I am currently a cognitive disability special educator. This past year I had a 3rd grade student with Autism on my caseload. This student had some significant behavior problems and was starting the school year on a modified schedule (leave school at noon) to accommodate behavior. I spent an extra long time getting to know her personally and seeing what motivated her at the beginning of the school year. At first the behavior problems that we were seeing were at the end of her day when she had to leave school because she did not want to leave early. As the school year continued on I worked with the parents and increased her days until at the end of the year, she was full time. I had set up a behavior plan and had incorporated very motivating items for this child to work towards. I also made sure to develop a reciprocal relationship with this child where we both really enjoyed being around each other. I paid close attention to what was going to set her off and not just "typical" Autistic behaviors. I made sure to incorporate down time into her day while maintaining a much needed structure. Through all of these strategies we developed a positive relationship and this was evident in her change in behavior. At the end of the year, not only was she attending school full time, but was also going days without any problems. I saw gains in her academic and social areas. It was amazing to see such changes in one year and I look forward to working with this child again.