Teacher Stories: Sheryl Zanni, Licensed Behavior Analyst, Tinton Falls School District and Matawan Aberdeen School District
Behavior analysts help children with significant behavioral challenges as well as assisting with language development and social skills acquisition. I had the privilege of helping so many students and families before taking time off to have my own kids – a process that was not very easy for me as I struggled with infertility. I wound up having 3 children in 2 years! Twin boys and then my daughter. In the interim, I was an adjunct professor at Monmouth University, and I also owned my own company, Shore Way ABA, which provided services to children with autism. I currently work in the Tinton Falls school district and the Matawan Aberdeen school district, working with the most vulnerable and significantly impaired populations of children with special needs.
Along the way, 2 years ago, my daughter Valentina was diagnosed with autism. I never could have imagined how this would affect the trajectory of my life. I have learned so much from her and gained a deeper understanding of my role as an educator of children. I’m her mom, first and foremost, not her BCBA. People often think I have all the answers, but I’m trying to juggle life as a mom to a daughter with autism and professionally to the clients I serve.
I think having the passion to be in the classroom gives me that passion to be in the home as well. I don’t think anything could have prepared me, though, for what I was about to learn when my daughter got diagnosed. It was very shocking for me, because I had only known being a teacher, an educator, and then, all of a sudden, I’m a parent and dealing with the same things that my students and parents experience. And it was very eye opening and enlightening for me. When a child is crying or upset, I take off my professional hat, and sometimes I just put on my mom hat, and I just want to give them a hug and let them know that it’s going to be okay, because I can see that this child is in distress.
Being a parent of a child who is autistic is a beautiful thing. It’s not something to be scared of. It’s really something to embrace and cherish and it’s made me a better person, it’s made me a better mother, and it’s made me a better teacher.
My job is my passion. My own kids are my passion. And I’m blending the two. I also serve on the board of education in my town of Neptune City. So, I am very involved in education. I think I have a unique perspective, and a great story of an educator turned mother. April is also Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, and I am planning an autism event in our community alongside our mayor.
Interview by Gregory Andrus
Portraits of the Jersey Shore
