Meet Colleen

In 1998, my husband and I rushed our 11-month-old baby girl, Shannon, to the hospital. Her pediatrician sent us after seeing Shannon's eyes literally dancing. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and a rare autoimmune disorder, Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome (OMS). Shannon started speech, occupational, and physical therapies immediately because the OMS completely stripped her of all learning skills. And, of course, lack of learning skills meant that Shannon would have learning problems when she went to school. Like every other parent of a child with disabilities, we sought every possible therapy that might cure Shannon and help her learn. We could not understand why Shannon was not learning and progressing in school. We never knew the real problem was that our child had very weak learning skills (cognitive skills). Later, we realized that Shannon did not have adequate memory, attention, or visual and auditory processing to learn efficiently.

Before . . .

I tutored Shannon for years but never saw true, independent progress. She had trouble retaining and recalling information, and she could not use her own learning skills to retain and build upon new knowledge. Often a child with learning problems gets so accustomed to the adult restating the new material that the child just waits on the adult to give enough hints—basically giving the answer. This is known as learned helplessness because the child never retains and is always asking for help. This scenario plays out when parents get a tutor for their child who has weak learning skills. As long as the tutor restates the concept, the student understands the materials—but the student cannot learn or understand new information independent of the tutor. However, if the student has strong learning skills, then independent learning happens after minimal time with a tutor, teacher, or parent.

There Had to Be a Better Way . . .

We recognized that Shannon required cognitive training. I discovered a research-based program called Processing and Cognitive Enhancement (PACE) and became certified as a provider and trainer. Shannon will be the first to tell you that PACE has helped her learn to read by strengthening her processing, phonological awareness and memory skills. She still has a long way to go and has made great strides because of her intensive brain training sessions.  She requires to be educated on "How-to-Learn" now instead of just pushing her differences aside.

After . . .

Shannon is reading much better now and has made huge strides in strengthening her ability to learn. She enjoys reading now because she doesn't spend time decoding each word. After seeing the success Shannon had, I knew that other families needed what worked for us. I also knew I could personally help children learn and make a tremendous difference in their lives. I decided it was time for me to leave corporate America and help transform struggling learners into active, happy, successful learners. After working with students I began to realize that although all were making great improvement, some were doing better than others.  From this research and observation came the creation of my Student Transformation System. I want to help you and your child get started down the path to being a successful independent lifelong learner.

Note:  As of 9/08 Shannon has come out of remission from her autoimmune disorder (docs won't state out of remission more return of symptoms) and we are back getting interventions to stop Shannon's antibodies from injuring her brain.  I will keep everyone updated as we progress.  Good news is even with injury she is still learning because of her brain training.

More….

 Colleen excels in helping students become empowered, self-confident participants within the learning process. As a special educator, Mrs. Bain develops individualized brain training and education program curriculum based on state-standards and program objectives.

Mrs. Bain received her Master of Arts in Special Education Cross-Categorical from the University of Phoenix with a grade point average of 3.9 in 2007 . She received her Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from New York Institute of Technology with a grade point average of 3.8 in 1996.

She is affiliated with the following organizations.

The Opsoclonus Myoclonus Support (OMS) Network

International Reading Association (IRA)

National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Brain Injury Association of New Jersey (BIANJ)

National Coalition on Auditory Processing Disorders (NCAPD)

Mrs. Bain credits her success by her ability to observe, assess, coach and evaluate students needs successfully. Her passion to empower her students to always believe in themselves fuels her efforts towards accomplishment.

Awards and Licenses:

Licensed Elementary and Special Education Teacher

Best Selling Published Author:  Overcomers, Inc. 

Licensed Provider and Trainer for Processing and Cognitive Enhancement (PACE)

Licensed Provider and Trainer for Master the Code (MTC)

Licensed Provider and Trainer for BrainSkills

Licensed Provider and Trainer for BrainWare Safari

Cambridge Who's Who Professional of the Year 2009

Inducted into Cambridge Who's Who Executive, Professional and Entrepreneurial Registry 2008

Graduated Summa cum Laude with Master of Arts in Special Education, Cross-Categorical; University of Phoenix (2007)

Graduated Summa cum Laude; New York Institute of Technology (1996)