I learned a lot from Mrs Nielson, and I am a lot more interested in Special Education than I thought I’d be after listening to her. I gained perspective on what employment opportunities are for a SPED teacher and what the different types of focuses there can be in the profession. She told us almost all of the 14 different categories under which a child may be identified to receive special education services. These categories include: Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Developmental Delay, Emotional Disability, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairment (including blindness). I didn’t know that LCPS offered such extensive services for people with learning/mental disabilities- children can get assistance from the school system as early as 3 years old, and up until they are 22, which I think  is fantastic. I was particularly interested in what Mrs Nielson does in her job at Stone Bridge. She is involved with the establishing and implementing of SPED learning plans and accommodations, and she attends every single IEP/504/Child Study meeting. She told us that in high school, IEP’s and student services change as you get older, in that the student becomes more actively involved with their own learning plans and can advocate for themselves in meetings and such, whereas in elementary and middle school the management is more primarily up to the parents. I was curious and confused to hear this, as I received accommodations starting last year for my ADHD and anxiety, but I have never attended a single one of my Child Study meetings. I am looking forward to investigating my own plan further and advocating for myself and my education more actively.