Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Going to a psychiatrist...you guys were right all along

Sorry it took me so long to reply...lost my internet connection last night.

I have a Masters in Instructional Technology/Curriculum and Instruction since I work with assistive technology (Braille, reformatting text into audio, etc). Most of the staff I work with have degrees in anything from social work, rehab counseling, physical therapy, and teaching. Typically the field prefers those with a masters degree but there are some with just a bachelors. The largest qualifications seem to be individuals with lots of patience, understanding, good listening skills, and a willingness to do what is in the best interest of the student even when that means fighting the administration to have them realize the benefits over the actual cost. I find that my experience in working with victims of sexual assaults, mental and physical abuse, child abuse reporting and also drug awareness has been extremely beneficial.

We deal with everything from individuals suffering from diabetes, cancer, Crohns, IBS, fibro, diabetes, organ transplants, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, blindness, deaf or hard of hearing, speech impairments, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. We work with individuals who have many of these disabilities or just one...but all are hard to overcome the stereotype that seem to be associated with disabilties.

My interest in disabilities has been for twenty years after I broke my back (celebrate my 20th anniversary of my surgery next Monday). My fifth grade teacher thought that because of the injury that meant for some reason I was no longer as smart as I had been and that I needed to be with the special education students. After spending time with them, I realized that if being "normal" was the ideal than I would rather be disabled since they were a better group of people who were more honest and had much better goals! This was before ADA would benefit me so it was a long struggle (having a classroom on the 4th floor with no elevator and stuck on crutches for 2 years). When I got to college I worked as a campus tour guide giving tours. My favorite tour was working with a blind mother of a prospective student. I really looked at the campus much differently in realizing that it was easier to share the beauty just describing the little details like the fall colors, or campus architecture that most overlook. The thank you note that the office got from the mother on making the tour "visable" and yet informative for the entire group without making her blindness an issue made her happy that her son had selected my alma mater. I love just looking at that note as a reminder that what I do does make a difference.

I would definitely encourage you to pursue it. My recommendation would be to look at the colleges nearby. The community colleges are always in need of assistance in helping students with disabilities or providing counseling to those at risk (even as an academic advisor) without requiring much of an advance degree. We need more people out in the field who have the motivation to do what is needed for individuals who don't often have much options.

Let me know what additional info you need. Feel free to email me at mzilisch@gmail.com.

-Michelle

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