Alex has a degree in International Studies and Foreign Languages from Stonehill College and in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Teachers College – Columbia University. Thereafter, she worked at a few inclusive schools across New York City both as an English as a New Language (ENL) and English Language Arts (ELA) teacher in high school and middle school. She also worked as an ENL coordinator and instructional coach training teachers with strategies and techniques to bring into their own classrooms. Recently, she became a Montessori (MACTE) accredited teacher, and she supports teachers with approaches learned from that method to meet the varying needs within a classroom context. She believes the only way to help a student is to know a student. Thus, in all of her work, she devotes herself to learning about the needs of each individual in front of her.
María Laura, a mother within a neurodivergent family and professional passionate about inclusion, transitioned from a career in human resources communications to becoming an educator at Academia Cotopaxi for the past six years. With a specialization in human development, rooted in the humanistic Person-Centered approach and a Master’s degree in Psychopedagogy, she currently works as an infant teacher at IMAGINE. Her mission is to promote confidence in the individuality of each person and break the taboos surrounding neurodiversity in education. As a member of SENIA, she firmly believes that achieving inclusion requires continuous collaboration between various agents of change, and she seeks to transform this belief into tangible actions in Ecuador.
Alejandra López is a special education teacher with 10 years of experience working with kids with special needs (ASD). She likes challenges and is constantly acquiring new knowledge.
She co-founded CIMA, the Multidisciplinary Intervention Center for Autism in Cuenca, and CABLAU, an autism specialized intervention center in Quito. Her work focused on intervention therapy and supporting families. Currently, she coordinates the inclusion department of a school in Quito and provides ABA based therapy. Alejandra holds a bachelor’s degree in special education and a Master coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis.
She strongly believes that inclusion is fundamental to our society and that overcoming obstacles is a sign of a healthy environment.
Daniela Salazar is a passionate educator with over 20 years of teaching experience. She has a master’s degree in Psychopedagogy in Talent and Creativity.
Daniela is an elementary school Spanish teacher and a Certified EFT TAPPING Facilitator. This is her 11th year working at Academia Cotopaxi.
Daniela firmly believes that emotions and learning go hand in hand. When students feel emotionally connected and inspired, the learning process becomes much more effective and memorable.
Thank you to UWC Thailand for hosting the first Phuket SEN Networking Event for this academic year. Therapists and learning support specialists gathered from across the island for a morning filled with meaningful connections, knowledge exchange, and collaborative planning for future events aimed at fostering island-wide development. Amidst the productive discussions, coffee, and biscuits added the perfect touch to a fantastic morning of professional growth and community building. Here’s to a year of continued collaboration and support!
Monday 4th December – 4 – 4:30pm
Hear the CEO of Steps talk about how their innovative accommodations station is being used to help secondary and adult learners access education and work with greater independence and confidence.
Join us online for an informal chat and find out how accommodations can change the world!
Our first Learning Event for this academic was a huge success!
The Makaton Taster events held on Thursday 26th October and Saturday 28th October provided participants with a fun and informative introduction to the world of Makaton, a language program that uses signs and symbols to support communication.
We learnt about how Makaton can be used to bridge communication gaps and promote understanding between individuals with and without communication challenges and of course there was a lot of enthusiastic signing!
Attendees left the event with newfound knowledge, the confidence to start integrating Makaton into their daily routines, whether at home or in the classroom, and some Makaton freebies! A big thank you to all that attended and we look forward to hosting more learning events throughout the academic year.
