Teacher with autism seeks to inspire students with his own life experiences
One great teacher can change the course of a child’s life.
Students with autism at Watson B. Duncan Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens are learning not only academics, but valuable life lessons from someone who’s gone through the same things as them.
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Their teacher, John Miller, also has autism.
He’s using his life experiences to inspire the next generation.
Teaching is more than just a passion for Miller; he said it’s his reason for living.
“This is my reason. This is my oxygen, seeing someone do something that they were not able to do before, whether it's academic, social, or emotional, is what makes it for me, it makes me happy,” Miller said.
For 20 years, he’s been a teacher, spending seven of those at Duncan Middle School teaching language arts to students with autism.
It’s something many people doubted he’d ever be able to do.
“When I was two years old, I was not doing things that children normally did. I was developmentally delayed significantly and after a psychologist seeing me for a half hour, they said I was intellectually disabled,” Miller said. “A psychiatrist told my parents I'd be lucky to have a menial job. I probably won't be able to ride a bike or throw a ball.”
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Miller says his parents never gave up on him. He said his dad pulled him out of a school for children with intellectual disabilities.
“My father when I was three had enough of it said, ‘I know my child is not intellectually disabled,’ and pulled me out of school,” Miller said.
Then, when he struggled in elementary school with teachers who didn’t know how to work with him, they sent him to a boarding school for kids with learning differences where he flourished.
It wasn’t until he was 32 years old that he was diagnosed with autism and then found his life’s calling.
“I went into teaching to make a difference,” Miller said. “I don't want to be the exception to the rule, having the job, being married, having a child. If people want that that are on the autism spectrum, I want them to go as far as their abilities are going to take them.”
Now, he teaches his students not just language arts, but how to use language in a way that’s accessible to people with autism. He helps them advocate for themselves, become more independent, and adapt to the world around them.
Earlier this month, he was honored for his work with the William T. Dwyer Excellence in Education Award for Special Programs. It’s something he hopes inspires other people with and without autism.
“What it felt was incredible because I was being recognized. And my students were being recognized that I'm very unique. And I wish I wasn't very unique. I wish there were other examples of individuals there,” Miller said. “That's what makes it important that people see that just because you have a difference, doesn't mean you should be held back, doesn't mean you should be shunned, doesn't mean you should be stigmatized.”