Gift Ideas for Special Ed. Teacher

[Jenemmy]

Hey guys -- I need you to throw some ideas at me.

One of my kiddos has autism and he has had a very special teacher with him for the last 4 years. She went with him from Kindergarten through third grade. He adores her and rightfully so. She has seen him through tremendous changes and milestones. Under her guidance, my son has been potty trained, started verbalizing, learned sign language and pecs, become infinitely more social and begun reading and writing.

There are 5 students in her class and she is completely invested in her "boys, getting excited and celebrating their victories and being there to help them -- and us parents -- through all of the trials. She has been such a blessing. She doesn't refer to them as her students, she calls them her "kids"

Come to find out yesterday that she will be moving on at the end of the school year. Here I secretly was hoping she would just stay with my son through college -- lol. This is heartbreaking to us, as we just so trust her with our special guy.

I want to send her off right. Give me ideas for something really special. It just so happens, she is a Disney lover (go figure). Wish I could send her to WDW and serve as her tour guide! LOL

Thanks in advance!!

[ibrowse17]

My wife and I are both teachers, and DW does teach Special Ed. One of the best gifts she ever got was a spa treatment. Another (cheaper) idea would be to get her some of those bath oils or beads for some much needed pampering.:thumbsup:

[DizNee143]

that is exactly what i was thinking...something with a spa...you can just get her a gift certificate to a local spa...she sounds like a great teacher...im sorry shes leaving...

[robyn221]

Hi Jenemmy!

I agree that good SPED teachers need to be spoiled a bit so they know how much we appreciate them! I'm also mom to a 10 yr old with autism and he, too, has been lucky to have an amazing SPED teacher for the last couple of years and who will be with him again next school year. :thumbsup: In the past we've given her gift certificates to a favorite bakery and to the local Barnes & Noble so she can escape for a little "down time" with a cup of coffee and and good book. We've also contributed with other parents to purchase restaurant gift certicates to treat her and her husband to a night out (as the mom to two boys herself, she REALLY appreciated the opportunity to go somewhere that didn't serve a "happy meal!"). It's not clear from your post whether all of her "kids" have ASD, but you might also consider the jewelry or other items offered by Autism Speaks, Autism Society of America, or one of the other awareness/support organizations.

Robyn :mickey:

[disneydeb]

A certificate for a pedicure would be a great gift!:mickey:

[BrerGnat]

My sister is a teacher (first grade) and she has gotten a lot of "teacher gifts" over the years and her very favorite are Starbucks gift cards and spa giftcards.

I say you can't go wrong with a giftcard to a really nice spa in your area.

You can also have your son help make her something that she can keep. Some sort of reminder of him. It can be something like a Christmas tree ornament, a ceramic mug, etc. Or, maybe go to an online photo sharing site like Kodak Gallery and send her something from there with your son's photo on it.