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Special Discoveries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

100% of donations go directly toward programs to benefit children with special education needs.

Your donation is tax deductible!

About Us

specialdiscoveries3 Founded in 2003 in Chapel Hill North Carolina, Special Discoveries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit school dedicated to improving life experiences for individuals with special education needs. Special Discoveries has hosted a variety of programs, specializing in academic enrichment and social skill building activities.

Special Discoveries is pleased to announce relocation to the state of Washington in 2010. Focusing on teach-the-teacher programs to (1) help include individuals with high functioning autism and (2) to improve adult outcomes, Special Discoveries will now include publishing and teacher education programs.

***100% of all donations go directly to our programs***

Accomplishments

2010

ATIA Orlando Presented "Including Kids with Autism Using Everyday Technology"

2008

Scholarship granted to the Learning Center in Hillsborough, NC to support special education for summer programs
Donation to Wake County Public Schools, Cary North Carolina to support special education teaching supplies

Founder

Inga Smith is Founder and Executive Director of Special Discoveries. She is a business leader and a mom of two children with autism. Inspired by her children's unique learning abilities, she has leveraged Assistive Technology to enable her children's success in the classroom, at home, and in the community. She founded Special Discoveries as a way to augment programs needed to support children with autism and related disorders in Chapel Hill. She has presented at many professional organizations including the Assistive Technology Resource Center in North Carolina, ATIA (Assistive Technology Industry Association), and UNC-TEACCH Chapel Hill. She has supported the TEACCH program and its structured and visually-supportive teaching methodology by presenting on the NBC Today Show Series, "Autism: The Hidden Epidemic? and the NY Times: "Autism Therapies Still a Mystery, But Parents Take a Leap of Faith". She is a published author of a variety of teaching tools and schools across the U.S. are actively using these tools in their classrooms.

As a Ph.D. Candidate in Exceptional Student Education, she is researching ways to improve occupational outcomes for individuals with high-functioning autism. Ms. Smith holds a B.S. in Math Education and has extended her Masters in Business Administration degree with Duke University's Certificate in Nonprofit Management.

Web Architect

Diana Woodhouse is Web Architect for Special Discoveries. She has a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She is Web Manager and Developer for Information Technology in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She enjoys leveraging open source solutions, not only in technology, but for information sharing in general. As a mother of a child who is high functioning, she is committed to help raise awareness, to promote knowledge, and to finding common ground for children with special needs.