When “Special” Only Means “Something Different”

November 20, 2011

Starting originally as a volunteer, Raissa Heifetz had no aspirations to become a principal, as many teachers do. She simply wanted to help those who couldn’t necessarily help themselves to succeed in life past high school.

“Life has many faces, and not all of them are smiling” — wise words spoken by Raissa Heifetz, a teacher at Langstaff Secondary School in Richmond Hill, when referring to the specific type of work she does. Since she immigrated to Canada from Kiev, Ukraine, Raissa has been dedicated to teaching exceptional young adults: those with autism.

When she first began teaching in the Ukraine, she met a student that didn’t “learn as everyone else did,” and she knew she wanted to help others like him. Currently, Raissa is teaching a class of five students with autism; some of her students are non-verbal, meaning they can’t verbalize like others their age. The ultimate goal for the program is to integrate these students into society and raise awareness about autism in the community.

Raissa’s been working with exceptional students for over 20 years. Through the use of the most current information on autism, sensory integration, and a plethora of not only professional but also volunteer aid, Raissa hopes not only to educate these five, as she describes them, “amazing, brilliant, and intelligent” teenagers, but their peers as well. But, as she said, it isn’t all smiles. Raissa is a realist, accepting that while she has hope that one day we will know what causes autism and how to cure it, there is much progress to be made before we can get there.

“I don’t want to sound too sweet; I am not,” she says. “People with autism are independent thinkers in the way that they want this life to be better… We are advocating for them to make a difference for all of us.”

Raissa’s curriculum isn’t a conventional one. Because autism is a problem with communication, she surrounds the students with visual and tactile support. Common human practices like how to ask for things and how to recognize certain body language are all challenging for someone with autism. The everyday teaching is organized in such a way that they can learn these practices, little by little. Most of the people with autism have delicate senses, where just the slamming of a door can upset them. Through outings to malls, farms, and the Special Olympics, these students become better adapted to basic situations. “I never thought I could say I could learn from them, but it’s the way we handle it. One of my students fell often, but he always stood with a smile, no crying. That’s what I learn from them,” says Raissa.

Raissa has three full-time assistants to help her, along with great resources from a team of speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and behavioural consultants. As for the future, Raissa smiles and laughs, stating, “I hope in the future there will be the cure for autism. Until then, I look around and I’m happy with what I do. How often in your life can you teach someone how to live, how to love, how to make friends? I teach my students and enjoy it very much.”

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