Registered Practitioners
Nicole Johnson is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities since 2015 in a variety of roles and settings. She is passionate about educating parents and professionals and advocating for rights and access to services that will allow individuals to reach their full potential. Through her career as a BCBA, Nicole has developed a special interest in functional communication training, helping nonspeaking individuals communicate through sign language, PECS, and speech generating devices.
While these methods of communication are effective in communicating basic wants and needs, she knew there had to be another method out there that could unlock her client’s voices. The moment she found out about S2C and witnessed a nonspeaker spelling on the letterboards, her world was flipped upside down and she knew this was something she had to pursue.
Nicole is eager to share her knowledge of S2C, working to serve the community and support nonspeakers as they work to develop purposeful motor skills that will lead to success on the letterboards.
Maly is a registered nurse and has worked for 25 years as a maternity nurse. She has spent her entire nursing career caring for mothers, newborns, and their families. As a nurse she has studied autism for several years and that is how she learned about S2C.
“After JB Handley shared his son Jamie’s S2C journey on HIghwire, I was forever changed. I was so physically affected, I can only describe it as a visceral reaction. All I could think was, what would I be like, completely present, trapped, unable to communicate? It was unimaginable. Then I read, Underestimated, and I knew I needed to become a S2C Practitioner, so here I am. I thoroughly enjoy working with all of my spellers, each so unique, working at their own pace. It is so exciting to see their progress and I feel so blessed to be on this Spelling to Communicate journey with them.”
Renee is an elementary school teacher and has worked for over 20 years at Enchanted Lake Elementary School in Kailua. She has experience teaching students with a variety of needs, and even taught for four years at a psychiatric outpatient day treatment program.
“I am so excited to work as a registered practitioner with Spelling to Communicate because as a teacher I love nothing more than to use something that works. The progress I see in my spellers is the highlight of my week!”