I have been an Early Childhood Special Education teacher for over 15 years and have worked as a special educator with Missouri First Steps. I have master's degrees in both K-12 special education and Early Childhood Special Education. I have worked with a variety of students with disabilities and currently am specializing in working with young children with autism. I use the basic principles of applied behavior analysis in my classroom. I have done a great deal of research on the effects of trauma and have worked with young children who have experienced trauma. I have a great deal of experience in helping improve language development in young children, especially in a play based manner. I am familiar with Gestalt language processing and natural language acquisition as I work with these types of learners in my classroom. I am a strong advocate of play based learning in helping children acquire skills as well as a strong believer in the importance of social and emotional learning.