This position serves children and youth ages 5-18 who are in need of intensive services such as support to achieve baseline after hospitalization. Duties in this position include visiting clients 1-3 times per week either at school, in the home, or out in the community, building rapport and creating a care plan of goals to help them achieve control over their mental health symptoms whether that is through therapy, medication, or both. Outside of visits I completed progress notes, planned strategies to assist clients with achieving baseline, ensuring they are compliant with their medication and/or attending therapy appointments. Throughout the month I was also required to keep track of when insurance authorization and care plans are coming due and take of those in plenty of time before the deadline has passed. I also provided transportation to appointments at the agency for clients if that is a need. Once it is determined a client has achieved baseline and can be stepped down, I did a “soft hand off” to their new care manager to ensure a smooth transition.

This position is part of Healthy Transitions, a grant-funded program through MHC, serving young people ages 16-25 with a mental health diagnosis. The Support Education/Employment Specialist follows the Individual Support Placement (IPS) model of supported employment. Clients receive support through resume assistance, leads to job openings based on the field of employment they are looking for, transportation to interviews, and assistance with onboarding documentation. Once clients obtain employment they will receive follow along support for 3-6 months depending on their needs. I would also complete the paperwork required by IPS to keep up with data of employment success. Healthy Transitions was opted by the state to not be renewed, and that is the reason my position came to an end.

From July 2017 - May 2019 I was the inclusion teacher for the math department. Duties included pushing into math classes with students who had IEPs and required extra support. I would also co-teach with the math teacher, and I would offer assistance to students during independent work. I was also responsible for contacting parents to schedule IEP meetings, writing/updating IEPs, speaking with the students on my caseload about their goals and what they would like to improve upon, facilitating IEP meetings, and addressing parent or student concerns. In May 2019 I decided to transition from being an inclusion teacher to the position in our self-contained classroom. This position works with students with more severe/profound disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and Down Syndrome. My responsibilities included teaching academics and life skills, based on my students’ abilities and IEP goals. I would also collaborate with general education teachers to determine what classes would be appropriate and part of their least restrictive environment. As with my position as an inclusion teacher, I also was in constant contact with parents, addressing concerns, facilitating meetings, and writing/updating IEPs.

This position consists of being a one-on-one aide for a student with multiple disabilities and providing assistance in the general education classroom. Through consultation with other special education and general education teachers, various strategies were implemented to ensure academic and functional success of this student and other students who required extra scaffolding and specialized instruction. I would also maintain contact with parents to provide updates or address any concerns.

This position in a self-contained classroom consisted of being part of a team of 3-4 assistants plus the special education teacher that supported students with disabilities achieve their academic and functional goals. I would provide one-on-one assistance for students who needed it due to behavior problems or extra assistance. I would also accompany students to general ed classes where deemed appropriate while the teachers were planning their lessons. The position as media assistant consisted of assisting the librarian with daily functions such as checking in and out books, taking inventory of the library materials, reshelving books, and delegating tasks to student aides.