Q: How long have you been an Ukeru trainer?

A: I have been an Ukeru trainer for one year.

Q: What population do you work with? What inspired you to get into this field?

A: My population is all tier 3 and above special education students. I have always wanted to be a teacher and I seemed to always do well with the students that other teachers found to be the most challenging.

Q: What part of Ukeru do you enjoy teaching the most and why?

A: The part of Ukeru that I enjoy teaching the most is the intellectual part. I enjoy helping people understand how the different parts of the brain work. I like relating it to real life situations that we all go through as adults. I really enjoy the moments when people realize that they are asking students to do thing that their brains literally will not allow them to do. Those are the moments where you can truly affect change in the way that someone interacts with a student.

Q: What would you say to someone who is unsure about using Ukeru?

A: I would say give it an honest chance by looking at it from the perspective of “how effective could this be if someone was teaching or working with your child this way”.

Q: What advice or tip would you give to a new Ukeru trainer?

A: Find the place in the Ukeru training where you feel the most comfortable and then attach the rest of it to that as you get more familiar with it.

Q: How has Ukeru impacted your life?

A: Ukeru has allowed me to just layer skills on top of some that I already have. It has allowed me to think about my own children in situations of stress or crisis and if I may be asking them things that require skills that they do not have the ability to access in the moment. It has helped to remind me that it is always best to pause and mentally assess the situation as opposed to just engaging it.

Q: What is your favorite quote or a motto that you like to live by?

A: “I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” – It helps me to keep life in perspective.

Q: What three words would you use to describe Ukeru?

A: simple, different, effective