Leading the Way in Rethinking Special Needs Education

It takes tenacity, confidence, and unfettered passion to make it as an entrepreneur in this world. Only an entrepreneur with these traits can identify a problem within the community, create a solution to that problem, and effectively communicate to buyers that they have solved a problem for them. That is exactly what one special needs doctor has done to provide a much-needed service, using her passion-driven insight to solve a serious societal issue.

Dr. JoQueta Handy, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has dedicated her professional life to the understanding and betterment of special needs education both at home and in school. If you ask Dr. Handy, the current state of the special needs education system is undoubtedly broken, but through her new, innovative learning regimen, and backed by a number of biotechnology companies, she believes this education barrier can be broken down to create a new generation of brilliant children. Dr. Handy uses three types of entrepreneurial thinking to break the boundaries of special needs education and throw the door open to learning.

Identify the problem

Identifying a problem is the first step of entrepreneurial innovation. The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder—a 30% increase from just two years previous. With this daunting statistic looming, Dr. Handy has spent 12 years analyzing the education of children, a project that began as a collaboration with teachers and parents to devise ways to more effectively teach children with learning disabilities. Recently, Handy decided to visit a classroom to get an insider’s perspective.