If you’d like to talk with any of these parents or professionals, call Judy Imperatore for their contact information. They would be happy to tell you about their experience with her evaluation, assessment, and consulting services.
“I owe Judy an enormous debt of gratitude”
I can’t begin to express the enormity of Judy’s role in my son’s life; she has been his mentor, coach, advocate and friend. There is no doubt in my mind that without Judy’s expertise, my son’s post high school experience would not have included college. Today, he is a graduate with a BS degree. It was not an easy road, and I’m grateful for the resources that were available from Judy and her team. I utilized assessments, placement services, specialized program resources, family education, and a customized, mentor support program. I owe Judy an enormous debt of gratitude.
- Betsy
“Step-by-step path to follow”
I really appreciate the emphasis you placed on what he CAN do as opposed to what he CAN’T do. I also liked that you took a holistic approach throughout the document and looked from many different angles to devise goals/strategies that are realistic and make sense as he moves into adulthood.You gave us a step-by-step path to follow, exactly what I was hoping for!
- Joi
“Very comprehensive”
Hi Judy,
I love your report. I found it to be very comprehensive. The specificity of your recommendations, which are supported by the data in the report are very helpful. I really appreciate that you use such a variety of resources to evaluate his skills and you gathered input from home and school. I also love the format of the Transition Goals you provided on p 41 & 42.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you did this evaluation, especially given that what the district offered as a “comprehensive evaluation” was anything but.
As always with this Team, it has been a nightmare to schedule a meeting. I can’t believe we won’t be meeting till Dec!!
- Sandy
“You are a superstar in the Special Needs world!”
Thank you so much for all of your help. I don’t know if Liz told you, but the Transition Supervisor who ran the IEP was completely gushing over your report. She plans on requiring her entire team to use portions of it when they do assessments.
You are a superstar in the Special Needs world!
Emily is so excited to start her new class.
- Deb
“Found your information so helpful that I passed your name along to my friend”
Hi Judy
It was so helpful meeting with you this month regarding Scott. It was the most specific information about transitioning that I have ever learned.
I found your information so helpful that I passed your name along to my friend to help with her sons transition.
Thanks so much for becoming involved with Panera for Scott. I let Sara Knight and Korey know that the Panera application was submitted over the school vacation week.
I am also returning the completed career inventory assessments. Look forward to meeting with you again.
Thanks again
- Amy Highet
“Opened our eyes to future options for him we might not have considered”
I wanted to thank you for the in-depth assessment you did with my son…Your work with him (vocational assessment) really helped identify certain traits and skills, whether current or potential, which opened our eyes to future options for him we might not have considered. For example, on the surface it would seem unlikely that a person with Asperger’s Syndrome would consider a counseling career. Many such students avoid social situations and lack a certain degree of empathy. The same assumption might have been made about {my son}, and would have missed the mark. Your work with him revealed something I had known on an intuitive level but had dismissed because of the “labels” associated with Asperger’s– namely that {my son} is an extremely social person, with a high degree of empathy. In fact, he is considering a career in human services, and will be entering a program at GCC this fall in that area. The transition coordinator at the high school has arranged a job shadow for him in a high school program for troubled teens. He has been there twice so far and loves it. The label “Asperger’s” would never have led me to a career option such as this. So, thank you for steering us away from stereotypes toward a clearer portrait of who our son really is. Thank you again for your excellent work.
—Jennifer Heath, Parent, Greenfield, Massachusetts
“Stellar product”
Judy, you are a star! {Our daughter} is lucky that you got to work with her. So are we! Stellar product, in my view. Thank you for your work.
—Michael Aronson, Parent, Amherst, Massachusetts
“Instrumental in helping us make informed decisions”
Self-determination and self-advocacy are at the heart of the important work Judy does in assessing the skills of students and young adults as they prepare for life after high school. Judy worked extremely hard to truly get to know our daughter’s abilities, interests and particular challenges, and has been instrumental in helping us make informed decisions regarding the next steps in her development as a person entitled to quality resources and a post-secondary education commensurate with her abilities and vision.
—Gary and Joan Cornachio, Parents, Amherst, Massachusetts
“Extremely helpful with my transition into a new stage of my life”
Judy is great with her assessments. Some of the work we did together was fun, and you were extremely helpful with my transition into a new stage of my life.
—Olivia, Student, Amherst, Massachusetts
“A fierce advocate for the transition needs of students”
Judy is a fierce advocate for the transition needs of students, and highly knowledgeable about the legal requirements and national best practice standards in the field. She is an incredibly creative problem solver who develops successful community-based transition placements/alternatives where most other professionals would fear to tread. Over the past years, Judy consulted with our non-profit day school to develop state-of-the art transition services and was remarkably successful in doing so. She is my “go to” person when making parental or professional referrals related to transition.
—Steven M. Bengis, Ed.D., L.C.S.W., Executive Director, New England Adolescent Research Institute (NEARI)
“So glad you are being recognized for all your good work.”
Congratulations on your appointment to the Board of the Division of Career Development and Transition! I’m so glad you are being recognized for all your good work.
—Ann Morgan, Special Education Director, Narragansett Regional School District, Templeton-Phillipston, Massachusetts