Rachel Strasler

As a Resource Parent, I work to provide safety and stability to youth undergoing displacement from their family of origin. My partner and I create a secondary family environment and strive to provide a sense of normalcy to children and families in crisis. We create structure through consistency and routines, while assuring age and developmentally appropriate opportunities are presented at home and in the community. We work to build an alliance with the birth parents, and support the plan for reunification.

Strengths :

• Work flexible hours across night, weekend, and holiday shifts.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Demonstrate respect, friendliness and willingness to help wherever needed.
• Pay attention to detail while scheduling important appointments.
• Develop and maintain courteous and effective working relationships.
• Use critical thinking to break down problems, evaluate solutions and make decisions.
• Strengthen communication skills through regular interactions with others.
• Organized and detail-oriented with a strong work ethic.
• Committed to continual improvement.

Worked as an Independent Contractor, supporting Autistic individuals and their families. I provided direct service and parent support. Instruction occurred one-to-one as well as in social dyads or in the community. I helped students achieve self-regulation so that they could then take on new learning. I supported parents via the transference of skills so that they could better support their children/teens in areas of struggle.

Strengths :

• Delivered outstanding service to clients, allowing them to achieve goals and accomplishments.
• Developed and maintained strong working relationships with clients, leading to long term connections.
• Developed and maintained strong working relationships with clients, leading to repeat business and referrals.
• Communicated effectively with clients throughout the entire program, celebrating progress updates.
• Utilized strengths of clients to spur successes.
• Listened actively to desires and needs of clients and developed plans to support said desires.
• Utilized creative problem-solving techniques when faced with unexpected obstacles.

Provided one-to-one in home instruction to youth who were experiencing difficulties coping with the dynamics of their school environments. Helped clients achieve a baseline of self-regulation that allowed them to take on new information. Once able to regulate, I would teach the academic and social skills needed to later successfully reintegrate into the school setting.

Strengths :

• Built personal relationships with clients to promote positive experiences.
• Maintained safety standards during instruction, resulting in zero accidents or incidents.
• Managed unexpected challenges with flexibility and creative problem-solving.
• Trained new guides on policies, procedures, and best practices, leading to consistently high-quality experiences for the team.
• Utilized strong communication skills to effectively convey complex topics in a digestible manner to parents.
• Designed highly individualized and developmentally appropriate curriculum independent of instruction.

Oversaw students in a variety of classrooms that were a composition of typically developing peers and special needs students. Enforced classroom rules, provided instruction, assisted with personal care needs, administered medications, assisted with behavioral interventions, monitored progress, ensured safety, joined students in play, and improved classroom management by supporting the lead teacher.

Strengths :

• Fostered a positive learning environment by establishing strong rapport with students, parents, and faculty members.
• Enhanced student support by delivering one-on-one and small group assistance in various subjects.
• Supported special education teachers in implementing accommodations and modifications for students with diverse learning needs.
• Delivered personalized educational, behavioral, and emotional support to individual students to enable positive learning outcomes.
• Promoted a respectful classroom culture by modeling appropriate behavior and reinforcing positive interactions among peers.
• Implemented behavior management techniques effectively to maintain a structured learning environment conducive to student success.
• Kept classrooms clean, neat, and properly sanitized for student health and classroom efficiency.