Debra Isaacs Schafer
Consultant. Coach. Advisor. Strategist.
Parents. Children. Neurodiversity.
Exceptional caregiving.
Recognized education & work/life subject-matter expert, visionary, & practitioner.
Speaker. Writer.
Catalyst. Advocate.
About Me, You, & More...
My journey. 25+ years navigating the work/life and special education arenas, leveraging substantive knowledge, expertise, acumen, and judgment rooted in strategic business skills to bring clarity where chaos & confusion exist. How I navigated life and work over many years for my own child and family as well.
The journey. The efforts of being an "exceptional caregiver" and the impact on life cannot be overstated. Here there are aligned and complementary goals - increasing your competence to navigate the path forward for your child & family while also providing employers with solutions to support employees with these significant caregiving needs.
Your child. School is their job and when it's not working, it impacts everything. Daily challenges often become the norm. Issues arise. Calls arrive. Needs develop. Crises emerge. All requiring your time, attention, expertise, and solutions. And when work is involved, these critical needs often conflict with your own workplace responsibilities.
You. Raising a neurodivergent child with their incredible needs & strengths impacts families, jobs, relationships, time, and your own mental health and wellness. Many parents, particularly mothers, have left and are leaving the workforce due to their children's complexities where workplace flexibility, supports, and resources are needed.
Us. This is your time to share your needs, concerns, and expectations, both personally and/or for your company or organization. We'll discuss pressing issues and needs, opportunities and limitations, goals and expectations, and workable changes. We'll unravel the issues and focus on priorities. It's about taking the first step.
Some of the ways
I can help you.
Provide guidance to secure evaluations, decipher evaluation reports, and prepare for school eligibility conferences.
Evaluate current & proposed family-friendly benefits to help determine where gaps exist & resources to explore.
Prepare for school meetings & discussions including about independent evaluations and program changes.
Evaluate placement & transition-focused plans --
grade-to-grade, level-to-level, college preparation.
Collaborate with HR, Benefits, and ERGs as supports, programs, and resources are being discussed to align with the exceptional caregiving needs of working parents.
Some of the ways I've
helped others.
Increased academic, social, behavioral, developmental, and executive function school services & supports.
Developed & facilitated company webinars, workshops,
1:1 employee sessions & other programming.
Negotiated special education eligibility & private educational placements at school district expense.
Provided aligned resources, liaised with private service providers, and participated in work/life strategy sessions.
Collaborated with clinicians, specialists, legal counsel, and other independent providers to synthesize issues and develop solutions to address parent concerns.
Credentials
25+ years with dual areas of expertise: Supporting parents/families of neurodiverse children, teens, and young adults with autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, learning differences, & mental health needs; and extensive tenure & deep expertise developing programs, strategies, solutions, and also providing counsel to employers on work/life integration, workplace flexibility & supporting working mothers in the workplace.
Founder/CEO, Education Navigation. Founder/Managing Partner, Work/Family Management & Professional Mothers. Director, Human Resources Development, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Communications, business & nonprofit consultant.
Speaker: Working Mothers Work Life Congress and Work Beyond Conference. Education Law Center. Human Resources and Employee Assistance conferences. Corporate workshops, webinars, interviews, parent support groups.
Keynote presentations. Panel discussions. Roundtables. Lunch & learns. Fireside chats.
Media resource/expert, podcast guest, consultant, and writer. Supporting and retaining working mothers/parents raising neurodiverse children, exceptional caregiving, neurodiverse employees & workplace accommodations, work/life integration and workplace flexibility, family-functioning employee benefits & supports.
Client engagements include: AON, NextGen, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Interdigital, Ceridian, Credit Suisse, Cigna.
Recipient: WorldatWork Alliance for Work/Life Progress award for innovative employee benefits. Recognized by Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now.
"Preparing For College" & "On The Road To College" course developer & instructor for neurodiverse and neurotypical high school students focusing on college readiness, executive function skills, self-advocacy, and mental health/wellness.
Affiliations: Pennsylvania Autism Taskforce; Columnist, Parents Express & Times Chronicle; Host, Work/Life Journal,
WBEB-FM/Philadelphia.
Testimonials
Media, Mentions & More
Helping Employees Whose Dependents Have Special Needs
Is Education Care the New Elder Care?
5 Work-Life Winners