[ Jump the Line ]

About me

My name is Lindsay Walker and I am a NYS certified special education teacher. I received my Bachelor's degree in childhood education from SUNY Oneonta in 2011. While attending SUNY Oneonta, I worked for Springbrook as a respite care provider for a family with a son on the autism spectrum. This inspired my career path and when I returned to the Utica area, I spent three years working as an aide and behavioral support assistant for a preschool for children with autism. I went on to receive my Master's degree in special education in 2014. I immediately started working at a local BOCES as an "intense management needs" classroom teacher for third to sixth grade. In 2015, I started growing my own family so I spent time working in various settings including an integrated preschool in an inner city area near Albany and a different local BOCES where I taught in a 6:1:3 autism program for kindergarten through second grade. In 2019, I started working for Upstate Caring Partners as an early intervention therapist providing special instruction services for qualifying children in Herkimer and Oneida county. Since then, I have returned to the preschool setting both in integrated and self contained classrooms. 

As much as I love being in the classroom, I have found my true passion lies in supporting families directly in their homes. Since COVID, waitlists continue to grow as children are becoming more delayed developmentally and parents do not know where to turn. Having interacted with hundreds of families in various settings, the common factor is that parents need more support and children need easier access to therapy. Also, as a teacher, I see the need for increased behavioral support in the classroom. There is such a staff shortage every where right now and children's needs are changing. New teachers are overwhelmed with expectations, families are worried about their children transitioning from early intervention to preschool and then preschool to kindergarten, and children are struggling to keep up with the demands of curriculum and their environments.

This is where Jump the Line comes in! With all of my experiences combined with my strong passion to help families, children, and teachers, I can offer you an opportunity to get your child one on one sessions with an experienced professional. I can offer you tutoring services, behavioral support at home or in the classroom for your child, teacher trainings or in class support to best provide for each individual child. I can answer questions about the special education system or help you prepare for CPSE/CSE meetings. If I can't help you directly or answer a specific question, I will find someone who can! Let me help you bridge the gap between the waitlist and receiving services. Let me help you advocate for your child. Let me help spark ideas on how to best support different children you are working with. Let's have a conversation! Let's jump the line together!