Margaret Fairbanks
Cofounder, Chief Education Officer
Margaret has been a special education teacher for the past 10+ years after earning her Masters in Special Education from The University of Minnesota. Her life as a special educator truly began when her son Harry was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of 3. Though “new” to the world of autism, she quickly learned that she needed to really listen to her son, even when he didn’t have words, and think outside the box. Using his area of interest (trains) and meeting him where he was at, Harry eventually learned the basics of reading and writing. But more than that, she learned that his path did not always align with what the schools or the experts told her he should be doing and she tired of hearing all the things he was probably never going to be able to do. She also knew that those “experts” didn’t always see his gifts, they saw the disability but not always the capability.
In her current role, Margaret juggles many different tasks, from the IOB finances to working with the IOB Education team, to helping local schools as an autism consultant, writing blog posts, and working with families to navigate life as a member of the autistic community. But the most important thing she does is to help families find hope and a sense of what a happy tomorrow can look like.