Kristin Kane
Virginia Parent Training & Info Center; PEATC
Career Roadmap
Kristin's work combines: Education, Law, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Psychology, General
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Child, Family, and School Social Workers:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Psychology, General
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
My younger brother received special education for learning disabilities.
2.
Watching my parents navigate the special education process definitely affected me subconsciously.
3.
Nine years ago, my son was diagnosed with dyslexia.
4.
Shortly after his diagnosis, I helped found the Virginia chapter of Decoding Dyslexia.
5.
My work with Decoding Dyslexia spans grassroots awareness to lobbying state & federal legislators.
6.
I educated myself on special education through Virginia's Parent Training and Info Center (PTI).
7.
I started working at the PTI, enabling me to extend that same help to other parents and educators.
8.
In 2015, my son & I spoke about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act at the White House.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
You're not the best student. You won't find a career after school.
How I responded:
I had never been formally tested for a learning disability, but as I was educating myself on my son's learning disabilities later in life, I started to see some of the signs in myself. I was definitely not a great student in high school, and I was only an average college student-I could tread water, but I wasn't swimming along with everyone else. Now I work hard to make sure that people with learning issues or disabilities have the right resources to navigate school in the best way possible.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I had trouble in school, so it was hard to watch my son struggle, too. But instead of folding to the challenges of the school system, I thought, "There has to be a solution to this." Now my work gives me a say in what my son's path will look like.