UNSPOKEN THOUGHTS, LLC

BIO

Professional Consulting and Instruction for Students with Special Needs

Whether a student is at a public, private, or home school setting, we assess a student's current ability to learn and demonstrate their understanding. Then, we set incremental goals to increase learning tolerance, ability to purposefully respond, and communication complexity. 

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For students with motor impairments, limited functional speech, and autism, we have found that developing the skills for reliable communication provides a way for students to mitigate frustration and helps students distinguish between challenges associated with a special need and challenges associated with being a sibling, son/daughter, or member of the community.​

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Since 2013 we have been cultivating students who are successful in the classroom, at home, and in the community because they have the academic foundation, social support, and clear vision of the instructors at Unspoken Thoughts at their disposal. Unspoken Thoughts provides support for families and students to meet their goals through private and group sessions, individual support in classes or programs, student-specific training, and consulting for educational or work programs.

1-ON-1 INSTRUCTION

Sessions are scheduled for 30, 45, or 60 minutes at our center or virtually depending on the student. Home sessions can be scheduled for 1 to 3 hours depending on the student, goals, and location. We provide instructors to match specific skills, topics, and age. 

SMALL GROUPS

These sessions provide students an opportunity to interact and converse about engaging and provoking topics while working on skills appropriate in a small group setting (2 to 6 students). We build groups around curriculum or skill goals. Ask about our current openings, both in our centers and virtually! You can find some of our groups online!

BOOK CLUBS

Each book group meets once a month to discuss the assigned book. We match our students by age, skill, and interest so if we do not have a group already set up for your student we can try to form a new one! We currently have a DC Young Adult Group, a VA Young Adult Group, and a virtual, weekly Middle School Group. Email us for more information!

SUMMER/WINTER ACADEMY

We offer multiple groups when our co-op is on break for students aged 8 through young adult. Each group has a different emphasis including community engagement, higher education, and functional classes.

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Email us to receive our monthly newsletter with updates or check our course listings online. 

CO-OP

We lead daily and weekly group courses for local home school students during the school year at our center or virtually. Our main program is at a high school level, however, we do have middle school and college level courses available. Our HS aged students are encouraged to obtain internships to gain valuable work experience with the support of our trained job coaches. 

We also lead courses for specific subjects for local home school students and can provide trained and supervised instructors for in-home school programs.

EDUCATIONAL CONSULTATION

We supervise home school programs and work closely with schools and work placements to coordinate skills and goals for students. 

We communicate with specific teachers, administrators, or school staff to provide suggestions to increase independence and expressive language in the academic setting. We also offer in-class support, student-specific training for educators, lesson reviews, video consultation, student advocacy during school meetings, and student support during evaluations and testing.

Shannon is the Founder and Director of Unspoken Thoughts. Shannon earned her M.A. in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University and a B.A. in Psychology from Arcadia University. 

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Shannon began her career working for a variety of non-profits and therapy centers throughout the Philadelphia and Northern Virginia areas. Certifications and trainings include: RDI, TEACCH, and DIR/Floor time, ABA, and RPM (level II, post-internship certification)