The subheader says Christine Parsons 麻豆精品 S�17. On May 7, she 麻豆精品 S檒l become Christine Parsons 麻豆精品 S�17 麻豆精品 S�22MS. But there 麻豆精品 S檚 so much more to Parsons than degrees and years. She 麻豆精品 S檚 a mom and a sister. She knows first-hand what it 麻豆精品 S檚 like to struggle in school and all-too-well how the struggle can lead to tragedy. There 麻豆精品 S檚 nothing traditional about the path she 麻豆精品 S檚 taking. And look here, she already has an impressive title at UCF: Program manager, , which prepares and retains exceptional student education teachers who serve children and adults with special needs. The institute also collaborates with local partners provides services for families of students.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 passionate about the work we 麻豆精品 S檙e doing, and now you know why, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons wrote in an email.
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麻豆精品 S淚 have this constant thought after seeing what my family members have gone through: We need to do better at educating every person, 麻豆精品 S� says Parsons, whose voice resonates with the resolve of a mother and the hope of a researcher on the cusp of discovery. 麻豆精品 S淣ot one person should have his or her life diminished simply because we don 麻豆精品 S檛 know the best way to educate them. Not one. 麻豆精品 S�
She has seen what can happen from every angle of her life.
Lessons from Her Mother
She was born and raised as Christine Williams, the oldest of two girls and three boys, an average student from a family of apparent average students, she says.
麻豆精品 S淪chool was hard for us, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淲e didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have much direction with our homework unless we were at my aunt 麻豆精品 S檚 house. I always knew I was smarter than my grades showed, and I wanted to learn, so it was frustrating. 麻豆精品 S�
Her mom and dad divorced when all five kids were young, leaving mom to raise them on her modest wages working as a secretary during the day and typing labels at night. She couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 help with schoolwork because of her tiring schedule and for a reason no one knew about.
麻豆精品 S淟ooking back, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says, 麻豆精品 S淚 can see that mom had such bad anxiety that she couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 even talk with teachers about school. I 麻豆精品 S檓 pretty sure it 麻豆精品 S檚 the reason she stopped going to college after one year. 麻豆精品 S�
She and her siblings didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have the money or family guidance to go to a four-year college, so Christine went to Brookdale and began to 麻豆精品 S渓earn how to learn. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭hose two years gave me confidence and opened doors to a career, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 made more money in my first year out of college than my mother was able to make with 15 years of experience. She could have done more, but the anxiety created barriers. 麻豆精品 S�
Her mother wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 the only one in the family who would encounter life-altering obstacles in education.
Lessons from Her Brother
Parsons says she 麻豆精品 S檚 麻豆精品 S渓iving proof 麻豆精品 S� of what it means to be a lifelong learner. She thrives on the challenge of thinking through problems and advancing solutions.
麻豆精品 S淎 lot of people are better at figuring things out instead of downloading information and repeating it back. My middle brother, Michael, was an incredible landscaper. He 麻豆精品 S檇 look at a space, do the calculations in his head, and then come up with something beautiful. But growing up, the schools weren 麻豆精品 S檛 equipped to help with his problems. 麻豆精品 S�
Michael could barely read. He could multiply three-digit numbers in his head, but when it came to written instructions or job applications, he was lost. The everyday frustrations drove him to alcohol and, eventually, to homelessness. In May 2020, Michael Gerard Williams, 53, died while sleeping in a homeless camp in New Jersey.
麻豆精品 S淢y brother was big, energetic, and had so much potential, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says. 麻豆精品 S淚f someone had known in school that he needed help with reading, there 麻豆精品 S檚 no telling what he could have done. His life never should have gone the way it did. 麻豆精品 S�
Lessons from Her Children
In her first career through the 1980s and early 90s, Parsons thought she had the best job ever. Officially, she was a 麻豆精品 S渟ales rep for cancer research and diagnoses. 麻豆精品 S� The technology helped save lives and sold itself. Parsons just had to show pathology technicians how to use it. But at the end of 1997, with three sons at home and a daughter on the way, Parsons and her husband, Rick, decided to it would be best if she left the workforce so she could provide what she says her own mother couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 麻豆精品 S� help with schoolwork and attention to any signs of difficulty. When Tom was in third grade, he started failing. The school agreed something was wrong, but didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know what it was. Parsons did her own research and got the testing necessary to find the problem.
麻豆精品 S淚t was the first time anyone in our family took a step toward finding answers, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says.
She found out Tom had auditory processing disorder. His brain, like many, is wired in a way that interprets sounds differently and delays a response. Though it appears on paper to be an auditory condition, it often pairs with learning deficiencies, being easily distracted, and social challenges that can lead to a life of negative feedback and loneliness.
Like so many learning disabilities, auditory processing disorder creates problems no one really understands except the person who has it 麻豆精品 S� or the parent trying to help.
Parsons would not accept the advice to 麻豆精品 S渓et Tom figure it out. 麻豆精品 S� She 麻豆精品 S檇 seen where that can lead. She helped him with a special reading program, hired a tutor, and by his freshman year of high school Tom could read at a college level. In 2015 he graduated from UCF with a degree in political science.
In the meantime, Christine also found out that her second son, Tim, is dyslexic. So, she enrolled him into a high school with a specialized technology program. Tim would earn a degree in digital media from UCF in 2017, the same year Christine completed her bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in science education.
A third son, Stephen, tested positive at a young age for food allergies, which can affect a person 麻豆精品 S檚 ability to focus. By this time, Parsons knew her way around learning barriers. Stephen graduated from high school in 2014, enlisted in the U.S. Marines, and went on to firefighting school.
麻豆精品 S淔inding the right fit is crucial, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says.
Her youngest child, Sara, is on track to graduate from UCF in 2023 with a double major in art and engineering.
麻豆精品 S淪chool has never been hard for her, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut that doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 make her more 麻豆精品 S榥ormal. 麻豆精品 S� We all have quirks. It 麻豆精品 S檚 important to understand what they are and provide direction so each person can thrive. 麻豆精品 S�
This is the driving force in her work at the Toni Jennings Institute. Parsons adds her lessons from life to the team 麻豆精品 S檚 research on Project FOCUS, which will develop a way to evaluate students for deficits in executive functions (everyday skills like following a schedule, remembering instructions, and having goals) and provide solutions they can use throughout life.
麻豆精品 S淧roject FOCUS could have changed my brother 麻豆精品 S檚 life, 麻豆精品 S� Parsons says. 麻豆精品 S淗e suffered and didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know why. No child 麻豆精品 S� no person 麻豆精品 S� should feel lost, isolated, constantly criticized, or like they don 麻豆精品 S檛 belong simply because we don 麻豆精品 S檛 understand.
麻豆精品 S淎nd then think about the kids whose families can 麻豆精品 S檛 afford a specialist. What happens to them? What are we losing as a society? 麻豆精品 S�
On May 8, the day after her graduation, Parsons 麻豆精品 S� children will be home for Mother 麻豆精品 S檚 Day to celebrate. The weekend will be not so much a culmination as it will be a time to catch her breath and enjoy the family.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e my inspiration, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
A day later she 麻豆精品 S檒l continue pushing forward, motivated by thoughts of her mother, sons and brother.
麻豆精品 S淚 think about my brother every single day, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淗e could have been amazing. I 麻豆精品 S檓 doing this work because I don 麻豆精品 S檛 want anyone else to be left thinking 麻豆精品 S榳hat could have been. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
