Lynn University

Welcome by Lynn University President Dr. Kevin M. Ross and Dr. Marsha Glines, Dean, Institute for Achievement and Learning

A Fit Like A Glove: Finding the Right College Is Easier Than You Think

Presenters: Marybeth Kravets and Imy Wax

The authors of The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder dispel myths and misconceptions about “the right college fit,” how to evaluate differing services, self-advocacy issues, avoiding college choice obstacles, questions to ask on the campus visit, and the sticky parental question: when to get into—or out of—the driver’s seat?

Walking the Plank Toward Graduation: Safely Navigating the Waters

Presenter: Matthew Cohen

Special education attorney Matthew Cohen talks about transition evaluation, planning and programming for college-bound students with learning differences, successfully obtaining testing accommodations and how they differ for high school and college students.

What Psychological Tests Really Mean to a College

Presenter: Dr. Theodore Wasserman

Which aspects of psychological testing are important to college accommodations offices? Nationally known pediatric neuropsychology expert Dr. Theodore Wasserman will discuss the key skills that should be assessed, and how they tie into a successful college experience.

Luncheon Speaker

Dr. Daniel Reschly, former chair, department of special education and current professor of education and psychology in Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

Breakout sessions

Breakout sessions

Institute for Achievement and Learning Open House

Marybeth Kravets

Marybeth Kravets has been a counselor and college consultant at Deerfield High School, a public high school in Deerfield, Ill., since 1979. She has acted as an educational consultant to high schools, colleges, nonprofit organizations and families.

She received her B.A. in education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her M.A. in counseling from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. She is past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and previously served as the president of the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling.

In addition to co-authoring the K&W Guide, Kravets co-authored, with Michael Koehler, Counseling Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities: Ready To Use Guidelines, Techniques and Materials to Help Students Prepare for College and Work and has written articles for many professional journals. She has been a guest on NBC’S Today show several times and has appeared on many other radio and television programs. Kravets has presented at major conferences in the United States and Europe.

Imy F. Wax

Imy F. Wax,  a psychotherapist and educational consultant, is a member of several professional and parental organizations. She has presented at professional and parental conferences on such topics as “The Emotional Expectations of Parenting a Child with Learning Disabilities,” and has written numerous articles in professional and parental journals.

Wax conducts workshops for parents on raising children with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and speaks to school districts across the United States about the college transition process. She has also made numerous presentations at conferences and schools in Asia and South America. Wax has appeared as a guest on NBC’s Today show and on other television and radio shows.

She is married to Howard Wax and has four children, two with learning disabilities and one who also has attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Her daughter was the inspiration for the K & W Guide.

Sue Caplia

Sue Caplia, south area resource teacher for the Palm Beach County School District’s exceptional student education office, has been a special educator for 34 years, 28 of them with the Palm Beach County Schools. Her strength is ensuring that students can access curriculum within the least restrictive environment so they can receive the best possible education.

Caplia is a trainer for the University of Kansas in both learning strategies and content enhancement, and has provided training to teachers from K-12. She especially likes assisting teams in writing educational plans and academic, behavioral, and organizational goals, in combination with accommodations and modifications, to enhance a student’s academic success.

Matthew Cohen

Matthew Cohen is a founding partner in the Chicago firm, Monahan and Cohen. Currently admitted to practice in Illinois, Cohen frequently litigates special education matters in the federal courts and has represented hundreds of families in special education disputes with public schools. He also has extensive experience in mental health and confidentiality law, representing many mental health providers and agencies.

A frequent lecturer and author on special education, mental health and confidentiality issues, he is a legal commentator for LD Online, a periodic columnist for Attention! Magazine and has completed a book on special education advocacy, A Guide to Special Education Advocacy: What Parents, Clinicians and Advocates Need to Know, published in February 2009.

A graduate of Grinnell College and the University of Minnesota Law School, he is an adjunct faculty member at Loyola University School of Law and former president of the Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) national board of directors. His peers elected him to the Illinois Super Lawyers list in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Geraldine C. Fryer

Geraldine C. Fryer is nationally recognized for her expertise in college advising and is especially noted for her work with students with learning differences.

Fryer received her B.A. from Brown University in 1960, has graduate credits in history and guidance and counseling from New York University and taught in New York City. She has been a faculty member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) Workshop for Prospective Consultants, chairperson of IECA workshops and its local and national meetings.

Fryer has appeared on several television programs and has contributed to Princeton Review's The Best Colleges, The College Finder and Getting Your Child Into College. She has been a featured speaker at The World Bank, the Connecticut Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, SMART Kids with Learning Disabilities and SEPTA groups in New York and Connecticut. She is a member of IECA, NACAC and ACCESS.

She has been in private practice since 1982 and became a Certified Educational Planner in 1997. She currently practices in Rye, N.Y.

Dr. Marsha Glines

Dr. Marsha Glines, dean of Lynn University’s Institute for Achievement and Learning, has a national reputation as an expert in teaching and learning theory, special education, nontraditional program design and higher education curriculum development.

The founding president of Beacon College, Glines joined Lynn University in 1991, where she has created and supervised alternative, innovative programs including those at the Institute for Achievement and Learning.

A graduate of Emerson College and Lesley College, Glines was a special studies student at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the Union Institute.

Glines has conducted teacher training workshops throughout South America and the U.S. and is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences pertaining to higher education.

She is currently writing a book on the process of teaching and empowering our current generation of learners with ideas and thinking skills for appropriate problem solving.

Marcia Hunt

The director of college counseling at Pine Crest School an all-faith, college preparatory school that serves students on campuses in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Marcia Hunt is past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), an association of approximately 11,000 college admission directors, high school counselors and consultants who assist students in the transition process from high school to college. She also served as president of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC), from which she received the Larry West Award, SACAC’s highest award for service to students.

She is currently a member of the United States Department of Education Presidential Scholars program review committee, and is on advisory boards for admission offices at The University of Michigan, Northwestern University and Miami University of Ohio.  A former member of the Coca Cola Scholars selection committee and The Common Application board of directors, Marcia is currently serving as chair of the board of directors of The Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS), the national organization designed to support the essential work of college counselors in independent schools.

Trish and Jay Jacobson

Trish and Jay Jacobson’s daughter Hannah, a Lynn freshman, is a student in the Institute for Achievement and Learning. Trish began educating herself about learning differences about 15 years ago and has been a board member at Austin and Dallas (Texas) schools specializing in students who have learning differences. Hannah uses the institute’s tutoring and coaching services regularly to help her achieve good grades. She has not yet decided on a major.

Dr. Daniel Reschly

Dr. Daniel Reschly is professor of education and psychology in Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, where he chaired the Department of Special Education from 1998-2006,  taking it to a number 1 national ranking.

Prior to his appointment at Vanderbilt, Reschly directed the Iowa State University School Psychology Program and was Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Education. Reschly earned graduate degrees at the University of Iowa and the University of Oregon and served as a school psychologist in Iowa, Oregon and Arizona.

Reschly has published on response to intervention, reduction of special education disproportionality, identification of disabilities (high incidence, minority issues) and policy issues in special education. Recent funding and research focuses on teacher quality.

In addition to many other state and national leadership roles related to school psychology, Reschly served on the National Academy of Sciences panels on standards-based reform and the education of students with disabilities and minority overrepresentation in special education. He chaired the National Academy of Sciences panel on disability determination in mental retardation.

Dr. Sarah M. Siciliano-Hartt

Dr. Sarah M. Siciliano-Hartt has been in private practice in Boca Raton since 1984, specializing in evaluating and providing therapeutic support for college students. Her psychoeducational evaluations focus on identifying underlying patterns of learning disabilities and problems in attention, and recommending specific accommodations and strategies to help each student better cope with his or her particular type of disability. In terms of therapeutic support, Dr. Siciliano-Hartt targets increasing the student’s self-awareness, developing a realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses and formulating strategies to increase self-esteem.

Dr. Theodore Wasserman

Pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Theodore Wasserman is Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning of the Institute for Achievement and Learning at Lynn University, where he directs the IAL’s research and psychoeducational testing center. He is responsible for the Institute Fellows Program, faculty development and conducting empirical reviews and validation studies of the institute’s activities.

Wasserman completed his doctorate at Hofstra University in school and clinical psychology and served an internship in pediatric neuropsychology at North Shore University Medical Center (Long Island, N.Y.). He completed his doctoral training in cognitive behavior therapy at the Institute for Advanced Study of Rational Psychotherapy in New York City.

Wasserman sees children ages birth–18 with a full range of medical and developmental anomalies. He is particularly interested in attention and learning disorders and their impact on school function, autism, Asperger’s Disorder, atypical developmental delays, seizures and traumatic brain injury.

A prolific author, Wasserman has served on the faculty at Hofstra University, and lectures and consults throughout the United States and internationally.