Background

Ms. Gould is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and also holds a School Social Work license. During her long professional career, Ms. Gould has worked for both private agencies and school systems. Ms. Gould has worked for the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization and the Niles Township District for Special Education. She has served as a consultant and been a guest lecturer for many area school districts. During her twelve years working in schools, Ms Gould developed new parent support programs. She also created and led many peer buddy groups creating a community of support for students in special education programs.

Ms. Gould was the Childhood Disability and Family Support Specialist for the Jewish Children’s Bureau for over a decade. In that capacity she created parent groups, sibling groups, grandparent groups, grandparent raising grandchildren groups, family camps, and parent education programs. She also established inclusion consultation and home visiting programs. Ms. Gould has published on the subject of home based support services.

Ms. Gould has expertise in autism. She serves on the Professional Advisory Board of the Autism Society of Illinois. She has provided training on autism and related topics to hundreds of teachers and therapists.

Ms Gould’s education includes certification in Applied Behavior Analysis from Penn State University and a Masters Degree in Social Work from The University of Illinois at Chicago in 1987. She has received additional training from The Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis in Los Angeles, California, The Center for Collaborative Problem Solving, Boston, Massachusetts and The Social Thinking Center, San José, California.