Asks & Answers

I am professionally licensed teacher in Washington state, dual-endorsed in the areas of elementary education K-8 and special education PK – 12. I have taught elementary students with wide-ranging needs for 11 years but specialized in working with students on the autism spectrum and PK – 2 grade level content for most of that time.

My approach prioritizes connection, collaboration and clarity. I build relationships with my student from the very beginning, getting to know their interests, insecurities and what makes them tick. I involve them in their learning by giving lots of choices, asking for their input and creating engaging materials just for them. Finally, I teach through direct instruction, clearly explaining each concept as we go and working on it until mastery. Basically, I get curious about our kids and can often be heard saying “Mrs. Shay is working on how to explain this to your brain better.” Through this curiosity and neurodiversity-affirming approach I help children learn essential skills and build their confidence back!

The Orton-Gillingham (OG) method is a structured, multisensory, and explicit approach to teaching literacy, specifically designed to help students with dyslexia and reading struggles. It focuses on the connections between letters and sounds, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic techniques to teach reading, writing, and spelling sequentially. I’ve completed multiple trainings on this through the Institute for Multisensory Education and it is the only Intervention that I’ve tried that worked with every kid I used it with and, believe me after 10 years in the business, that’s saying something!

While I will always be the first one to tell you that a kid is a kid, a whole person to love and nurture, not a list of labels, diagnoses & symptoms, neurodivergence and/or other gaps certainly can make life harder! Some of the challenges I've supported students with are: ADHD, autism (all levels), various learning disabilities, emotional / behavioral disabilities and trauma. I've never met a kid I couldn't help and though I do have a lot of experience, I'm always eager for new challenges!