Welcome and thank you for visiting my website. My name is Ysela Heim and I am an Exceptional Student Consultant, aka an Educational Advocate. As a Consultant/Advocate, I work to help parents and guardians of students with disabilities navigate through the educational process. I primarily work with families of Broward County Schools, but have also worked with families in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach County schools as well as with families that have relocated to other states. My main role is ensuring that student's individual needs are being met while educating families on policy and procedures. Of course teaching parents how to effectively work with their schools and private providers so they too can become their children's Advocate.
I have learned through the 19+ years of Advocating that creating positive and collaborative working relationships with everyone involved is imperative and has proven to be most successful for student optimal growth.
I became an Exceptional Student Consultant shortly after my son was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I learned that as our children grow older, more decisions need to be made on there educational needs and priorities. Education and tapping into resources is key so we can then become better advocates and decision makers for our children. I enjoy helping families navigate through the process. Additionally, there are several amazing organizations that are specific to your child's disability. School districts typically offer workshops, the internet is full of FREE tips, and there are groups you can join for support. These in turn will help you understand your child's differences and perhaps create a support network for yourself and your family. It is my hope that this website will be used to: help families of special needs children access my services if needed, find appropriate resources, and find comfort in the blog by reading stories of challenges and successes for children similar to their own.
My office provides Educational Advocacy and we are here to support families. We offer more than just Consulting and Advocacy, we provide year round training and support for our clients as part of what we do. We hope we have the opportunity to work with you and your family.
I have learned through the 19+ years of Advocating that creating positive and collaborative working relationships with everyone involved is imperative and has proven to be most successful for student optimal growth.
I became an Exceptional Student Consultant shortly after my son was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I learned that as our children grow older, more decisions need to be made on there educational needs and priorities. Education and tapping into resources is key so we can then become better advocates and decision makers for our children. I enjoy helping families navigate through the process. Additionally, there are several amazing organizations that are specific to your child's disability. School districts typically offer workshops, the internet is full of FREE tips, and there are groups you can join for support. These in turn will help you understand your child's differences and perhaps create a support network for yourself and your family. It is my hope that this website will be used to: help families of special needs children access my services if needed, find appropriate resources, and find comfort in the blog by reading stories of challenges and successes for children similar to their own.
My office provides Educational Advocacy and we are here to support families. We offer more than just Consulting and Advocacy, we provide year round training and support for our clients as part of what we do. We hope we have the opportunity to work with you and your family.
Hi! I’m Raquel Cicini aka Rocky. I am a stay at home mom blessed with two uniquely amazing children, a wonderful son named Joey and our incredible daughter, Gaby, who entered this world destined to be challenged due to her premature birth at 25 weeks. As a result of her prematurity, she suffers from a visual disability which directly impacts her ability to process written material. At the age of 2 1/2 she was diagnosed with non-verbal autism, but found her voice when she entered the education system when she was introduced
to PECS.
Her challenges are why I have experience in a wide-range of modalities in the areas of autism, behavior, vision and special education, just about everything I’ve learned has come from navigating through her challenges, from preschool to high school. At every juncture, she’s proven she can be successful with the right services, supports and accommodations. However, her current high school success would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Ysela’s involvement in middle school, and our family will be forever grateful we procured her services, when Gaby transitioned from an elementary autism cluster to the middle school general education environment. It was during those years, by observing Ysela professionally maneuver effortlessly through the education process, where I learned the important role an advocate plays at bridging the gaps. They say it takes a village but in Gaby’s situation it took a city to help make her successful. As I gained a better understanding of the process, I became my daughter’s best advocate, developed positive working relationships with her educators and ESE team, and found my purpose by helping other special needs families.
Our family is extremely proud of Gaby’s achievements, but most importantly it’s the pride she feels within herself that speaks volumes. She entered the education system as a visually impaired non-verbal ASD child who struggled behaviorally to adjust to our world and it was through the education system with the right services, supports and accommodations where she developed both academically and socially, found her voice, self-advocates and continues to thrive.
Prior to becoming a STAHM, I was a law enforcement officer for twenty-four years. I spent my first thirteen years as a police officer for a local law enforcement department and my last eleven years as a Special Agent with the FBI, Miami Field Office. During my career, I received twenty years in specified crisis negotiation trainings on human behavior and was a certified crisis negotiator. I have been using Applied Behavior Therapy with Gaby for over 8 years, and it was through behavior therapy where we overcame some of her most challenging behaviors. After leaving law enforcement, I became a substitute teacher, and taught on and off as an interim teacher for 5-years. It was after being in the classroom where I realized I would better serve the special needs community as an Education Consultant, through both my personal and professional experiences and have been enjoying doing so for the past 3 years. I understand that no single approach is right for every individual child, as I have experienced firsthand maneuvering my once non-verbal child through the system and faced some of the same challenges many parents continue to encounter with educators to get their child’s needs met.
I learned a lot from Ysela, and I look forward to assisting you with your children's exceptional educational needs with the same due diligence and professionalism she has done over the past 18+ years.
to PECS.
Her challenges are why I have experience in a wide-range of modalities in the areas of autism, behavior, vision and special education, just about everything I’ve learned has come from navigating through her challenges, from preschool to high school. At every juncture, she’s proven she can be successful with the right services, supports and accommodations. However, her current high school success would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Ysela’s involvement in middle school, and our family will be forever grateful we procured her services, when Gaby transitioned from an elementary autism cluster to the middle school general education environment. It was during those years, by observing Ysela professionally maneuver effortlessly through the education process, where I learned the important role an advocate plays at bridging the gaps. They say it takes a village but in Gaby’s situation it took a city to help make her successful. As I gained a better understanding of the process, I became my daughter’s best advocate, developed positive working relationships with her educators and ESE team, and found my purpose by helping other special needs families.
Our family is extremely proud of Gaby’s achievements, but most importantly it’s the pride she feels within herself that speaks volumes. She entered the education system as a visually impaired non-verbal ASD child who struggled behaviorally to adjust to our world and it was through the education system with the right services, supports and accommodations where she developed both academically and socially, found her voice, self-advocates and continues to thrive.
Prior to becoming a STAHM, I was a law enforcement officer for twenty-four years. I spent my first thirteen years as a police officer for a local law enforcement department and my last eleven years as a Special Agent with the FBI, Miami Field Office. During my career, I received twenty years in specified crisis negotiation trainings on human behavior and was a certified crisis negotiator. I have been using Applied Behavior Therapy with Gaby for over 8 years, and it was through behavior therapy where we overcame some of her most challenging behaviors. After leaving law enforcement, I became a substitute teacher, and taught on and off as an interim teacher for 5-years. It was after being in the classroom where I realized I would better serve the special needs community as an Education Consultant, through both my personal and professional experiences and have been enjoying doing so for the past 3 years. I understand that no single approach is right for every individual child, as I have experienced firsthand maneuvering my once non-verbal child through the system and faced some of the same challenges many parents continue to encounter with educators to get their child’s needs met.
I learned a lot from Ysela, and I look forward to assisting you with your children's exceptional educational needs with the same due diligence and professionalism she has done over the past 18+ years.
Jen Ellis has recently joined our team and she will be focusing on referrals for families looking for an Advocate outside of Broward County. So excited to have a passionate and experienced parent and advocate work with families. Welcome Jen, we are thrilled to have such an amazing advocate to refer too!
I have 2 sons with special needs and have worked my way through the Broward County School system for the last 10 years. My oldest has severe ADHD with anxiety and my youngest has profound autism. They are both on IEPs and several years ago I decided to go through the Wright's Law Advocacy Training and Registered Behavioral Therapist Training in order to have enough tools to handle my own issues that may come up over the course of my children's education. I have spent several of those years working with the ACE Autism Committee and also served as co-chair of the committee. The group promotes acceptance and equality while working to ensure that children benefit from the best educational practices and advocates for a stronger system of support for Broward County students, teachers and staff. I also served as vice-chair of the Broward ESE Advisory Council, a group of parent volunteers who strive to ensure beneficial opportunities for students with learning differences. The advisory promotes meaningful inclusion while working to ensure that our children benefit from the best educational practices and advocate for a stronger system of supports for students, teachers, and support staff.
While serving on these committees, I encountered many families that needed help with their IEPs and navigating the education system in general. Since many knew I had advocacy training, I was asked to sit in on IEPs for those who could not afford an advocate. I lost count of how many IEPs I attended to help parents set the goals they needed for their children to succeed. I believe in using a collaborative approach between home and school to provide the best experience for our kids. A large percentage of the cases I have worked with have been able to be solved by improving the level of communication between all members of the team. My husband has recently retired from Broward County so we have just moved to our property in Alabama, which is a huge change for me and my family. I'll still be available for my South Florida families virtually as well as any family needing support outside of Broward County. I am currently residing in Lee County, AL and happy to work with local families in person if scheduling allows or virtually. I'm a coffee-drinking, slightly weird but in a good way, fun-loving person. In my rare free time, I enjoy computer gaming, playing with my animals, yoga and riding ATVs.
I have 2 sons with special needs and have worked my way through the Broward County School system for the last 10 years. My oldest has severe ADHD with anxiety and my youngest has profound autism. They are both on IEPs and several years ago I decided to go through the Wright's Law Advocacy Training and Registered Behavioral Therapist Training in order to have enough tools to handle my own issues that may come up over the course of my children's education. I have spent several of those years working with the ACE Autism Committee and also served as co-chair of the committee. The group promotes acceptance and equality while working to ensure that children benefit from the best educational practices and advocates for a stronger system of support for Broward County students, teachers and staff. I also served as vice-chair of the Broward ESE Advisory Council, a group of parent volunteers who strive to ensure beneficial opportunities for students with learning differences. The advisory promotes meaningful inclusion while working to ensure that our children benefit from the best educational practices and advocate for a stronger system of supports for students, teachers, and support staff.
While serving on these committees, I encountered many families that needed help with their IEPs and navigating the education system in general. Since many knew I had advocacy training, I was asked to sit in on IEPs for those who could not afford an advocate. I lost count of how many IEPs I attended to help parents set the goals they needed for their children to succeed. I believe in using a collaborative approach between home and school to provide the best experience for our kids. A large percentage of the cases I have worked with have been able to be solved by improving the level of communication between all members of the team. My husband has recently retired from Broward County so we have just moved to our property in Alabama, which is a huge change for me and my family. I'll still be available for my South Florida families virtually as well as any family needing support outside of Broward County. I am currently residing in Lee County, AL and happy to work with local families in person if scheduling allows or virtually. I'm a coffee-drinking, slightly weird but in a good way, fun-loving person. In my rare free time, I enjoy computer gaming, playing with my animals, yoga and riding ATVs.