Educational Connections LLC

Area Served

About Educational Connections LLC

As educational consultants, we are committed to helping families locate the most appropriate educational and therapeutic options for their children. We begin by obtaining as holistic a picture of a child, adolescent, or young adult as possible in order to match an individual’s needs and challenges as well as strengths and capacities to the most appropriate school or program. Our sensitivity to this issue is reflected in the fact that our clients have attended more than 100 different schools and programs, both locally and across the United States. We work with clients throughout the United States and abroad. Our work involves two distinct areas. First, prior to making any recommendations, we assess the social, emotional, psychological, and educational needs of a child (described below under Our Consulting Process). The second component of our work involves evaluating schools and programs both locally and across the country (described below under Understanding Schools and Therapeutic Programs). In the latter case, our goal is not only to determine whether the school or program is effective and reputable, but also to understand the types of students with which it is most effective. Jennifer Heckman has a long history of working in the areas of education and mental health, with particular emphases on children, families, and family-systems. Upon completing her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Colorado in 1977, Dr. Heckman returned to her home in Hawaii to work with the local Easter Seal Society’s Residential Services program. This program, developed to serve multiply handicapped children who were unable to live in their parents’ home, included group and foster “teaching home” placements. While with Residential Services, Dr. Heckman worked initially as a group home counselor and then became responsible for providing psychosocial and educational support for the foster teaching home parents; during her last year and a half with Residential Services.