I have been working with special needs children for over 20 years. I have worked with children with learning disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, learning delays, sight and hearing difficulties, and children with emotional/behavior issues. As part of my studies in college I completed over 60 quarter hours of coursework in special education. Later as a teacher I taught special needs children in a regular classroom setting. While living in Boston a few years ago I provided respite care to families with children with special needs in their homes. The respite care project I worked with was a pilot study was associated with Boston's Children's Hospital. In addition, as a respite provider with this project. I was trained in working with children with special needs. I also completed coursework on children with special health care needs at Boston University's School of Public Health. Other related experience includes working with special needs children as a substitute teacher.