I am a member, but logged out for privacy because of the nature of this topic.

I feel bad about this, and I have tried numerous times to work with them, but I just don't have the patience for special needs kids or children who are slow minded. I keep trying to make myself work with them. But I just don't have the patience for them. I feel like I am wasting my time trying to teach them. It takes months for them to learn something that a typical child can learn in a week. I have to repeat myself 10 times with a simple command, such as, 'sit in the chair.' and they still don't comprehend me or willingly do what I tell them to. Meanwhile, the 'typical' children have sat down minutes ago and are getting impatient waiting for the special needs kid. I just feel bad that I don't have the patience for them.

Then I tell myself that I shouldn't feel bad and that I shouldn't keep trying to force myself to work with them. There are different types of teachers such as special needs teachers, preschool teachers, elementary school teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, and college professors. I don't think college professors would have the patience to work with kindergartners, so why don't I think it's okay for me not to work with special needs kids? In the childcare world, there are teachers who only work with infants and could not handle working with the school agers. There are 4 year old teachers who could not handle working with the infants.

So, why do I, a home daycare provider think I am supposed to be able to work with all ages including special needs kids? And why do I feel like a horrible person because I can't handle working with special needs kids?

I love working with ages 3-5 who are more along the gifted and talented level. I get a kick out of teaching them and seeing them get excited when they learn a new concept. I put a lot of time and energy into my daycare and my kids to provide a really good preschool educational program. I feel proud of myself, my company, and my daycare children when I am working with a more able-minded group. But if you put one special needs child in the group, I lose all sense of purpose because that one child slows the entire program down and I wind up frustrated all day, every day. Then I feel like a horrible person.

I guess I'm trying to get your opinion about the paragraph I wrote regarding the different types of teachers and if you agree that it's okay to not be able to work with every age and type of child or if you think that something's wrong with me for not having patience with slower-minded children. Does that make me heart-less, a horrible person, etc. Or is it just that I, like a college professor who knows they couldn't work with kindergartners, have simply learned what type of children I can work with?

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