Building trusting relationships and creative solutions 

I have long been an advocate for people with disabilities.  It started when growing up in Newfoundland, where in high school I helped develop an inclusive equestrian program.  For the last 20 + years I have worked in various Special Education Departments in Ontario secondary schools.  My passion for advocating for youth with learning differences began when I was diagnosed with a learning disability and ADHD at age 18 as I was preparing to write my LSATs while finishing my undergrad degree at the University of Western Ontario. How was this possible, I thought? I was a “good student”, and while my spelling always needed improvement, I had been in Advanced Placement and IB classes in High School.  Mostly, my learning difficulties presented themselves when writing essays and I became very stressed during test taking.  I found coping methods to work around my challenges, such as leveraging friends to type things out for me while discussing my ideas, asking professors if I could start my assessment before the class all in an informal process not knowing better. 

When my diagnosis of having a learning disability settled in, I began to understand more about what it meant, and things started to make a lot more sense. I switched gears and went to Teacher's College taking every additional course I could find in Special Education.  Upon graduation, I began my first role as a Life Skills Special Education Teacher in a contained classroom with two groups of youth. One group of my students was working towards part-time competitive employment.  The second group depended heavily on others to help them move throughout their day either due to behavioural challenges or due to being medically fragile.  I spent four years teaching in this classroom and learned so much!

I was then blessed to be selected to the inaugural staff at a newly built high school in my district, where I had a split role as both a Life Skills Special Education teacher and a General Learning Strategist Special Education Teacher (GLE/GLS). This is when I began working with students who I could relate with.  By this time I had deeply understood my learning disability and this helped me to connect on a different level with parents and students who find themselves in similar circumstances. I was no longer just another professional, I was someone who knew and understood what they were feeling.  

Most recently in my professional career, I spent 15 years as the Department Head of Special Education at this same high school.  In this role I oversaw an enrollment of over 250 students with special education needs supported by a team of six special education teachers (SERTs) and over 20 education assistants (EAs).  Students who received support from my department were highly varied in their needs.  People are often surprised to hear that the Special Education Department supports gifted students as well as any other student with learning differences or physical needs.  Over the years I have had the pleasure of learning and working with so many families and youth with so many different complex needs.  I love learning about them, setting SMART goals and developing creative solutions to help them reach those goals.  I have considerable additional training and experience with students on the Autism Spectrum, children with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disabilities and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to list a few.   

As the Department Head of Special Education, I was responsible to be the curriculum leader to assist SERTs and EAs better support students through developing meaningful goals on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), implement Assistive Technology training,  developing positive behaviour plans, Indicator Response Plans, Transportation Plan to list a few.  I was also responsible for all elementary to secondary transition meetings as well as IPRC (Identification Placement and Review Committee) meetings with administration and parents.  Time after time, I would meet with students and their parents, listen and share about my personal experiences and see them drop their guard, and open up.  It was in these special moments that together we were able to make deep progress toward their learning goals.

I am blessed to be a mother, a role I cherish and prioritize above all else.  It is also in my home life where I am forced to continuously learn and leverage my skills to help my own children in their education journey.  With a child who has multiple physical disabilities, it’s been eye-opening to be on the “other side” of the system and I have found this unique perspective has helped me better relate to parents in my teaching and coaching roles.

I'm dedicated to partnering with parents, guiding them through the complexities of the school system and unlocking their child's full potential. Together, we'll navigate every step of the journey, from assessments and IPRCs to placement options, elementary to secondary to post-secondary opportunities and beyond. My goal is to ensure each child's Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a dynamic, supportive tool that celebrates their strengths and addresses areas of need. By working together, we'll create a tailored learning plan that can foster confidence, growth and success.