Dreams on a Shoestring Website
~About Judith Waite Allee~
My hats include:
- Speaker, workshop presenter, and family mediator
- Homeschool parent from 1984 to 1999, except for two years my daughter decided to attend high school.
- One-on-one telephone consultant to homeschool parents, or those considering homeschooling. Click here for details.
- Adoptive and foster mother of special needs' kids (now grown).
- Co-owner of Allee Photography (reunions, conferences and events nationwide)
- Parent Education Coordinator with the Mental Health Association--facilitate support groups and present workshops on "Parenting without Losing Your Cool," "Parenting an Angry Teenager," and other workshops for parents under stress.
- Toastmaster (past-president of club 511)
Bio
Here's a little background on me and my family. My husband, John, and I started homeschooling in 1984 to help our then-12-year-old foster child, who has learning disabilities. We thought homeschooling was a pretty drastic solution but were willing to try about anything. By the time our younger child was "school-age," we were sold on homeschooling. She homeschooled until age 16, went to school for two years of high school, then homeschooled for her senior year. She's now a college student.
I juggle my enterprises: writing, speaking, photography, family mediation, and my position as Parent Support Coordinator for the Mental Health Association.
Allee Photography is a family enterprise. My husband, John, is a professional photographer and I assist with portrait design, marketing, and caddying camera equipment. We travel with our daughter to conferences, reunions and other events, where we provide group photos and event photography. In our travels we have visited homeschool families in 15 states.
I struggle with memory difficulties and and a mild language processing deficit. ADD? LD? Not sure. There's a lot of ADD in my family, but I haven't been diagnosed. As I've gotten older, I've learned strategies that help me cope so I'm not too concerned right now with what my problem is called. I belong to CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder) because the strategies help, whether I have ADD or not.
I'm available for media interviews on my books, "Homeschooling on a Shoestring" (1999) and "Educational Travel on a Shoestring" (2002), both co-written with Melissa Morgan. I also offer workshops and presentations on homeschooling, educational family travel, adoption, goal-setting for couples, children's mental health, and parenting without losing your cool. Contact me if you'd like more information. Also, you might want to visit the Allee On-Line Directory of Homeschool Authors and Speakers. My listing has additional information about my workshop presentations.
Memberships and Affiliations
- President, Toastmasters International, 511 Chapter
- Volunteer for family mediation program for juvenile court
- Member, CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder
- Member, OOPS (the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling)
- Member, local computer society
- Founder, Non-Fiction Writers' Roundtable
- Founder, Success Team (goalsetting group for women)
- Past chairperson, past newsletter editor, Adopt a Child Today of Licking County
- Past Vice President of local chapter of World Clowns of America.
- Past chair of public relations, Midwestern Songwriters Workshop
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Revised 12/18/00
