Hi, I'm Vanessa.
A Bit About Me
Brains are fascinating to me.
I remember finding a copy of an old child psychology textbook in my basement when I was maybe 8 or 9, and feeling like I was swimming in its contents. It felt like I'd found a user's manual for behaviour, like all these reactions and emotions I experienced had reasons and that I wasn't the only one who felt like this.
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That began what's turned into a lifelong interest in understanding people, especially children, and seeking answers to the "why": Why do some kids hate writing so much when their brains are full to the brim with incredible, imaginative ideas? Why do some kids reject compliments? Why do some kids run their finger along the wall when they walk through a hallway?
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My experience as a classroom teacher has provided me with lots of opportunities to understand kids' "whys", and the chance to try out individualized academic strategies to better support their learning.
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It wasn't until becoming a parent to my three delightful weirdos, however, that I really started to understand the degree to which sensory input and executive functioning can affect our behaviour and learning. Mine are not "inside-the-box" kids, and I am so grateful for that! Through learning how to best support them, I have widened my ability to better support all of the kids and families I work with.
Professional Experience
(The TL;DR version)
I have over 15 years experience working as an elementary teacher in public school boards, including Special Education settings. I hold Additional Qualifications in Reading, Writing, Math, French as a Second Language, Special Education, and Teaching Students with Communication Needs (Autism Spectrum Disorder). I am in the process of completing a Master of Education program with a focus on Special Education and IEPs.
The Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-Handicapped CHildren (TEACCH) approach is based on five principles: physical structure, scheduling, work system, routine and visual structure. I use my understanding of how to shape these areas to better suit the children I support.
My DIR/Floortime training at the Institute Council on Development and Learning allowed me to work and learn alongside occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers, and psychologists. I learned the skills necessary to create individual profiles for the children I worked with, including detailed sensory, motor skills, and developmental observations, and how to use this information to tailor my interactions and the environment to best support their needs during our play sessions.
Using strategies I have learned from training with Sarah Ward, I help develop systems and supports for the families I work with around executive function skills: self-restraint, working memory, emotion control, focus, task initiation, planning/prioritization, organization, time management, defining and achieving goals, flexibility, observation and stress tolerance.