My job

Was looking through my Instagram feed and saw the photo I took of my student while we were at the SEA Aquarium last year. Suddenly my emotions just overwhelmed me. Not good emotions. It was the same emotions I felt during my home visit this year. I've been to 16 home visits throughout my entire journey of being a special needs teacher and it's only this 7 home visits that I went this year that I am beginning to feel a lot for the parents. Maybe it's because that I'm growing older or because of every woman's maternal instincts that I am feeling this way. 

The worries that parents have with a child with special needs is something I can never fully understand because I am not them. Having to have that thought that your child will not be able to care for you or even themselves when they're adults is scary. But the thought that parents have to care for them for the rest of their children lives is scarier. No parents would wish for that to happen but this is reality. I've seen parents trying for a second child because it's part of the 'plan' to have the younger sibling look after their older sibling. Not only that they might have the fact that there is a possibility that their next child might have special needs too. 

For us teachers, we can't do much about it but you can only help that much by helping their child be more independent so that can survive with the basic life skills that they've learnt in school. But it's also tough being their teacher, they need more time learning every single thing. Including basic skills like going to the toilet or washing hands. 

Parents always tell us "It's so difficult to teach one, how do you teach a class of seven?". But let me tell you the truth, teaching a class of seven for 4 hours every weekday is easier than teaching one for the rest of the 20 hours. 

Being in this job really allow me to count my blessings. And I trully admire these parents. So if you ever meet a parent with a child with special needs do help them out even if it's the littlest thing or even giving them a word of encouragement is good enough.