that I can spot a kid on the spectrum with 97% accuracy. Today, I worked at the other middle school in the District for the first time. One kid (with autism) was so excited and hyperverbal (honestly, I think it was b/c both of us are Asian); he asked me 50 questions a minute and spun everything I said back to his interest. This is a sample snippet of what you would have heard if you were eavesdropping:
"So, are you from China?...Do you fly Eva Air? Because I love Eva Air. When are you going to go back to Taiwan?...Are you going to fly Eva Air? Do you take China Airlines or Eva Air?...[After I told him I was born here, he asked] Where? Monterey Park?...Where do you live? Do you live in Hawthorne? [No, in West Los Angeles.] Oh, you live in West L.A.Excuse me for assuming he wouldn't know what "West L.A." meant! LOL Imagine this kid talking a mile a minute, though. But then some other kids joined, and he instantly got all aggressive (towards the other students). I was internally freaking out until the teacher came in, looked him dead in the eye, stuck her pointer finger for the international "no" gesture, and said "No!" twice (like he was a dog). Shortly after, I excused him from therapy.
I also encountered two more kiddos with autism after him. When one of them walked in, I just about ROFL. My current assignment still consists of the high school of kids with severe autism that is two cities/districts away. One of the classes has a kiddo that is new to the classroom since he just graduated from 8th grade. A new aide that was transferred to that class said she had worked with him for a few months and knew that this kid had a twin brother also with severe autism.
Well, ditzy me didn't put two-and-two together when I was scheduling my District's kids. So when this kid walked in today, I thought I was in the twilight zone. Then I realized that I was seeing my two-districts-away kiddo's twin brother! (Thankfully, this twin doesn't play with his spit and constantly hawk fake loogies.)
I made another stop at an elementary school where I also encountered a girl on the spectrum. I know I am getting her in the Fall, since she just graduated from elementary school. Unfortunately, I already know that she will be a challenging case both because of her characteristics as well as her being uber-high-profile. This girl instantly recognized me from a few months ago when I gratuitously attended her transitional IEP. The creepy thing is that when she saw me last time and today, she shrieked and then kept saying something about panthers. Her previous SLP had "warned" me about how this girl will get obsessed with ideas (like she was obsessed with Vietnamese people so all she wanted to do was become Vietnamese). So today, she kept calling me the Panther Warrior or something (at one point, I told her that that is not my name) and then at the end of the session, she asked me, "Are you going back to your panther den?" I said matter-of-factly, "No, because I am not a panther. I am a speech teacher who goes back to her office." End of discussion. If I've learned anything, it's not to keep engaging them in the nonsensical stuff; by doing so, we are not helping them with their social skills. If we think it's weird, imagine what their peers must think...and how their peers react to it!
Now, I will retreat to my panther den...
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