About Martinez Advocacy
Monica Martinez founded Martinez Advocacy to help families navigate the process of obtaining and maintaining educational accommodations and special education services for their children in Montgomery County, Maryland. Monica knows from lived experience how challenging securing these services and accommodations for your child can be – she began her journey by advocating for her autistic son.
Monica lives in Montgomery County, MD, with her husband and neurodivergent twin sons. You can often find her out on the cycling trails training for the xMinds annual Bike to the Beach fundraiser.
Click on an item below to learn more about Monica’s experience and qualifications:
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Monica is a credentialed advocate. She completed specialized training in Special Education Advocacy through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). Monica completed a year of intensive specialized training through the advanced Special Education Advocate Training (SEAT 2.0). As the capstone of the SEAT 2.0 program, Monica completed her advocacy internship under the supervision of Suzanne Keith Blattner, Ed.S. Subsequently, Monica joined Ms. Blattner’s advocacy practice in 2019.
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Before establishing Martinez Advocacy, Monica devoted over seven years to leadership roles at the Partnership for Extraordinary Minds (xMinds). xMinds is a Montgomery County-based autism advocacy nonprofit, which seeks to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of autistic students. Monica served as the first Executive Director of xMinds starting in 2018. In her leadership roles at xMinds, Monica provided special education guidance to parents on a regular basis. Parents came to her for professional advice and a sense of validation from someone with the lived experience to “get it.”
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While working with Suzie Blattner, Monica developed expertise in all aspects related to obtaining Section 504 Plans and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with a wide variety of disabilities. Monica has guided clients through all stages of the special education process – from eligibility determination to referrals, non-public placements, resolution of mediation, and State Complaints.
Monica continues to serve the wider autism community through her role as a consultant to the xMinds Volunteer Advocacy Team, as a member of the Board of Directors for DCPeers, and as a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee for Montgomery County Public Libraries. Monica is also a member of WISER-DC.
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Monica graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University with B.S. degrees in Linguistics and Russian Language. Monica earned an M.A. from Columbia University and a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland.
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Monica is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). COPAA is a national nonprofit whose mission is to “protect and enforce the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families.”
Monica shares COPAA’s core values:
Every child can learn.
Education is an important catalyst for future success and economic security.
Children with disabilities are entitled to individualized services, support and specialized instruction needed to learn, make meaningful progress, and thrive in school.
The least restrictive environment is the general education classroom and every student should be placed there to the maximum extent appropriate.
Federal, state, and local school districts must take seriously their obligation to provide an equitable opportunity for learning and to enforce civil and educational laws governing programs.
What to Expect
As both a professional and the mother of a Twice Exceptional autistic child, Monica Martinez knows firsthand the importance of focusing on strengths and potential, not just support needs. Learn more about what to expect below:
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“Data is at the core of strong advocacy.”
We believe that relying on data is at the core of strong advocacy. That may mean data from test scores, professional observations, therapist treatment summaries, and educational records. Monica bases her recommendations on data derived from independent, third-party sources, whenever possible. She believes in the importance of using multiple sources of objective data to create unbiased recommendations for her clients. As an active member of the DC Metro area special needs parent community, Monica is well-connected with the best service providers in the area.
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“All students have the ability to think, learn, and understand.”
In the absence of reliable or objective data, however, Martinez Advocacy presumes competence in all of our clients. By presuming competence, we assume that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, all students have the ability to think, learn, and understand.
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“All students have inherent strengths and challenges.”
The term “neurodiversity affirming” refers to the belief that differences in brain functioning and neurological wiring (often associated with autism, ADHD, and other learning disabilities) reflect normal variation within the human population.
Monica strives to implement neurodiversity-affirming practices through ongoing training from experts in the field. Past trainings include:
“Fostering Communication Autonomy”
Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE) Summit 2023, New York University’s Steinhardt School, May 2023.NestCon 2020
Hosted by the ASD NEST Support Project at New York University’s Steinhardt School, February 2020.College of William and Mary Neurodiversity Course
Presented by faculty members and author John Elder Robison in Washington, D.C., May 2016.