This qualitative research study used the Critical Incident Technique to determine specific areas in which novice alternatively certified special education teachers need support. Analyzing these critical incidents provides information for teacher preparation programs to bolster areas that can lead to stress, burnout, and attrition among special education teachers. Participants were enrolled in a special education intern program, meaning they taught in special education classrooms full-time, while also taking full course loads leading to special education teacher credentials. Twice per academic quarter, they wrote narratives detailing critical incidents they experienced related to teaching. The critical incident narratives were submitted for scoring purposes and the content was analyzed for recurrent themes.