I am a busy single mom and an independent educational consultant specializing in Special Education Advocacy.  Like most parents, I am always trying to find the best way to balance raising a child, living life and running my business.  Throw in a child that is a different learner and life gets very interesting very quickly!  If you are here now, I am assuming you know what I mean.

When I am not "momming it", I work as a special education advocate in the state of Michigan, representing the best interests of special needs children and different learners in the school setting.  My goal is to improve educational experiences and learning outcomes for these children by working closely with their parents and the school. 

I am dedicated to helping parents navigate this intimidating, overwhelming process.  Parents need to feel confident their child is getting the most appropriate educational and related services that suits their child's individual circumstances.  As an independent educational consultant, I am ready to work with you to make this happen.  Let's do this together!

The Beginning

My journey with special education started when my son was in 1st grade.  We were living in the greater Chicago area and the school called a meeting and told me my son needed help and support at school.  Like many of you, I was surprised and concerned.  Our school there did an excellent job of working with my son.  They started out with interventions, moved him to a 504 Plan and about a month later called me back in to recommend an IEP.  It all went so smoothly, and I could see my son progressing.

Falling Apart

Quite honestly, I didn't know what all of this meant and didn't understand half of what they were talking about.  I was so fortunate that they were so proactive and developed a very comprehensive effective IEP for my son.  We continued on that path until 5th grade when we moved back to my home state of Michigan.  That is where everything fell apart.  If I could only go back and change things, I would have worked with an independent educational consultant with experience in special education advocacy.  It would have changed everything we went through.

No One Would Listen

I assumed that our current plan would just continue at a new school.  It did initially but soon enough I kept being told he no longer needed many of his services or that the school didn't offer the services the other school provided.  I kept voicing my concerns because I could see my son was struggling, but I was never heard.  Nothing I said seemed to matter.  Things got worse and worse and by the time he was in middle school I was dealing with a disaster.

Taking Control

I started reading and trying to learn what I needed to do.  I soon realized that my son had civil rights and there were education laws in place to protect him but there was not cooperation or compliance from the school.  It was a horrible realization for me that I was in too deep and needed help.  I then found myself looking for a Special Education Advocate and education law attorney.  If I had only known what I know now, I could have saved my son and years of stress and it would have been far less expensive.