Brett P. - Kansas City Special Needs Caregiver

Profile of Brett P.

Part-Time, 4 Years of Experience

I am available all day Wednesday, 11/25 (day before Thanksgiving) and possible extended availability 11/26 - 11/29.

My special needs experience involves working with children receiving public school special education services. I have special education teaching and paraprofessional experience. I am currently serving as a paraprofessional, and am paired with a sixth-grade boy with muscular dystrophy who is confined to an electric wheelchair. This summer I also assisted a tenth-grade boy with cerebral palsy who uses a manual wheelchair.

My professional duties have included teaching, tutoring, case management, transferring, toileting, diapering, feeding, emotional support, and personal aide.

Disabilities I am most familiar with include: emotional disturbances, behavior disorders; attention deficit disorders (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorders (ADHD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Down syndrome, mild to moderate cognitive impairments, muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), Cerebral Palsy, and specific learning disabilities, including reading (dyslexia), and mathematics.

Age ranges I have worked with are 3 to 13, (pre-K to grade six), and ages 15 to 21, (high school, grades 10 and up).
I am extremely passionate and proud about what I do. I grew up and went to school during a time when the special education kids were largely segregated from the "regular" education population. Kids with (often times) undiagnosed learning disabilities struggled through the school day in the regular education classroom. They did not understand why their peers were "getting it" while they just grew more and more frustrated. Today, with the help of the special education staff, these kids are included more and more in the daily routine of the regular education population. There they build self esteem, self confidence, social skills, and real world living skills. Kids with specific learning disabilities get the individualized help they need to succeed on grade level with their non-disabled peers. Everyone benefits from the breaking down of barriers between people with disabilities and those without.

Profile Details:

• Male
• 41 years old
• 4 years of experience