Autism.
When a child receives this diagnosis,
life changes in immeasurable ways.
Parents enter a world of specialists, therapists, clinicians, acronyms, evaluations, meetings,
policies, procedures, laws, and an
entirely new way of looking at education.
For a child with an autism spectrum disorder, education often means *special education* which involves school evaluations ... IEP meetings ...
new teachers, clinicians, and terminology ...
school-based services and supports ... aides ...
behavioral issues... placement options ...
the list goes on.
Parents quickly recognize the complexity of
the special education arena and their need to
begin to learn the process, players, and
programming options in order to meet their
child's individual needs. And these needs are
complex and often times, fast-changing.
Increasing parent advocacy skills ...
helping teachers and staff to support children with autism spectrum disorders
across all school environments ... and
providing organizations with a *new breed* of
work/life programs...
these are the goals of this practice.
Providing parents, educators, and organizations with training, coaching, consulting, resources, tools, and front-line support is how this is accomplished.
The mission is quite simple...
To ensure that parents have the competence and confidence to advocate for their children in school
using collaborative and business-sound strategies and to ensure that teachers are able to support the needs of autism spectrum children in the classroom.
Achieving this mission means that one more child will have the opportunity to succeed.
In school. At home. In the community.
And in life.
