Gina
has been a school psychologist in the public schools for more than 10
years. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from the
University of Iowa and her Master's of Education, Specialist Degree
in School Psychology in 1995 from Loyola University of Chicago.
She has worked with special needs children and their families from preschool
through high school with a specific emphasis on elementary-aged children.
She has participated in or facilitated more than 500 IEP meetings.
Her
areas of expertise include: ADHD, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders,
assessment and team development. Gina recently began her own advocacy
business called Solutions-4-Kids Inc.
Her
mission, whether working in the schools or sitting on the other side
of the table with a client, is making sure kids’ needs are met
… whatever it takes.
I
have several resources for parents just get starting with schools:
1) From Emotions to Advocacy, by Pete and Pam Wright
2) Negotiating the Special Education Maze: A Guide for Parents
and Teachers, 3rd Edition, by W. Anderson, S. Chitwood and D. Hayden.
I also found a fabulous website called Special
Needs and Special Gifts that is excellent for parents just starting
out, or parents who’ve been in the system for awhile. I thought
it was very well written.
Marge
is an experienced chat host who brings sensitivity, knowledge and common
sense to her many chats each week.
A
pioneer of chats when they were a novelty with a purpose on AOL, the
Illinois businesswoman saw the need to sponsor focused chats tailored
to the needs of people contending with distinctive learning styles.
Marge
started her own chat site more than eight years ago. Her goal, then
as now, was to bring a safe harbor to the web.
She
called it Net Haven.
With two grown daughters, four grandsons and a free-lance editor husband,
Marge brings a mom's/grandmom's/wife's/woman's perspective to dealing
with the problems people and families face.
Sue brings her experience as an educator to Net Haven's Wednesday night
education chat and Team Prairie's educational products.
She is a reading and learning disabilities specialist trained in multisensory
structured language instruction, specifically Orton-Gillingham methods.
She received her Master's of Education in learning disabilities from
Loyola College in Baltimore, a B.S. degree in Wildlife/Fisheries, and
14 years' teaching experience in middle and secondary schools.
Her teaching experience includes teaching students in tutorial and small
groups with Orton-Gillingham methods at The
New Community School in Richmond, Virginia, a college-preparatory
independent school for students with specific langauge learning difficulties.
With
additional experience and coursework in gifted education, history, and
instructional design and technology, she brings a deep yet diverse background
not only to the team, but to ResourceRoom.net,
her site full of resources for tutors, teachers and home educators.
Sue also consults for issues such as instructional technology, curriculum
developement and accomodations, and IEP analysis. She works as academic
development specialist at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill.
Sara
is Marge's real-life daughter. She is the mother of four boys ranging
in age from 1 year to 7 years. Her two eldest sons have been in special
education programs since they were 3.
Sara's husband is a member of the military, so she has made the ins
and outs of her household a full-time job. She claims her profession
is Riot Control.
Sara has 10 years' experience in chat rooms, on message boards and in
using computers. As host of a parenting chat, she brings to Net Haven
the parenting perspective of a twenty-something.
Monday ADHD: It's all in the family!
Socks
(Laura Bilotta)
A
longtime Net Haven host, Socks is steeped in advocacy, so much so she
is considered an authority about the issue in Florida, where she lives,
and elsewhere as well.
She is passionate about her work as a nurse.
She’s an engaged and devoted wife and mother of two.
She’d like you to know:
I am a pediatric nurse by trade ... "I love my patients. Most are premature infants or toddlers.
All are considered medically fragile."
... an adult LDer by birth ... "My family the sitcom! Seriously we are quite entertaining.
Both my husband and I have learning disabilities that we gave to our
children. We do not go by any one measure of normalcy but our own!"
... a special education advocate by choice. "My kids are individuals with great courage,resilience and
intelligence.
They are their own best advocates.
They make me proud everyday."
Cris
is the mother of a beautiful daughter, who was born in 1995 with a host
of learning difficulties, including ADHD, epilepsy, processing disorders
and vision issues. Cris continues to learn more about her issues and
continue to place pieces of her puzzle together.
Despite her challenges, she is a happy, loving, compassionate child
whose awesome spirit and can-do attitude help her continue to love school.
Married since 1991, Cris’ husband works in construction. Cris
is also stepmother to two children.
For the last nine years, Cris has worked in a school district as a para-professional,
initially in an early intervention classroom. This year, Cris works
in a literacy center and helps junior high and high school sped students
in the science classroom.
From May to October, Cris is also a kitchen manager responsible for
planning, cooking and supervising breakfast and lunch (along with two
snacks) at Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies, a 25-year-old
institution devoted to preservation education.
Cris has a very strong faith. She has taught Catholic Catechism for
six years, currently in the first grade class at her church.
Some of Cris' favorite sites:
SchwabLearning.org: - To gain knowledge, and give support to people
who are just starting on the journey of Special Education.
Wrightslaw:
- The place for law information in layperson language.
Epilepsy Foundation: - To gain knowledge from parents who have children
with epilepsy, or have epilepsy themselves.
Net Haven:
The best place to be... Chatting with people who know what it is like
to be the parent of a child with learning difficulties, or with learning
difficulties themselves. Incredible knowledge, awesome support!
