Name: Ariel Su

Reflection and Goal Setting

Prior to starting this diploma, I did not know much about special education as a whole. During my first
few years of teaching, I attended IEP meetings not knowing what to do and what to say. I had no idea what the
categories mean and how to best support them. All I thought about during those years were different strategies
that can best help the student in class; but they were all very general. The previous course that I took was
Special Education Part 1. In that course, I learned about different designations, universal designs for learning,
differentiated learning, teaching strategies and more. I learned a lot from that course alone and I hope to learn
more about the Autism Spectrum Disorder in more depth. I used to think that the Autism Spectrum Disorder is
the same as Learning Disability. I now know that they are two separate diagnosis and that the requirements to
get each diagnosis are different.
I am determined to find out how I can best support my students who are diagnosed with ASD. I hope to
learn about different ways to set them up for success. The grade group that I teach are grade 6s and 7s. It
worries me at times when I think about the fact that they may not be ready for high school. I want to make sure
that they’re going to do well in high school and that support are put in place for them to be successful in the
future.