Julie has worked with hundreds
of parents on behalf of their children in every corner of Connecticut.
Here's what some parents have to say about her advocacy services:
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Dear Julie,
We saw our son today for the first time
since dropping him off at his new residential placement. When we picked
him up, the first thing he said to us was "Mom and Dad, I made a
friend, she's a girl." Needless to say, it brought a tear to our eyes.
Just wanted to let you know again how you have made a difference in our
son's life. Without your dedication and determination, he would not be
where he is today.
- Patty & Joe V., North Haven, CT
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Julie - Just an FYI that my letter below might get mentioned on the Better CT, the morning TV show on WFSB-Channel 3 with Scott Haney and Kara Sundland. Thursday's they do Mailbag where they go over viewers emails. This was how I found you and kept your website flagged in case we ever needed it.
Scot & Kara:
Earlier this year you had on an Autism Advocate Julie Swanson on your show and thought this is a good name to keep in case we ever need her help.
Well we sure did need her help, we have a little boy who is for the most part non-verbal with an autism spectrum disorder. When we met with the school this spring for his PPT the school wanted to cut back on his services, most importantly his speech. We didn't agree to these new changes the school wanted to make. So I sent your producer an email to get Julie's website and information, we hired her and she was absolutely amazing. My son has all his services back, and is getting testing that we as parents never even knew about. Julie knows the special education laws like the back of her hand.
We are so grateful you had her on your show, I DVR it every day. I would not have known where to begin in finding an advocate and thanks to you guys you made our search so much easier. Many thanks.
- Diane Lopez, Portland
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For
years we tried and failed to obtain an appropriate program for our son
with autism. The best thing we ever did was contact Julie. Her
knowlege of special education law has given us confidence when dealing
with the school district. Thanks to Julie, we are pleased to have a
wonderful and appropriate program in place for our son now. We have a
new sense of security working with Julie who has such great
expertise and professionalism.
- Lisa & Jim Gentile, North Haven, CT
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Julie
has this exceptional ability to hone in on the issue at hand and is
relentless in her pursuit for fairness for kids who can't speak for
themselfves. I have used her services for many years to great success.
Her compassion and her tenaciousness truly distinguish her from other
advocates. She is truly one of the top advocates for children with
special needs in the State.
- D. B., New Canaan, CT
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We
met Julie Swanson when the school district wanted to exit our child
with Autism from Special Education. Julie handled this difficult case
with professionalism and care. She understands how troubling these cases
can be for parents. Our child is receiving much needed services due to
Julie. We cannot thank her enough.
- J. and D. Madison, CT
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Jonathan,
thank you sooooooo much for referring me to Julie Swanson. And Sue,
thank you for making it possible for Julie to assist our family in
getting Cameron's needs met at school.
Julie
Swanson ROCKS! OMG it was so great to have so much support during the
PPT. After the finding were presented, Julie told them we respectfully
disagree with their findings and request further evaluations done at
school expense. They are compling with the request...............this
is so amazing.
Thank everyone, we are off on the path to success now and I feel so wonderful. I don't know what I would do without all of you.
- Brenda, Niantic, CT
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We have often been asked “Why do you feel you need an educational advocate. You are the child’s parents. Surely you know what is best for your child.” We always respond “You are correct. We are the child’s parents and we do know what is best and most appropriate for our child. That is why we have and educational advocate”.
When our son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder my husband and I were devastated. We did not know what this meant. As with any parent, we want what is best for him. We tried to work with our son’s school. They are the educators. They should know what is best to help him in his educational needs. We soon realized that we needed help in trying to work with the school system for a number of reasons. First, this can be an emotional process. Second, we are not experts in the way of special needs education and third, we did not know what our rights were under the law. We needed someone who knew about autism, treatment for autism, education, and most important, the laws that protect our rights and our sons rights. We also needed someone who can teach us about the laws and autism and what it means so we can really start advocating for ourselves and our son. Julie Swanson was the answer we were looking for.
We have found her knowledge in the area of educational advocacy to be superior. She takes the time to listen to parental and student needs and leverages her own knowledge and experience to benefit all involved. She understands the opportunities to leverage in school and out of school resources to provide a cohesive plan that will directly support the educational and parental objectives. She is able to bring a level of objectivity to what at times can be an emotional situation and works together with all parties to deliver positive results. Her dedication to getting positive results is unwavering. The outstanding results that we, and our son, have been able to achieve have been a direct result of her efforts. We will forever be grateful for her help.
Regards,
- Paul and Susan S., Enfield, CT
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We cannot praise Julie Swanson enough. As the parents of an 11 year old girl
diagnosed with autism, we have benefitted from her services for quite some
time Her vast knowledge of special
education issues and her incredible ability to pursue appropriate services has
made a tremendous difference in our daughter’s educational experience and in
her daily life. Julie’s
representation at a PPT is truly remarkable. She is always right on, never intimidated, and it is at this
stressful time when it becomes crystal clear that she knows her stuff!! Thank you Julie!!
- Nancy and Paul Z., Meriden, CT
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