When I was young, I read the book "A circle of Children". It's about a classroom of special needs kids and the teacher who was able to reach them. So, that became my entire goal in life.

While I was in college, I got a job as a secondary teacher in a school for children with severe learning or behavior problems. Mostly kids with low functioning autism. I loved it... for a while. But, it wasn't magical like in the books. LOL

I had one kid named Milo Mckee. Milo was nine. He was autistic, but also brilliant. He was obsessed with a star shaped bubble wand. We kept a metal bucket out in the yard full of bubbles, and long bubble wands. But, he wanted to be the only person with that star shaped wand. I think I knew what he wanted... he wanted to make star shaped bubbles. But, they kept coming out round.

To get him to do anything... we would take the bubble wand from him, and say "Say (insert word or phrase we wanted to get from him)" if he said it, we'd let him have the wand for one or two tries... then we'd take it again. Or, we'd want him to pick a picture from the table. "Find the typewriter.. find the typewriter". If he picked up the picture of the typewriter we'd give him back the wand.

I hated what we were doing. I was only in college, had NO experience, but it felt soooo wrong. To this day, I can't explain WHY it felt wrong. But, it did. I don't know what I would do differently either.

Anyway... after two years in that place, I switched to a daycare center with "normal" kids.... "Oh kill me now". It was horrible. I started pilfering kids from the daycare center saying "If I started a daycare would you bring your kid to me?" I hand picked my kids too. LOL

I rented a house, asked everybody my mom knew if they had any left over toys, and they all started hitting garage sales for me.

AND, every summer, for a few years, I got Milo back while his school was closed... and, I never, ever took his bubble wand away.

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