Touch base with other Life Skills teachers in your district. They are the only real support you have. They know what your day is like. They know how hard your job is and just how frustrated you may be. They know your students and your parents. Meet with them regularly - maybe for dinner after work or a walk in the park.
Whether you are a special education teacher, director, speech teacher or other support staff, you cannot do it all. Nobody can be everything to everybody. When you leave for the day - leave it all there. Believe me, it will all be there when you get back.
On your teacher certification, you can use hours of research when it is renewal time. So, when you are having a hard time or somebody uses a word or phrase that you do not understand, research it. Get a book at the library or maybe from your SpEd office. Keep track of the number of hours and the source. One thing that I appreciated was being able to state the reason that I was doing something in the classroom. Parents love that!
I started off teaching academics and I saw my students gain a sense of accomplishment. When they learned something that was HARD, they became invigorated to learn more. Most had been in school 6-7 years by the 4th grade and they had been told what they could not do! They enjoyed learning what they could do.
I used research based learning methods and a lot of spit and vigor to show them that if the work seems hard then they are learning.
"EVERYTHING WORTH LEARNING IS HARD WORK."
Over the years, some of my student have skipped resource class and gone straight to regular education classes. Why? Because they had learned how to learn and were motivated to learn. Some of my students went on to college or vocational schools. Success is learned and hard to teach but worth learning.
My husband and I travel with our dog Ralfy to all the trainings and conferences. We make all the materials in our home office. We believe special education teachers need support and many don't get it. Even if you can't order, contact me and I will try to help you with whatever problem you have in your classroom.