One would never doubt the vitality and passion with which Ann commits to her students; for her it is a calling. Ann’s own intellectual abilities were evident from the beginning but her academic career was far from stellar. Skipping two grades in elementary school only served to mask the learning disabilities and inattention. Entering secondary school at the age of twelve, socially inept and academically struggling, Ann found herself making friends with the kids who said they didn’t care. The spiral downward had begun. Her racing thoughts could never keep track of what the teachers were talking about. She usually sat at the back of the class and tried to stay invisible. When her own thoughts weren’t distracting her, the other kids were. If the teacher asked her a question, she rarely knew the answer so began to feel inferior. Years later, while completing her university degree in educational psychology, she discovered her IQ to be far from inferior! A startling surprise to her!

   Ann’s story happened decades ago. The tragedy is that this story or variations of it are being repeated throughout North America today. This is why Ann decided to dedicate her life to teaching and coaching young people with learning disabilities and AD/HD.  All too frequently, beautiful young people become discouraged and lose hope because of the expectations that systems place upon them. A human life is a precious thing and Ann wants to support the young people as they begin to realize their true potential.
          She became a special education teacher and consultant because of her belief that educational leadership needs to follow the student’s needs rather than shaping the student to fit the system. However, once her son was identified with learning disabilities and ADD, she became his champion seeking out the professional services and academic resources necessary for his true gifts and talents to shine. He is currently entering the second year of a Business Commerce Degree in Public Administration at the University of Guelph. Not bad for a kid whose grade two teacher told her to accept the fact her child would not amount to much and would never get to university!
                   
          Ann has racing thoughts and visual spatial disabilities.  She gets it from the inside. She gets it from the parent’s perspective. She gets it the view of the educator as well. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology and specialist teacher training so that she is able to understand the complexities of the unseen struggles students’ have to engage in to become successful learners. As a coach and a teacher she is able to smoothly shift between both roles offering her clients the powerful coaching questions that increase awareness but then teaching and mentoring the skills when required to reach the desired goal.
          We are all born unique, creative and whole. When we realize the untapped potential that lies within us to do great things then our candle begins to burn brightly. As a coach Ann is like a miner digging for that unlit candle within her clients. She perseveres until their brilliance is shinning vibrantly!