The Beginning

Hello, my name is Nadia. I am a 39 year old mother of two who decided to go back to school and learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorders. I graduated from college in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. During the one special education class that I took, there was only 1 short paragraph about autism. Now, I am currently enrolled as a graduate student at Antioch New England University, taking the Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate Program.


Two years ago when my oldest child started kindergarten, I knew that I would need to make a decision with my working career. So I decided to try and get a job at her school as a paraprofessional. Later I was hired as a para for one of the seventh grade classes. Little did I know that I would enjoy being with this population. The assistant principle of the school encouraged me to renew my teaching certificate and decide if teaching my own class was in the future. In order for me to renew my certificate I needed to obtain 75 hours of professional development and take the PRAXIS II to be HQT certified.


In the process of accruing my 75 hours, I participated in a workshop on Behavioral Management with John Moran. He inspired me to learn more about autism. At the time my youngest child had been tested for autism (I did not realize this until after the workshop). The diagnosos was not autism, but speech apraxia. This did not stop my interest. I decided to go to visiting day at Antioch to see exactly what they had to offer.


From that moment on I was hooked. I enrolled, went through the interview process, and was notified of my acceptance. Now you have to realize I NEVER intended to go back to school. I dislike writing papers and feel that I have been out of school for so long that I would find it hard to balance a family, marriage, work, and ... life! Guess what? It is extremely difficult but I find that it is turning out to be well worth it.


As part of the Counseling Interventions class with Larry Welkowitz, I am to design a blog...here it is!


In the next week to 2 weeks, registration for the spring semester is due. This is a big one as I have to decide which direction I want to go in...pragmatic language or general education for teachers...decisions, decisions. I already have a great idea for the final project (thanks to one of the many great people that I have had the opportunity to meet). I can say that the support from the people in the program is far more than I expected. I am very fortunate and grateful to be a part of it!


Thank you and see you later,
Nadia