My Story
Around ten years ago... my husband and I were in the middle of parenting tweens and toddlers and experiencing severe behavior and mental health challenges that left us feeling completely hopeless. Our family felt like it was falling apart. We needed help. Desperately.
We attended many trainings focused on parenting behaviors with rewards and consequences, control, and correction. Not only did they not work, they didn't feel right. Then I found a brain-based approach, that changed everything for our family. It was the missing link we needed and helped us understand behaviors we were experiencing through a brain-based lens.
I experienced a firsthand paradigm shift that ignited my passion to share this new approach with parents and professionals alike.
After intensive training, I became a certified facilitator of the FASCETS Neurobehavioral Approach,, returned to college, and achieved a Master's Degree in Psychology focused on Child and Adolescent Development, specializing in FASD and developmental disabilities.
During this time I also found myself sitting at the IEP table for two of my children and facing challenges in each meeting because I did not have the tools or resources to advocate for their needs effectively. I then had a lightbulb moment and thought, "If I feel like this, I know other parents must feel like this too." It was at that moment that I decided to educate myself on IEPs to help other parents of children and teens with brain-based differences feel confident in asking for help for their child at the IEP meeting. I went through intensive special education advocacy training through COPAAA, and received my certification. As an IEP consultant, I take a curious and collaborative approach while working with the IEP team to support individuals in need of supports and services at school.
Through my combined training, education,, and living experiences, I help caregivers and professionals understand their child's unique brain and how it impacts their body's response to demands, daily living, and learning.
Professional Bio
Shannon Iacobacci, M.Psych, is, first and foremost, a mom of multiple children with varying brain-based conditions, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). As a neurobehavioral educator specializing in developmental disabilities, she founded Embracing The Brain in 2020. Using a brain-based approach, she provides training and education for families, organizations, educators, social workers, mental health professionals, and students. She is a certified FASCETS facilitator of the neurobehavioral approach and has conducted training on FASD and related topics for more than ten years. As a special education consultant, she supports families through the IEP process in collaboration with the IEP team to create appropriate accommodations, support and services for students with FASD and other brain-based differences.
Affiliations:
COPAA member, FASCETS Certified Facilitator, FASDNow Alliance member and Education Committee Co-Chair, FASD Collaborative partner, FASD & The IEP Coalition Mentorship member, FASD Knowledge Share Collective member, COPAA SEAT Certification, California Special Education Task Force, COPAA State and Local Advocates Committee.
Presentations and Partnerships:​
FASD United, FASD Collaborative, FASDNow, Olive Crest, United Parents, DCFS, Children’s Bureau, Wellnest, FASD Network of Southern California, Florida Training Center, California Association of School Psychologists, First 5 Los Angeles, First 5 California, SELPA Administrators of California, California Special Education Task Force, California Early Childhood Special Education Network, and more...