I joined the club Best Buddies my sophomore year of high school, and the rest is history. The club, which fosters friendships between students with and without disabilities, paired me with a student with moderate autism. I formed a strong bond with the student and his family, and even worked for his family as a respite care worker last year. We still see each other at least once a week when I am home on break from college. Additionally, my senior year I spent two periods as a teacher assistant in the intervention room for students with moderate to severe disabilities. I worked with students with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, and learning disabilities, and got to know nearly each student's family as well. I spent lunch around three times each week in "Lunch Bunch," a room at my school where students with mild disabilities ate if they had nowhere else to go. I also babysat several months for a teacher whose young son has autism, and worked with him on the Brain Highways method. I love to spend time with children who have special needs, because they offer so much joy to everyone they meet--that is why I would like to be a special needs provider, and it is also why I am an intervention specialist/elementary education major.