Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Just checking in! I have been having time to lurk once in awhile, but not post.

I have been making lots and lots of new friends, being reunited with old friends, I am in very high demand right now! For those of you that can remember back to about a year ago for me, that is a far cry from what I was then!

And on Wednesday I started my new job. It only lasts for six weeks, but I am working with autistic kids in an elementary school. I never worked with these kind of kids before, but wanted to try it, or atleast gain experience in the human services field. I am a teaching assistant.

I LOVE it!!! I absolutely love it! I am trying to not get too excited til the end of the 6 weeks, cause I know enough to know by then what I find now could be cute then, but I think this may be what I might want to do with my life, I may go to school for special education. I was told my classrooom is "all the kids no one wants to deal with" cause they can get pretty bad when they flip out. I haven't experienced any major flip outs yet, but I heard they get violent, and some of the kids are so strong it takes 3-4 people to restrain them

. I am learning alot, I get to work one on one with them (ok, one on two, cause we are understaffed). I wasn't sure how I would like it, and if I would get freaked out, but these kids are f----ing adorable. They each have their own special "quirks" and things that they do, and it makes them all very unique and special to me. it hurts me even more now to know alot of people make fun of these kind of kids. They range in age from about eight- fourteen years old. I actually adapted pretty quick, even though some of the kids were intimidating at first.
Some of the kids are pretty high functioning, and the one is so cute and remembers names so he is always "mIss Sheri! Miss Sheri!" for this and that and is always trying to tickle or hold hands. One kid curses at us in spanish, another kid only chooses to speak in high pitch, except for rare occasion he will talk real deep. One kid always writes stuff he hears on tv (like "COMing to Theaters Only February 2003) on the dry erase board. Watching them in gym class or doing the hokie pokie in music is soooo adorable. I talk about them allllll the time.
I was surprsied at me, I even handled it gracefully when the one kid picked his nose and then grabbed my bare arm. Some of them can't speak but make noises (one cute little kid doesn't talk, but he sings in his really sweet voice and it is sooooo cute!). Some of them you can kinda hold a somewhat coherent conversation to. The one kid invited all us teachers and assistants to his birthday party, it was so cute, he is so excited he will be 12 next week.
They are sooo rowdy and always getting distracted, it can be tiring! Every minute I am telling a kid he needs to do whis work to get his reward, or giving a kid something, getting them to sit down r stop touching each other. it took me almost the whole classroom time outside of music art and gym to get my kid to read and do his worksheets, cause every couple of words he will daze off and start slapping himself in the head or making noises at me! It was tough, but I felt so accomplished that I stuck with him and had him finish all of his work.
And I know it won't get too tiring, cause every day we rotate and get a different two kids, and since they have thier own special things they do it, you don't have to deal with the same problems everyday in a row. It is pretty much worked out that we get a more self sufficent kid and one we have to work more proactively with, so it works out.

just needed to share with you all, I feel so happy right now! And I am hanging out with a new girlfriend tonight! Even since I was younger, it has always been hard for me to make girl friends, but I have been making alot more lately!
It is kinda funny that I get more excited over the friendships I make when I go out and meet girls I get along with, rather than getting excited to meet guys

but that is better for me know, I am enjoying developing relationships with friends, then meeting guys... I need to stay away from them now anyways! that is probably why I haven't had much of a social life, I always have boyfriends and not spent time making friends.

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-Sheri

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