Ask the Advocate Massachusetts Special Education Consulting
Special Educaction Advocate ServingFamilies Throughout Massachusetts
Book a 30-Minute Education Strategy Session
with Maureen Brown, M.S.
Your Child has the right to an education that actually fits their needs. Maureen Brown, M.S. has spent 23 years making sure
Massachusetts families know those rights, and know how to use them. Book a 30 minute Education Strategy Session to get clear on where things stand and exactly what to do next
If you have ever left an IEP meeting feeling confused, dismissed, or unsure about next steps, you are not alone.
In 30 minutes, I will help you cut through the noise, identify exactly what is happening with your child’s education, and give you a clear path forward.
This is a focused, expert-led strategy session designed to provide you with real answers and next steps tailored to your child’s specific situation.
What this session includes
During your 30-minute Education Strategy Session, Maureen will:
Identify the key issues affecting your child's educational progress and where the school district may be falling short of its legal obligations.
Clarify your rights under IDEA and Massachusetts special education regulations — including what schools are required to provide and what you can formally request.
Review the strategic options available for your child's specific situation, whether that's an IEP amendment, an Independent Educational Evaluation, a placement change, or dispute resolution.
Give you a professional assessment of the level of support your child's case actually requires.
Help you leave the session with a clear understanding of your next step not a list of things to research on your own.
“Maureen was amazing in assisting us with our daughter’s IEP approval. She is incredibly responsive and knowledgeable, and she truly fought for her as if she were her own child. We are so grateful for her dedication and support.”
Google Reviews
Families trust Ask the Advocate
Real families navigating special education — and the difference an advocate makes.
Maureen was amazing in assisting us with our daughter's IEP approval. She is incredibly responsive and knowledgeable, and she truly fought for her as if she were her own child. We are so grateful for her dedication and support.
We worked with this educational consultant to find the right school program for our child, and it was such a huge help. She took the time to understand our needs, explained every option clearly, and made the whole process so much less stressful. Truly caring and professional — highly recommend!
Maureen is an incredibly valuable resource. I have been advocating for my child for years and am so much calmer with Maureen as a resource. She provides guidance and advice and knows the laws inside and out.
I cannot express how amazing it's been working with Maureen Brown. We have been working with our school system to get the help needed for our son for almost 3 years with no success. Maureen listened and in just a few meetings made real progress.
No matter how prepared or knowledgeable you may feel, it helps tremendously to have an advocate like Maureen at your side. She was pointed, direct, and effective in helping us secure the services our child needed.
Maureen is a fierce advocate for her clients. She treats each child as if they were her own. Maureen works collaboratively with the family and school district to put in place a plan that is best for the child. She also understands the law and uses it effectively.
I highly recommend Ask the Advocate. Maureen brilliantly navigated our extremely stressful, chaotic, and emotionally charged situation with her in-depth knowledge and expertise. She fully understands the special education laws and school process.
Maureen is an incredible advocate who will make sure your child's school provides all the services and supports needed to succeed. She is tenacious, knowledgeable, and compassionate. She's the best advocate I've ever seen.
Maureen is a fantastic advocate who spends the time getting to know your child's needs and helping cut through all of the confusion — in a way that I, as a parent, had been unable to do for years. Highly recommend.
Meet Your Advocate
“My job is to ensure that your child receives the specific resources he or she requires in order to learn and grow. I bring to the table two decades of experience negotiating with school districts to achieve successful outcomes for students across Massachusetts.”
Maureen is a Special Education Advocate based in Massachusetts with over 22 years of experience helping families navigate the complex world of IEPs, school placements, and special education law.Her journey began when her own child faced challenges in the education system — inspiring her to dedicate her career to ensuring every family has the knowledge and support they need to fight for their child.
She holds a Master of Science in Human Services from UMass Boston, an advanced certificate in College Counseling from UCLA, and a Mediation Certification — bringing both legal knowledge and compassionate strategy to every family she works with.
Professional memberships
What to expect
Every engagement starts with a one-on-one consultation to get a full picture of where your child is right now what the records say, what the school is telling you, and what your instincts as a parent are telling you that isn't showing up in any document.
From there, Maureen reviews the full record evaluations, assessments, developmental history, current and prior IEPs, report cards, and progress reports — to identify what's working, what's missing, and where the district may be falling short of its legal obligations.
Based on that review, she identifies the full range of services, supports, and placement options your child may be entitled to including options the district may not have raised.
Drawing on 23 years of professional relationships with neuropsychologists, special education attorneys, BCBAs, therapeutic schools, and private programs across the country, Maureen connects families with the right people and the right programs — not a generic referral list.
The goal isn't just to get through the next IEP meeting. It's to build the right team around your child the evaluators, therapists, specialists, and school personnel who are working from the same plan — and to make sure that team stays accountable as your child grows and their needs evolve.
How Special Education Advocate Maureen Brown Can Help
Reviewing your child's current IEP and providing written feedback with specific, actionable recommendations for what needs to change and why.
Attending IEP meetings with you prepared with documentation, a clear position on your child's needs, and a working knowledge of what the district is legally required to provide.
Advising on placement options across the full spectrum, from in-district programs and substantially separate classrooms to out-of-district day schools and therapeutic residential programs.
Drafting formal correspondence to school districts and agencies, including parent concern statements, requests for Independent Educational Evaluations, prior written notice responses, and dispute letters.
Building effective working relationships with your child's school team and knowing when collaboration has run its course and a more formal approach is needed.
Supporting students with learning differences through the college search, application process, and transition planning. Maureen holds an advanced Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and has guided many students with learning challenges through every stage of the college process, from identifying the right fit to securing campus disability services accommodations before day one.
Setting measurable, specific IEP goals tied to your child's actual present levels not vague language that gives the district room to do nothing.
Knowledge is Power.
Know Your Child's Rights.
Most families don't know what the law actually requires their school district to provide and districts rarely volunteer that information. Maureen brings deep working knowledge of IDEA, Massachusetts special education regulations, and the case law that defines what schools are legally obligated to do. Her approach to every case starts with the same foundation: build it as if it's going to a hearing. That means the right documentation, the right evaluations, and a legally grounded argument for every service being requested. In most cases, that preparation is exactly what keeps things out of a hearing room. When a family walks into an IEP meeting with a well-documented, legally sound case, school districts respond differently.
Collaboration is always the first goal. Legal proceedings are rarely necessary when families are prepared.
Know what’s
out there.
Most families enter the IEP process without knowing the full range of services their child may be entitled to — and school districts rarely offer more than what's easiest to provide. Maureen has successfully advocated for services well beyond the standard package, including home-based services, parent training, behavioral support, assistive technology and device training, music therapy, and recreational programming. The list of what's available is longer than most families realize, and it grows as case law and district obligations continue to evolve.
Know who to call.
The right outcome for a child often depends on having the right professionals involved. Over 23 years, Maureen has built a trusted network of specialists she calls on when a case requires outside expertise people she knows personally and whose work she has seen firsthand. That network includes neuropsychologists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), special education attorneys, assistive technology specialists, augmentative communication specialists, occupational and feeding therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists.
When your child needs someone specific, Maureen knows who to call.
Chat with me
Let’s discuss your child’s needs and how I may be able to help.