Special Education Advocacy in New England

The Team

Cheryl Follett is a widely experienced, highly regarded, and sought after special education advocate/consultant in the New England area.  The mother of two special needs children, Cheryl trained with the Federation for Children with Special Needs in Boston, MA in the 1980's in order to be able to obtain an appropriate and adequate public education for her children.  She realized early in her experience as an advocate that other parents needed her assistance.  Cheryl has an extensive knowledge of special education laws governing public school and the multitude of systems effecting children with special needs and their families.  Cheryl's experience in advocating for children has taken her to 12 states:  ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, OH, and KY.

Educational advocate/consultant (1982 - present)

• Successfully helped over 350 families with educational planning, IEPs, and 504 Plans
• Coached and trained parents
• Subcontracted with a major non-profit organization for 7 years to provide comprehensive advocacy support to families with children with special needs in 12 states

Speaker

• Conducted seminars and workshops in 7 states on the topics of disability sensitivity training, basic educational rights and responsiblities, and tools for parents in advocating for their children 

Education

Eastern Nazarene College, Wollaston, MA

Federation for Children with Special Needs - Advocacy Training, Boston, MA

William and Mary College Law School - Insitute of Special Education Advocacy, July 2012, Williamsburg, VA

Suffolk University Law School - Fundamentals of Special Education certificate - 2014, Boston, MA 

Memberships

Council of Parents, Advocates and Attorneys (COPAA) since 2000

Special Education Advocacy Network (SPAN) since 1998

Warna Reynders is the transition consultant at Southeast Advocate Associates.  Warna brings to the team more than 30 years of pastoral care, counseling,  Since 2006 Warna has assisted individuals and famlies with the management of the business of one's life through her own business, Reynders Support Services.  This business  gives her a comprehensive understanding of the issues that need addressed when transitioning a child into the adult services.

Education

Skidmore College - Saratoga Springs, NY

The Salvation Army School for Officer Training - Suffern, NY

Memberships

Council of Parents, Advocates and Attorneys - since 2004

American Association of Christian Counselors - since 2002

Special Education Advocacy Network (SPAN) - since 2009

Mary Elisabeth Hannah, Advocate with SEA, is a MA Licensed Special Education Teacher, MA Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, who specializes in children on the Autism Spectrum.  Mary Elisabeth has worked in the field of Special Education for the last 15 years in both private nonprofit and public schools in the capacity of SPED Teacher, Curriculum Specialist, SPED Administrator and Behavior Analyst.

As an Advocate, Mary Elisabeth:

• ·        Assists families, school personnel and other professionals in communication and coordination of services
• ·        Interprets assessments regarding the child’s educational needs
• ·        Crafts IEPs, IFSPs, 504 Plans, Healthcare plans with parents and professionals
• ·        Trains parents in advocating for their child
• ·        Performs school program visits

As a Behavior Analyst, Mary Elisabeth:

• ·        Provides home or school consultation
• ·        Observes students across environments and provides analysis and recommendations
• ·        Conducts independent assessments including Functional Behavior Assessments and Independent Skill Assessments.  Assessments will be determined based on an initial consultation.
• ·        Provides an analysis of data provided, including further recommendations for how to collect data
• Provides training opportunities for techniques in Applied Behavior Analysis

Pricing

Special Education Advocacy

• The price per hour is $100 and is applied in 15 minute increments for meetings, paperwork, phone calls, emails, faxes and travel.
• Invoices are sent out at the end of each month.

Special Education Advocate Coaching

• A rate of $35.00 per hour is charged for coaching support to advocates.
• The rate includes travel to meetings, paperwork, phone calls, consultants, etc.

Refund Policy

Clients my discontinue use of SEA services at any time with the understanding that all oustanding bills are paid in full.

A refund of any unused portion of the deposit will be made to the client seeking to discontinue services .