* Cohen, Dowd & Madsen, LLC
Advocacy and Coaching P.O. Box 422, Vienna, VA 22183 cdmadvocacy3@gmail.com, www.makingeducationspecial.com Our phone contact information is: Maxine Cohen: (703) 973-5510 Kathy Dowd: (571) 283-9400 or (703) 204-4626
Advocacy and Coaching is a consulting firm focused on serving the needs of parents of special education students who attend public and private schools, and the needs of special education students educated in inclusive settings from elementary school through college. Experienced professionals offer a team approach to educational advocacy and provide a balanced quality of service for parents and students alike. CDM aims to offer comprehensive consulting services. CDM will focus on providing personal and specialized services to meet each client's specific needs and facilitating positive home/school communications Biographies Maxine Cohen, M.Ed.: Advocate/Coach • 31 years in special education: preschool through high school • Experience with students in the following categories: ADHD; LD; ED; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Cognitive Disabilities; Intellectual Challenges • High School and Middle School Department Chairperson – 17 years • Extensive experience with evaluation, eligibility, mediation, and the IEP process • Professional Memberships: CHADD, CEC, and LDA • C.A.G.S. – Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies: Consulting Specialist – Lesley College of Cambridge, Massachusetts • M.Ed. Special Education – University of Massachusetts • B.A. Psychology – Boston University Kathy Dowd, M.Ed.: Advocate/Coach • 32 years in special education; preschool through high school • Experience with students in the following categories: ADHD; LD; ED; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Cognitive Disabilities; Traumatic Brain Injury; and Intellectual Challenges • Extensive experience with case management, mediation, and the IEP process • Special Education teacher for City of Manassas • Educational Diagnostician for City of Manassas • Special Education teacher in Fairfax County • Lecturer - Trinity University • Lecturer - Catholic University of America • Lecturer - University of Virginia • M.Ed. Cognitive Psychology: Catholic University of America • B.S. Education of Exceptional Children: The Pennsylvania State University Margaret Madsen, M.Ed. Coach • Math Tutor – preschool through high school • Math Teacher – Orange County Public Schools • Bookkeeper – Private Law Firm • AT&T Software Consultant • M.Ed. Mathematics Education – University of Virginia • B.S. Mathematics – University of Virginia The Company Cohen, Dowd & Madsen (CDM) is a team of educational consultants. Each consultant brings expertise in the areas of: special education advocacy, the IEP process, educational coaching, and training. (CDM) offers a list of services from which clients may choose, depending on their particular needs. This includes: representation of families within the school setting; reviewing and consulting in the IEP process; providing additional resources for obtaining necessary services through the public schools, facilitating positive home/school relationships, and executive coaching and training for special education students. (CDM) will serve Northern Virginia. It is an established Virginia based LLC with three principal partners Ms. Maxine Cohen, Ms. Kathy Dowd, and Ms. Margaret Madsen have over 66 years of combined experience in the area of special education and mainstream education at all educational levels. Keys to Success CDM's keys to success include: 1. Professionals with a broad range of specialty areas that complement each other. 2. A high level of experience in these specialty areas. 3. A team approach on most consulting projects. Service Description CDM offers a list of services for parents to choose from, depending on their particular needs. The goal of the service is to establish a collaborative working relationship between the client and the schools and allow for the seamless transitioning of students from one educational level to the next. No actions will be attempted or taken without the permission and agreement of the client. All information will remain confidential. All information pertinent to each case will be reviewed by at least two partners. Partners will: attend meetings; consult with school personnel; conduct observations; participate in discussions with school personnel; and, attend IEP meetings. Advocacy services: • Initial review of records • Articulate the meaning of testing and test reports to parents and explain them with regard to the child's educational needs • Provide written and verbal assessment of educational records and present educational standing for student in question • Inform parents of their rights and suggesting appropriate special education services and programs to meet the student's individual needs • Determine if current placement is appropriate according to federal/state regulations • Assist in preparation for the IEP program meeting – including: proposing goals and objectives, reviewing supportive evidence and materials, putting concerns and requests in writing, and providing pointers about the IEP meeting • Review special education and section 504 documents, including student files, evaluation reports, IEPs and Section 504 Plans • Accompany parents to IEP, Section 504, and other school meetings and providing advice and assistance as needed throughout the IEP process • Review IEP documents before they are signed • Represent student’s best interests and educational needs • Draft letters and written requests to school and district personnel and drafting complaints to school districts and the State Department of Education • Empower, inform, guide, and educate parents/guardians and students to strengthen their own advocacy skills • Facilitate effective communication between school and home • Make recommendations on how to proceed in the case of an appeal and referring clients to appropriate special education attorney With an extensive familiarity with local professionals, a Special Education Advocate can refer parents to appropriate professionals for additional services. Since each child's case is unique, the process will be determined on an individual case basis. The following is generally how an advocate would work with the parents. • Provide basic information about the case and receive information about our Special Education Advocate services. • Parents will provide the Special Education Advocate copies of all relevant documentation which may include psycho-educational reports, previous IEP documents, report cards, letters from the school concerning the child, etc. • Review all of the documents noting any areas of concern such as procedural errors, contradictions, inappropriate goals and objectives, need for additional services, and more. • Schedule an intake appointment (one hour). During this time parents present their concerns and educational rights are explained and recommendations are made. • Present contract for services to client • Explain services as they appear on the contract • Point out exclusions, limits, and failure to pay provisions • Indicate contract termination specifics • Schedule an initial consultation (approx. one hour). During this time all data will be reviewed with client and suggestions will be made concerning strategies for implementing the best educational plan. • Follow up services would include all interactions with the schools and consultations with parents following the initial meeting. Special Education Coaching • Provide coaching for special education students to encourage development of basic study and organizational skills • Subject matter tutoring • Groups/Individual work for social skills training • Work with student’s teachers or college special education providers to help ensure appropriate programming • Behavioral and educational support for families • Homework support for students • Work with local and state agencies to help prepare special needs clients with necessary support • CDC is flexible, working with its clients in the fashion preferred by the client, be it on-site, remotely, or a combination of both. This allows for all parties involved to be in sync in terms of understanding the interconnections of all functional areas of the public school special education system.
Educational Services Ann Dolin, M.Ed. 3923 University Drive Fairfax, VA 22030, 703-934-8282, Fax: 703-934-1222, info@ectutoring.com, www.ectutoring.com Founded in 1998 by a Special Education teacher, Educational Connections provides in- home tutoring to students of all ages and abilities across the DC Metro Area. Every student is carefully matched with a qualified and caring tutor based on his or her learning needs, availability for tutoring, and personality. In addition to tutoring we also offer a variety of educational services, including: * reading remediation using research based, multi- sensory programs * Educational Coaching for students struggling with time management, organization, and study skills * test preparation for the SAT, ACT, SSAT, and ISEE * academic evaluations to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses * consultations for parents of LD, GT, and AD/HD students * home school support * interactive workshops and presentations
and Speech Pathologists List The FCPS Tutor and Speech & Language Pathologist lists contain the names of current FCPS employees who meet the guidelines and requirements to be included on the lists and submitted a complete application to the PRC to offer their services to parents. These instructors are private, independent contractors who provide instructional services to the public for a fee. They may not provide these services during FCPS hours or on FCPS property (unless they have paid the appropriate rental fees). Parents are not required to retain any of these instructors, and students do not need to use their services in order to succeed at FCPS. Parents who wish to retain one of these instructors should make arrangements directly with the tutor or clinician, because FCPS is not responsible for these arrangements. FCPS cannot guarantee the instructors’ licensure status, content of their private tutoring/speech‐language services, suitability for a particular child, or costs. Neither the PRC nor anyone else at FCPS will make recommendations about the relative merits of the instructors. Claims or concerns about instruction provided through these private arrangements should be raised directly with the tutor or speech-language pathologist, not FCPS. www.fcps.edu/cco/prc/tutors_spclinicians.htm |
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