I get to write this a second time - the first one didn't stick - maybe for good reason.  I have been a teacher for thirty years.  I have taught in inner cities, suburban areas, and rural communities.  I have been a Reading Recovery Specialist, ESL, bilingual, and regular ed. classroom teacher.  I have spent 20 years in kindergarten, and 12 of those designing a three and four year old curriculum.  There's not much about play dough, or bodily fluids that I don't know.  Four years ago Bud and his mom, May, came into my classroom.  I have had children on the spectrum for years, more towards the Asperger end, but not someone like Bud. It was love at first sight.  I love all my kids - but Bud was someone with whom I felt a connection - as was his mom.  Since then, I have gone down this path of autism.  Since that year, I have had 6 more children on the very wide range of the spectrum.  I am working my hardest to try to "get it" and develop the best program and practices I can within our public school.  I am fortunate to have an amazingly supportive special education team at work.  I am, however, leaving teaching at the end of this year to pursue my passion.  I never did get that Master's degree right out of college, because I was either having children of my own (4 of them), or happily teaching and waiting to see what my passion - my "special purpose" (think Steve Martin) would be.  He, Bud - not Steve -  walked in my room four years ago...actually, we had it planned that he would walk BY it many times over the summer to see me and the room in a variety of stages until he was ready to cross that threshold for the first time - albeit VERY briefly, and go IN.  My passion:  I have been attending a variety of workshops for the past two years, and have narrowed myself for the time being to get certified in RDI, as well as go through the SCERTS model in more depth.  These two protocols make sense to me at the moment.  My goal is to "bring it to the masses" - back to the classrooms to help others "get it"...and to work with these kids - these great kids.  That's me - "There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter & noise."   (Story People)