If you are teaching a college or university course, and would like to arrange a question-and-answer session between your class and me or Richard, hit the “contact us” button.  You’ll be directed to our email and we can take it from there.  

If you are teaching a course in the San Diego area, and would like to have us give a live talk to your class, email us with a list of possible dates and times.

If you’re on the East Coast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut), please make a note that Sara will  be in the New York area between January 2 and January 18, and for much of the months of April and August.

Related posts:

1. Stories they help us write
2. Role of the classroom aide: To help the child toward independence
3. Finding the words: Helping a child with autism talk about reading

In general, we tend to stay in Southern California during most of the school year.  However, Sara is in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area for three weeks each January, several weeks in April, and on the East Coast for the entire month of August. 

We have also received inquiries about including articles or posts from our blog in newsletters.  In general, we have no objections, provided that you include the link to our site.  If you would like an article or blog post on a specific topic that we haven’t already covered, post a comment with a question, or email us.

Related posts:

1. Reader with autism and figurative language, part 1
2. When a reader with autism needs to respond to literature…
3. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?

Sara Finegan has taught in the public and private school sectors for more than 25 years, in both general and special education settings. She has led workshops on learning and teaching methods as well as content-area instruction. She’s taught students with a variety of learning abilities including GATE, students diagnosed with emotional disturbances, high-functioning autism, non-verbal learning disorder, and expressive and receptive language deficits.

Ms. Finegan obtained her Masters Degree in Special Education from California State University at San Marcos and has served as Adjunct Professor at National University where she has taught and mentored graduate-level students working on action research in Special Education, and credential-level students learning about inclusion of differently-abled students in general education settings.

In addition, she serves as a consultant to parents, advocates and education groups interested in supporting the needs of students with disabilities.

Consulting Services:

Sara and her husband Richard, a paraprofessional with extensive experience supporting students with high-functioning autism/Asperger Syndrome, are available for consulting for a flat or hourly fee. To inquire about their services, click here.

Have Questions?

We are always up for questions from our fellow teachers and parents. If you have a situation or problem related to a child with autism, please post it here, or email it to us. We’ll do our best to address your question in a blog entry in the near future.

Have Comments?

If you have comments about the content of a blog entry, or a specific intervention, please share with us. We’re always happy to hear from you.

Related posts:

1. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?
2. Autism and hyperlexia, part 2: Helping Bobby read
3. Don’t stop advocating for the child with autism!

We are a new blog dedicated to assisting parents and teachers of children on the autism spectrum who are having difficulty with reading or comprehension.  The website is still under active construction as of August 17, 2009.  Bookmark us and check back in a few days if you don’t find what you’re looking for.  Feel free as well to leave a Comment below.

We are Sara Finegan, special education teacher  and consultant and author of all posts on this blog unless otherwise noted, and Richard Finegan, special education paraprofessional and struggling novice site administrator.

Using Tags to find posts on particular topics

In the Left sidebar to this text you will see tags, listed alphabetically but of differing sizes.  The larger the tag, the more posts relating to it you should find.  Click on an appropriate tag and only those posts will pop up for you to scroll through.  Good luck and again, let us know if you have questions, comments or suggestions.  The site is still under construction, we are new at blogging and learning as we go.

Related posts:

1. Anaphoric cuing: Asking clarifying questions
2. The child in the IEP: Can we really see him as described?
3. When a reader with autism needs to respond to literature…