The little moments

Every day in my special day kindergarten class is always an adventure. Fortunately, I enjoy an adventure. Lesson plans are typically thrown out the window, while new ones write themselves.

Today, my favorite student (who has autism) in that class put in his hand on my shoulder while I sat next to him. If I moved to assist another student, he followed me. That is not typical behavior for students with autism. During one of his groups, I told him to complete his work. He put his hand over my mouth and told me to be quiet. I wanted to howl with laughter. How can I punish a student with autism for being interactive and communicating clearly? He eventually did his work; I didn't stay quiet for long, if at all.

Another boy, who also has autism, had some difficult moments today. He screamed and cried for a snack, even though he had already eaten. I sat with him and repeated that he needed to sit first, and then he'd get his juice. Finally, I walked to where he needed to be with the juice box. He followed. He completed his work with the lunchbox in his hand. At least he did his work. I was not going to fight that battle. As the class walked to the bus, he waved good-bye to me as I walked to my classroom. He was the first student to say good-bye. I wanted to kick my feet up and do a jig, because he initiated interaction for something beyond his basic wants or needs.

Despite spending most of my day walking around feeling incompetent, God sees me. He reminds me that He's involved in the lives of my students. I often stop and remind myself that all of the students in that classroom bear God's image. God likes to get crazy, sometimes...