The Author: Lindy McDaniel


I am an Early Childhood Special Education teacher.  I have been working in a special needs preschool classroom for the past four years. Prior to that, I was a Head Start teacher with special needs and at-risk students for 5 years.   My passion is teaching children with Autism and other developmental delays.  My students range from a developmental age of 5 months to 5 years with significant impairments in communication, socialization and cognitive and adaptive skills. (Their chronological ages range from 3 to 6 years.)

My mission is to differentiate instruction so that all children are engaged in learning 100% of the time despite their varying levels and abilities. I use a creative approach to teaching as I embed learning and functional skills into everything we do. 

When I am not working with students or preparing materials for my students, I enjoy spending time with my boys.  Emmitt, who just turned 5, is a wonderful actor in video modeling clips and social narratives.  Payton, who is 15 months, is a great candidate for trying out my latest workboxes and testing out the classroom environment.  Anything he can get into, the student probably will too.  I use him as my test.  If he gets into things he shouldn’t in the classroom, then I know I need to rearrange, store things differently or add a visual to tell students “No, this is off-limits!”


Payton, my 15 month old, smiling for a picture in the safe place 
after being removed from an off-limits area.  

In my free time, I enjoy sharing and collaborating with colleagues and other professionals. That being said, my sister has been persuading me to start a blog for quite some time. I am eager to jump into the world of blogging but also quite nervous as I am far from tech savvy so bear with me as I learn the ropes!!