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any teachers on here?

Mibl

Hi, 

I am wondering if teaching is incompatible with being autistic... Has anyone on here worked as a teacher or is currently doing so?

What strategies have helped you/are helping making your work easier?

Did/does your employer know about your struggles?

Did/does your employer make any allowances for you? If so, which ones?

Did you ever manage to not script conversations with parents beforehand?

For context, I am an art teacher and I am currently struggling heavily with whether I should continue teaching or not. I love my subject and talking about my subject. When talking to students (who behave) about art is the only time I am at ease talking.

Thank you in advance for your input.

Big wave

mibl

Parents

  • Hello again!

    1) I was a teacher for ten years. Bottom line is that my primary reason for leaving was mostly due to pay. There were a myriad of other issues, though.

    2) The biggest strategy that helped me was preparing my lessons very well and rehearsing exactly what I would be teaching ahead of time, even considering what questions may be asked. This became easier over time as I taught the same classes over again each year with minimal changes. I was scripting my conversations well before I knew I was Autistic. I just guessed that every teacher does it to the same extent I had to.

    3) I got my diagnosis near the end of my tenure, so my employer was unaware. They did know that I was a little quirky, though, and I luckily had an understanding administrator that was very patient with me turning in grades slowly. Unlike POw3rPlut0, I was fortunate to have great coworkers in general. That made leaving very hard.

    4) Thankfully I never had to deal with parents since I was a university professor. I can’t imagine how difficult that can be.

    Honestly? My opinion? For Autism to work in the classroom you need two things: Incredible interest in your subjects and a fantastic support system in your coworkers. If you have both of those, I’d say it is worth trying to stay in the field if you can. Otherwise, I stick to my advice on your previous post that you might surprise yourself with being able to handle other occupations.

Reply

  • Hello again!

    1) I was a teacher for ten years. Bottom line is that my primary reason for leaving was mostly due to pay. There were a myriad of other issues, though.

    2) The biggest strategy that helped me was preparing my lessons very well and rehearsing exactly what I would be teaching ahead of time, even considering what questions may be asked. This became easier over time as I taught the same classes over again each year with minimal changes. I was scripting my conversations well before I knew I was Autistic. I just guessed that every teacher does it to the same extent I had to.

    3) I got my diagnosis near the end of my tenure, so my employer was unaware. They did know that I was a little quirky, though, and I luckily had an understanding administrator that was very patient with me turning in grades slowly. Unlike POw3rPlut0, I was fortunate to have great coworkers in general. That made leaving very hard.

    4) Thankfully I never had to deal with parents since I was a university professor. I can’t imagine how difficult that can be.

    Honestly? My opinion? For Autism to work in the classroom you need two things: Incredible interest in your subjects and a fantastic support system in your coworkers. If you have both of those, I’d say it is worth trying to stay in the field if you can. Otherwise, I stick to my advice on your previous post that you might surprise yourself with being able to handle other occupations.

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