Decent pay but chaotic and poorly managed classrooms
Pros
Decent pay through the state, lots of down time if you need it, good for older workers with mobility issues
Cons
I don't think special needs parents in Barnstable county truly understand what they are putting their children through when they send them to this program. First of all, IA's are hired off the street to work in these classrooms--they hire warm bodies, not educated caretakers. Some have been offered positions before even meeting with a coordinator. Most of the adults I work with have at most a a fourth- or fifth-grade level literacy level. They will write words on the chalkboard that are spelled wrong. They do not have any other options for work. I'm not sure what kind of parents rip their autistic children out of bed at 6 or 7 am to go sit in a cluttered, loud classroom, but please understand that when your children drag themselves in off the school bus in the morning, they are often exhausted and crying. The classrooms are loud, chaotic, and dirty. IA's are not allowed to portray any negative experiences to the parents--in person or in the children's logbooks. I was severely reprimanded for attempting to convey to a parent that their mute child felt stressed after being forced to sit next to a screaming child all day. I was followed and watched for days. The materials we are given to teach lesson plans are outdated, and the students end up re-reading the same material for weeks on end. In the summer program, they are barely allowed to go outside--for whatever reason, higher ups are hesitant to allow them time in the courtyard and will insist on walking them around empty hallways as a form of a reward. NECC is essentially a holding place for special needs populations, and an intermediary used by instructors for accessing government pay for very little work.
