What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s all ahead of you: the excitement, the uncertainty, the sense of new horizons and dreams coming true – your life unfolding before you. And the most frightening, most wonderful thing of all is that it’s in your hands – it’s your life. You get to choose how it will be.

This awareness, that your life is in your hands, is the first and most important thing you need to know. It is the people who really believe this, and act upon it, whose lives are the most fulfilling. You can go on till you die believing that other people – your parents, your boss, your children, your in-laws, your spouse – are in charge, but it simply isn’t true. Once you understand this, everything changes.

The things we choose are the things we believe in. Choosing work we believe in transforms a job from a dreary, meaningless activity to a vibrant, lively expression of ourselves. The quote above (it Confucius who said it and everyone knows how smart he was) is true: when you love your work, it doesn’t feel like work. You wake up every morning charged with energy, ready to begin another day filled with promise.

A career in special needs may be just what you have been looking for. As this part of the site makes clear, there is something in it for everyone. Whether you are inclined toward science, art or commerce, you can find work in special needs which is rewarding, challenging and satisfying. You will find colleagues who will become life-long friends, parents who will win your respect and admiration and people with disabilities who will astonish you with their determination, strength and resilience.

Go on to the next page and see what a wealth of possibility is waiting for you. Then take the leap!