The last couple of years I have been afraid I'm hitting that burn-out stage that everyone talks about. I still love my job, I still love my kiddos, but the paperwork and bureaucracy aspects of the job have started getting to me. I have neglected my blog (this one and, to an extent, my classroom one) and some of the more creative and enjoyable things related to my job and been doing just what has to be done (which, granted, in my over-achieving case is arguably quite a bit more than the bare minimum for most people but still makes me feel a little like a slacker).
This weekend I attended the Autism Society of America national conference in Pittsburgh and am feeling excited about work again - genuine excitement! More than that, I've been re-inspired to be an active member of the autism community and share - which means a renewed commitment to blogging here. Hold me accountable!! I'm at the airport, right now, about to board the flight home, but wanted to at least take the time to write a quick note putting my commitment into writing. I will be back to blog about the conference, things I learned about at the conference, new ideas I have, and share more about what I already do. I was reminded this weekend that I do have a lot of valuable knowledge, information, resources, and ideas that I should share with others. By no means am I an expert (is there such thing as an autism expert? not in my opinion!) and I have plenty left to learn!
Topics I plan to write about in the near future include
- a recap of the conference
- collaborating with other professionals (OT/PT/SLP)
- parent/teacher communication and partnership
- technology and its use in the classroom (assistive tech and regular tech)
- classroom logistics - scheduling, lesson planning, data collection, etc.
- I'm finishing up my dissertation so I can share LOTS about the research in stereotypy ... but that will have to be later because I have had just about all of that I can take for now :-)
