But really what led me to buy this green bowl, was when the nice owner of Tibetan Arts and Healing in Salem, MA offered my friend to step into a 19inch+ singing bowl while he played it...and as I watched from behind, I saw my friends body loosen, and he was quite, and didn't move for as long as the bowl resonated.

It's fair to say, this experience, my foundation as a special educator, and my own personal journey of healing and growth led me here.

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The longer version:

Ashley is an educator, is diagnosed with ADHD, and the author and creator of Overjoyed! a planner and attendance tracker for Special Education teachers that supports teacher self-care, and safety in schools. Ashley holds a master’s in special education and general education for children 14–21-year-old, and an advanced certificate in School Based and District Leadership. Her specialties include Arts Education, Social-Emotional Learning, Transition Skills, Curriculum Writing, Creative Arts, Family Engagement & Advocacy for Individuals with Disabilities.
For the last 20 years Ashley has spent time working various jobs that support children and and adults with severe disabilities. From a young age she believed that it was best not to assume the needs of these individuals and put herself in the position to listen to them and how their needs change throughout their life. She has worked in settings like residential homes, museums, camps, and co-integrated and self-contained classrooms, most recently the teacher of a 12:1:1 classroom of children where each child has a different education plan.
Ashley began integrating sound into her classroom in 2016 after she saw the calming effects standing in a 20-inch bowl had on her friend with severe ADHD. For the first time in their friendship, she saw him stand still and quite for the duration of the sound experience. The way he spoke about how he felt was enough to get Ashley to buy a bowl for her classroom, after all she had a student whose was being impacted socially, and emotionally from ADHD and she was willing to provide any access for relief to him and his peers. Fast forward to this child’s IEP meeting, and he asked me if he could go to our classroom, so he can get the green bowl that makes his brain calm so he can show his mom.
Kathryn Lasky is quoted saying “a spark can become a flame, a flame a fire”. And it was in those moments with her friend in a tiny shop in Salem MA and with her students in an at-risk city school that Ashley’s flame became a fire that she truly understood Kathryn’s Lasky’s quote. It was then that Ashley began her journey educating herself on how to utilize sound and its vibrations to positively impact the lives of those with disabilities.