I was going to be a special ed teacher but didn't finish
   college. Tested very high for it. I did get to use some of the
   drive for this kind of help work in my early 20s, in 1993/1994.
   I stopped working and volunteered full-time at a cerebral palsy
   center (full time school from 4-21) nearby me for a full year.
   The kids who had bad CP or even the others that had other things
   like autism or down's syndrome or were abused badly didn't tell
   their stories to me; I was busy setting up the computers to help
   them talk, or helping the teachers out, or just sitting and
   playing with the kids. But the teachers would tell me their
   stories. And... wow. I mean some of them had lovely homes and
   loving parental backgrounds. I'd say that most did. But some
   came with really awful stories and you could see it in the
   behaviors. They brought the emotionally/physically abused kids
   there too because the area didn't know what else to do with them
   and they were a handful and took a lot of patience. One boy was
   still in a current situation. He was the "servicer" of his older
   brothers, father, mother. A couple of the uncles got taken away
   but he still lived with the rest because there was only
   suspicion and not proof. I had to be nimble with him because he
   was taught to be seductive and I had to be gentle and quick with
   taking his hands and moving them away. I really felt bad for him
   because the lines of "socially appropriate" were erased in him
   and retraining so that he doesn't walk freely into abusive
   situations was going to be tough for whoever was assigned to
   him. Only a year with them but I enjoyed the work, especially
   getting kids to communicate who were mentally fine but
   physically their bodies just wouldn't cooperate with them. One
   boy who was 20 and about to leave the program - just a couple of
   years younger than I was - I taught him how to type on a
   computer, steadying one arm with the other hand. One day, he had
   written a letter to his mother. Perfect spelling. No assistance
   from anybody else. I choked up in happiness that day. One of
   those "life highlights". One girl was constantly being burned by
   her older sisters. Why? Who knows. I couldn't teach her her to
   count change for a long time. Took months. But really, I knew
   why: she wasn't a slow learner. It was boring. smile emoticon ==
   I'm very proud of it. The strange smells didn't bother me. Stint
   falls out of a kid's head, I put it back again. It was
   definitely my 'element'. I still think of doing it again
   someday. I haven't found anywhere around here that does anything
   CLOSE to what that center did; around here, kids with these
   kinds of problems are shuffled around and I hear horror stories
   of inadequate IEPs and I want to scream sometimes because I
   *SAW* a great program and was a part of it and I think it should
   be available everywhere. == The marvelous center still exists -
   it's in New Jersey [I think they've moved location but they
   still operate; I was surprised they were the ONLY full time
   center like this in the state]. I still never got a degree
   though. That makes it tricky but not impossible. I still
   consider it though. I even thought of entering the school system
   as a helper in the special ed program here, but it appears they
   mostly need drivers and while I drive on occasion, it's not
   something I could do daily. But it's on my bucket list to
   perhaps return to some sort of helping role. In a sense, I'm
   doing it now, by talking about it.* :) == Took a MAPP assessment
   ... wow back in 2003. I forget how much it cost me - they're
   more expensive now. On it were the usual professionals for me:
   coach, minister/priest/rabbi, psychologist, kindergarten
   teacher.... But this one was #1. Almost fell out of my chair
   because it nailed me perfectly. Special Ed is anybody who falls
   outside of the "Bell Curve" - on either 'end' of the spectrum
   and that's something that always interested me because I was one
   of those kids. I have no idea how the test narrowed it down to
   this, but it did and if nothing else, it confirmed what I knew.
   Even if I don't do it as a profession, at least I know that's
   where my heart is and it's been validated smile emoticon == It's
   something I'm considering. Life circumstances prevent a change
   at the moment but it's definitely on my list of future
   possibilities. I'm grateful for the experiences I've had but I
   know it's the kind of profession that I could pursue at nearly
   any point in life, at least at some level, so I'm pretty ok.
   Right now, I spent my free time helping people on the Internet
   informally, treating them as if they were my special ed
   students, using the same drive and passion to help them get
   ahead wherever they're at. But one day I suspect I'll pursue
   this again, maybe something like Occupational Therapist, which
   doesn't take a lot of schooling (or at least didn't at one
   time). == there's always "pretty close" positions (usually
   helper roles) where I could do nearly the same work just for a
   lot less money. I've noticed most professions have that kind of
   role available, so I know I could find an entry point that is
   easier than school-then-work route if I was ready to pursue it.
   ==   Yup. That's the route I'd take. Find the helper role, do
   whatever minimal requirements there are (training courses and
   what not), get into the program and then see what scholarships
   and credits are available so they can help me along. =