Hello Amazing Teachers!

Welcome to Simply Special Ed. I’m so happy you are here. 

Let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is Alyssa Shanahan and I have always wanted to be a teacher. I remember when I was about 8 years old, making lessons, assigning my sister books to read, and handing out “homework” in our playroom. This went on for years and years. I never once questioned my path into education. 

I DID however question my degree! My undergraduate degree is in Communication Sciences and Disorders – yup! I was going to become an SLP. When I completed my practicum I had a real quick panic attack… “WAIT?…. I have to give these kids back after 30 minutes?” That wasn’t enough time for me. I wanted them ALL DAY. I wanted to be a teacher, just like I used to pretend in the playroom. So, I called my Mom, freaked her out, and off I went to earn my Masters Degree in Severe Disabilities All Levels.

I went on to teach in public schools and collaboratives in classrooms from preschool to middle school. My main classroom focus is keeping things simple, increasing communication, and building independence.

I married my husband Michael in 2017 and I left the classroom after I had my first daughter in 2018. I now have two girls at home, and I absolutely love being home to watch them learn and grow each day. We now live in NH, but I was a teacher in MA.

Let me tell you a little about Simply Special Ed.

I started this blog right after graduating. I just LOVED writing about my classroom experiences, connecting with other teachers, and sharing new ways to meet student needs.

Around the same time, I started creating my own resources. Creating resources was super time-consuming, but I loved it! My husband still reminds me how often I’d come home from school and immediately sit down on the couch to start creating new resources for my students.

Then I found the website Teachers Pay Teachers. I started posting my resources on there so other educators could have access to the resources that I used in my classroom.

I’ve since left the classroom and focus pretty much all of my free time on creating adapted resources for special education classrooms.

All of my resources are available in my TpT store and on my website shop! I created my own shop to reach a larger audience of special educators. I also wanted the ability to reward you all with some great perks for using my resources! Please be sure to check it out 🙂

In 2020 I welcomed a team of Special Education teachers to write for the SSE Blog and I am so excited to have a larger variety of information now available to our readers. Meet our bloggers here.

I want you to feel inspired, and that you CAN DO IT (when so many feel like they can’t, trust me, I’ve been there).

I’m here for you through my Facebook Page, Instagram, Email, and Blog.