My name is Emily Hampton. I have been in the field of special education for going on five years. My specialty is in behavior. However I have experience working in all different types of special education models. I have ran fully self-contained classrooms with students who have higher needs, to working with students who have lower needs but need support in the general education setting. I received my bachelors from Western Oregon University, in Education Studies with a double minor in Social Sciences and Health and I received my masters in Teaching, from George Fox University.   

 

In my five years of special education, I have seen a need in support for families. I have taught in both Western Oregon and Central Oregon. In both areas I have seen a disconnect between school districts and families. Teachers and districts commonly do not train or prepare families of students who are on IEPs. Families often feel lost in their child's school career. Every year the district is required to hold an annuel IEP meeting for each student, and every three years, an eligibility meeting. During these meetings it is common for the case managers to rush through, using words that are only identifiable to teachers and providing data with no explanation. This can make parents feel lost, or as if they have no control of their students education, which legally, should not be the case! This is by no means teachers fault-- there is simply not enough time provided to teachers to connect with parents as they need.

 

This is where my services come in. I provide trainings and one-on-one consults to families who may be struggling to see eye to eye with schools or need support in advocating for their students needs. I will be able to provide my expertise to the families and next steps in order to have their child's needs met by the school district. I will be available across the state of Oregon to attend IEP meetings with parents or provide families consult, virtually, in person or over the phone.