Special Education Consultant Team
If you choose to enroll your child with special needs in the SelfDesign DEL program, we will work with your family as your Special Education Team.
 Mary Denholm
Special Education Learning Consultant
Mary's formal education includes a BA(Hon) in Psychology, a BEd and a Specialist Certificate in Special Education (Ontario Ministry of Education). Before her children were born, she worked for 13 years as a special needs teacher, in a wide variety of settings. For the past 15 years, her work has involved being a Learning Consultant for SelfDesign, tutoring, leading preschool and parent-and-tot classes, providing licensed child care and running a horse-and-carriage business.
 Angela Fitzgerald
Special Education Learning Consultant
Angela's interest in Special Education was sparked when, as a teen, she read Torey Hayden's books. This prompted Angela to choose the teaching profession as a career path, with specific interest in Special Education. Attendance at the T.A.S.H. conference in Boston was a highlight of Angela's early teaching years, and eventually led her to pursue further formal education in the field resulting in a DipEd in Counselling Psychology. In her five years of working in public schools, Angela supported learners in High and Low Incidence classrooms, and also worked as a Learning Assistance teacher. Having children of her own changed Angela's perspective around optimal learning environments/relationships for children, and she began researching alternatives. Thanks to SelfDesign, Angela has been happily engaged in meaningful relationship with homelearning families for the last five years.
 Kathleen Forsythe
Special Education Learning Consultant
A passionate educator, Kathleen has worked with learners of all ages. For the past couple of years, Kathleen has been supporting children with autism and has recently begun a program in Vancouver, with Singing English founder, Dr. Fleurette Sweeney. She has recently begun to train in Dr. Stanley Greenspan's Floortime DIR technique for children with autism. She brings her knowledge of the biology of cognition and the biology of love to her work with families.
 Shelagh Noonan
Special Education Learning Consultant
Shelagh acts as Manager for the Special Ed team as well as a Special Ed. Learning Consultant. Shelagh has served in a variety of capacities in SelfDesign during her seven years in the SelfDesign Learning Community – from Learning Consultant to supporting the various administrative processes and tasks that help the SelfDesign regular program to run smoothly. In respect to Special Education experience, Shelagh worked with adults and children with disabilities for several years, both in New York and in Vancouver, and has taken various Special Education courses within her BEd degree (UBC). She also holds a BA from UPEI.
 Kathy Rollheiser
Special Education Learning Consultant
In 1981, Kathy received her degree in Education from the Institute of Child Development, an innovative Special Education facility, at the University of Saskatchewan. She received a diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Vancouver Community College in 2002, and her Master’s in Education from the University of Victoria in 2004. The focus of her Master’s degree was in diagnostic and prescriptive teaching for children with learning disabilities. Kathy was a special education teacher for 15 years before leaving to work as a private educational consultant in 1999.
 Donna Vanderlip
Special Education Learning Consultant
Donna's training and education has been primarily in Special Education and Literacy. She hasa diploma in Early Childhood Education for the Developmentally Handicapped and an Honours BA from the University of Toronto in Psychology and Art and Art History. She completed a specialist qualification in Special Education through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and worked on a Masters Degree in Psychology and Education through Norwich University in Vermont. She has been a teacher in the public system for 15 years and for 4 years taught in independent international schools.
 Heidi Serra
Special Education Learning Consultant
In 1996 Heidi graduated from Trent University as a Psychology major, then moved to Vancouver and completed her Montessori teacher training, followed by her Early Childhood Education as she worked with adults and children with disabilities to pay her way through school. She worked for 2 years in the Vancouver school district as a Special Education Assistant, and then moved to Salt Spring where she ran her own Montessori preschool for 5 years. Then, she attended York University's Urban Diversity Teacher Education Program where she earned her B.Ed. working in inner city schools. Heidi is currently teaching Music in the Gulf Islands School District, and is enrolled in a special education course through Athabasca University.
The Special Education Learning Consultant (SE LC) is your family's primary contact, support, and resource person in SelfDesign once the application process is complete. She is your learner's SelfDesign Learning Consultant; in addition, she collaborates with your family to write, review, and update your child's Individual Education Plan (IEP) at regular intervals throughout the year. The SE LC also provides ongoing support to both you and the support services providers involved with your child's Special Education program. Her role includes consulting with the community professionals who are working with your child, reading reports from support services providers, and helping parents find suitable support services providers according to the IEP.
Special Education Administrative Support
Kathleen Forsythe - VicePrincipal
Shelagh Noonan - Special Education Program Manager
Amalia Cook - Special Education Administrator
Please read the information in our FAQ If you have further questions about the program or you plan to enroll your child in SelfDesign and you feel your child's needs meet the funding criteria, please email our Special Education Team, at specialed@selfdesign.org.
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