ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I am a retired music educator and choral director after having worked in the Williamsport, Centennial and Council Rock School Districts in Pennsylvania for thirty-two years.   I have served as Music Director/Organist at several churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Currently, I am the Assistant Conductor and Soprano Section Leader of the Bucks County Choral Society and direct the Village Voices of Pine Run Retirement Community.

I have my Masters in Church Music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, Elementary Certification from Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove Pennsylvania.

My most important job has been raising two amazing children, Bryan and Amy – watching them blossom into wonderful adults.

I live with my husband, Edward, a retired product trainer, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Having grown as an individual and parent since the birth of my first child, Bryan, with Down Syndrome, I feel that I am uniquely qualified as a reporter on such issues as the educational, physical, speech and social challenges that individuals with disabilities must overcome on a daily basis.  I have interacted with parents and taught individuals with various disabilities as a camp counselor and as an educator for forty-seven years.  Working with advocates, educators, psychologists and psychiatrists, Special Olympics coaches and athletes, music therapists and speech and language therapists has been the focus of my last forty years of life with Bryan.