Expansion Through Passion | child support specialist

Welcome to Expansion Through Passion LLC

Through my unique approach and intuitive competency, I support children with acute behavioral needs/disabilities as they develop a scaffolded skillset. My goal is to build confidence and self-worth in my clients so that they succeed in diverse environments.

How I can help.

My approach is catered towards the neurodivergent brain. Many of my clients have Autism Spectrum Disorder, an ADHD presentation, and a PDA profile.

As a partner, rather than a teacher, I develop positive connections with my clients by meeting them in their unique passions and interests.

From a foundation of trust and safety, we can engage in stimulating projects and adventures while scaffolding physical, social, and emotional skills. This allows each individual to have agency in their experiences, enabling them to gain confidence in themselves and see the value in their connection to the world.

I also pay special attention to being attuned to each client's signs of overstimulation or burnout. This helps my clients trust that although I may offer them challenges, I will always prioritize their emotional stability above all else.

My purpose is to provide opportunities for success to children who struggle with traditional programming. In the context of appropriately tailored experiences, I create a creativity-driven and boundary-respecting space that cultivates collaborative engagement. This framework is specifically valuable for children who are demand-avoidant.

My Experiance and Qualifications

Throughout my elementary education, I experienced monumental struggles due to my neurodivergence. I know firsthand the feelings of defeat and disconnection that emerge from a lack of empathy and accommodation in our educational environments.

Fueled by a desire to support struggling children, I worked as a nanny through COVID. During this time I was particularly valued and inspired by a family whose child had severe behavioral needs (AuDHD with a PDA profile). Seeing the impact of my skill-set, I was encouraged to offer my services more widely.

In the spring of 2023, I opened my business to serve youth, families, and educational institutions. Through this work, I have developed collaborative relationships with parents, formed trusting relationships with children who struggle within traditional expectations, and educated staff and community members on how to appropriately support these children.

As the owner of Expansion Through Passion, I was sponsored by the Office of Superintendant of Public Instruction (OSPI) to present and lead a workshop at the "Art of Belonging" educational conference in Yakima, WA. My presentation covered the importance of self-paced and passion-driven education. In my workshop, I walked the audience through a technique I use to expand my client's capacity for new experiences, ultimately resulting in a skillset they can rely on in diverse environments.

I have worked in Seattle Public Schools as a 1:1 Special Education Paraprofessional. In this role, I made it my mission to unite the school community in support of my student. Because of my student's behavior, it was imperative to their success that everyone in the building supported them with a PDA-affirming framework. From this work, I have experience in the following:

Providing professional development workshops to staff and students
Creating a school culture that respects the needs and benefits of a student with ASD + PDA profile
Developing BIPs (Behavioral Intervention Plans)
Advocating for the needs of my client in FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment) meetings
Implementing educational and behavioral strategies specific to students' IEPs (Individual Education Plan)
Collecting ABC (Antecedent - Behavior - Consequence) data

I am also a DDA-certified respite care provider. Through this certification, I have completed a 9-hour training course. The information in the course ranged from ethical practice to infection control. This allows me to be able to receive compensation from Washington State for clients who qualify.