Autism/Expert Profile

Expertise

Questions concerning autistic student special education: IEP, assessments, Due Process, mediation, resolution conference, federal law, state law, qualifying for services, residential treatment, special day classes, resource specialists, procedures, having your child assessed, adaptive PE, speech & language, non-public school, FAPE, tuition reimbursement for private schools and treatment centers .

Experience in the area

I have been an education advocate representing students and parents for six years. My experience includes: representing my clients in IEPs, SSTs, Due Process, review assessment results for my clients and for other advocates, and mediations. I have represented clients with learning disabilities, autism, Downs Syndrome, cognitively challenged, emotional problems, learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and physical disabilities. I have also represented clients to County Mental Health Departments and Regional Centers. My clients range from pre-school to college students in California and various other states.

Education/Credentials

I have a degree in Mathematics from the University of California with minors in Psychology and Physics. I also studied applied statistics in the field of psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I have taught college classes, conducted seminars, written articles for various publications, and testified as an expert witness.

What do you like about this subject?

There is so much that can be done to help both the students and their parents. This field is rapidly evolving with new concepts being developed all the time. The filed has come a long way in learning how to identify and help students with autism.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I learn more every day. Autistic students can benefit so much from proper special education services. The challenge is determining what they need and providing it to them in a timely manner.

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

Autism is actually a wide spectrum of disorders. Each person having autism needs to be properly assessed so that the services they need can be provided to them.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Some school districts do a great job of identifying and serving students with autism, others do not. Under the law, schools are supposed to seek out and identify students potentially needing special education help. They are supposed to assess these students and provide then with the services they need based on the results of these assessments. This even applies to students in private schools.