After majoring in psychology, teaching children on the autism spectrum “wasn’t something that was on the radar for me,” says Rebecca DeWoody.

But right out of college — in 2002 — she started as a special education teacher with Southern Cooperative Education Programs (SECEP), where she remained for the next five years.

She completed a special education internship, “and I fell in love with it.”

When DeWoody’s principal at SECEP, Wendy Fitch, started Suffolk’s Rivers Bend Academy in 2007, she followed her across to the new school that specializes in students, aged 2 to 21, on the autism spectrum.

Last week, DeWoody was honored with the National Association of Special Education Teachers’ Outstanding Special Education Award for 2013-2014.

According to the association, the award is bestowed on teachers throughout the U.S. that have “demonstrated outstanding achievement” in the field of special education.

DeWoody “is admired as a teacher who willingly extends herself to serve her students,” according to the association.

Fitch, who nominated her, stated: “Rebecca understands that no two families are the same and that what she teaches in the classroom has to translate to the family setting.”

“She does in-home visits and parents’ trainings,” Fitch continued, “and is committed to open(ing) channels of communication with the parents by emailing or talking with them in the evenings or on weekends — whatever it takes to help with the trajectory of a family’s life.”

“It means a lot to me,” DeWoody said of the award. “You don’t get into the field for the money or the recognition or the accolades.”

She recalled that a long time ago Fitch told her, “You can’t say teaching is occurring unless learning is occurring.”

The award validates that her students are learning and she is teaching, DeWoody said.

DeWoody’s 10 range in age from 12 to 18, and she works with three assistant teachers.

On the autism spectrum, her students can communicate verbally. She said she concentrates on academics, advancing communication skills, social skills and behavior.

While her day at the academy is six hours, DeWoody said she is always thinking about the students.

After-hours often finds her on the phone canvassing local businesses and community organizations for field trip opportunities.

“Because a lot of my kids are older, we do a lot of work on independent-living skills, pre-vocational skills and vocational skills,” DeWoody said.

“We do a lot of work with self-help” — tasks as simple as heating up a lunch or replacing the paper towels or toilet paper — “those sort of things, that are second nature to us.”

In her line of work, if one expects to see huge changes, disappointment is inevitable, according to DeWoody.

“You have to celebrate the small successes,” she said. “You know: He didn’t put tinfoil in the microwave today, or he got out of the car independently today.

“Those little things that might not seem like much to somebody else, but when they add up, they make a big difference.”