The first time I ever thought about becoming a teacher as a profession was in highschool. We had a pre-school on campus and I thought about how much fun it would be toteach children from the ages of two to four. However, that dream was based solely on thephysical appeal of “cuteness” rather than the gratification and pure joy of teaching anindividual. I seriously considered teaching in its purest form, when my own children enteredinto the public school system.When my twin boys were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of three,I realized very quickly the difference between amazing IEP teams and poor IEP teams. I’ve alsoseen what early interventions and what attentive and alert teachers can do for children whenthey put the child’s need first. In dealing with both amazing and poor IEP teams, I’ve realizedthat we need more teachers who are educated, trained, who care, and who put the students’needs above all else regardless of the obstacle’s teachers face. I’ve experienced this first handwith my own children as we have had really good experiences in all these areas at their school.It was in those moments that I realized I not only wanted but needed to become a teacher.I chose this career over others because with having children on the spectrum, I havegone through many trainings and developed skills in combating behaviors, and motivatingothers. I’ve been able to use and apply these concepts daily. I’ve also learned and experiencedthat all children learn and develop skills at their own rate. This has allowed me to learnpatience. Therefore, my goal is to figure out what works best for each individual child. Ourchildren are our future. Every child should then have the opportunity to be taught, challenged,grow and apply the things it takes to not only be a good and productive member of society, butto take risks, and to be the difference to others and in the world.