Non Attorney Special Education Advocate, Focus on Dyslexia

[Allison Meyerson]

My name is Allison Meyerson and I am a recently retired teacher who taught for over 30 years with Clarkstown Central School District located in Rockland County, NY.  I dedicated the last 15 years of my career as a Literacy Specialist providing intensive interventions to students with reading difficulties, primarily those diagnosed with dyslexia.

I am acutely aware that parents need professional support when navigating the inner workings of school districts, which inspired me to become an educational advocate. I completed the esteemed Counsel of Parent, Attorneys, and Advocates Special Education and Advocacy Training, known as SEAT 1.0. Currently, I am enrolled in the Dyslexia Advocate Certification Program through the Dyslexia Training Institute.

I am Level IV Orton-Gillingham certified through Fairleigh Dickinson University. This university program is accredited at the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) Teaching Level. The IMSLEC provides national accreditation to programs that prepare specialists in multisensory structured language education.

In addition, I hold a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from SUNY New Paltz and a master’s degree in Literacy from Fordham University as well as 60 postgraduate credits. 

Along with my husband, son, and pet Goldendoodle, I live in Monroe, NY.  I look forward to helping you, and thus your child, get the support needed for success in school and beyond.

 

[JSD24]

Great that you've done the COPAA training.  When this group was on Facebook, I remember seeing a lot of people suggest looking there for an advocate.  I'm also an FDU alum.  I got my MBA there back when they had a campus in East Rutherford.

I recently did a dyslexia webinar through Coursera with Sally Shaywitz (it was free).  She had a lot of practical advice.  It always amazes me that the Connecticut Longitudinal Study that she did found that 20% of people have dyslexia yet only ~17% of students have IEPs.  You'd think that closer to 20% of students would need one for dyslexia and then there would be more for all the other disabilities out there.