Hello my name is Maria Rodriguez. I am a proud military wife, Educational Specialist, and boy mom of a 15 and 12 year old. My youngest son was diagnosed with Autism when he was 5-years-old. Through this journey, I have learned that finding the right supports have been imperative for him and our family. 

When this journey began, I was a parent knocking on doors asking for someone to simply just listen, but instead I found professionals who pointed their fingers at me and accused me of being a "bad" parent.  As parents, our children's behaviors are often seen as the product of unruly parenting. The reality was, at that time, I was a single mom because my husband was deployed to Iraq. Therefore, all I needed was one professional to actually see what  I saw, listen to my concerns , and to have a non-judgmental perception of me. This process took 3 years. And, in these 3 years, we lost early intervention and I endured years of blaming myself.   

It took me many more years to heal, so I could educate myself to be able to find the proper services for my son. I wanted to be part of the system where my son was struggling the most, public school, so I attended the University of La Verne and earned a credential as an Educational Specialist and a Masters in Special Education.  

I finally found strategies that helped both at school and at home because consistency across both settings would allow for generalization. For the past 5 years, as a Special Education teacher, I have dedicated myself to see every single student in my caseload as if he or she was my own child. I am a true advocate for my students and their families. 

My hope is to reach out to other families who are struggling, to support the healing process, and to guide them through their journey!