Nicole Drown
Discipline: Special Education/Family Trainee
About:
I am currently an Early Intervention Specialist at Sandcastle Clinical and Education Services and just completed my Masters in Special Education with a concentration in Early Intervention through the University of Maine. Prior to joining the Sandcastle staff I worked at a Head Start Program working with children 6 weeks to 3 years while completing my Bachelor’s in Social and Behavioral Sciences through the University of Southern Maine. While at USM I served as the Vice President of the Student Education Association of Maine for the Lewiston / Auburn Campus. While working at Head Start I fell in love with early intervention and went on to complete my 282 Endorsement (0-5 years) through the University of Farmington.
I am interested in working with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities because traditionally it has always been looked at as a physical or functional abnormality and I am interested in how to get evidenced based practices and information out in the community about how it can also affect a child’s behavior, memory or ability to learn. Those behaviors are often overlooked or labeled as something that it is not because many of the disorders related to neurodevelopment are “invisible disabilities” or disabilities that you can’t see by just looking at a child (anxiety, ADHD, sensory processing, dyspraxia). I have two children who are 10 and 8 years old named Addison and Emma. Addison was diagnosed at 4 years old with Motor Coordination Dyspraxia, Sensory Processing and General Anxiety Disorder. She has had to do some really hard things, academically, physically and mentally and I really struggle to watch her struggle but she has taught me more then I could of possibly imagined. I want to bring that experience to the table and help parents realize that they are not fighting the fight alone.
