About Me

I’m Megan Sheehan-Dean. In August 2020 some friends asked my advice on how best to support their granddaughter, an autistic six year old. It was the height of the pandemic and her kindergarten experience was to be fully online, a situation that did not suit her or her family's needs well.

I have always been interested in the process of learning. Child psychologist Stanley Greenspan  spoke of children needing to be "emotionally available for learning." That phrase has been at the forefront of my mind over the last three decades while I taught in early childhood, elementary, and college classrooms, trained teachers, worked with parents, and parented two wonderful humans (now adults-yikes!) with their own unique learning profiles.

Over the years my understanding of how to support someone (as well as support myself)  to be “emotionally available for learning” has expanded greatly to include the impact interoceptive awareness and sensory processing have on emotions and learning.  Personal connection, curiosity, and consistency are the foundation.

The process of applying current research to the day-to-day life of my friend's family, connecting them with autistic-affirming community, and navigating school practices to work in support of sensory sensitivities helped their child blossom.   That experience brought me great joy, so I started to work with other families in similar ways.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

For over three decades my professional career has been dedicated to early learning, child development, and parent education. I have ten plus years of classroom teaching experience in preK through fifth grade.  I served as a director of a federal child care center in West Virginia and later as the Interim Director of the Laboratory Preschool at Louisiana State University.  As an adjunct instructor at LSU, I supervised student teachers and taught classes in pedagogy.

I’m a life-long learner, so this list continues to grow, but some of the certifications and trainings that influence my approach include:

  • The Neuropsychology of Learning Disabilities (Dr. William Stixrud);

  • An Evidence-Based-Approach to Improving Interoception (Kelly Mahler)

  • Neurodiversity-Affirming OT Practice (Learn Play Thrive)

  • Master IEP Coach®

  •  LiPS, Visualizing Verbalizing (Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes)

  •  Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS-Teachstone)

  •  Handwriting Without Tears

I earned a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and my undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.