Colleen Mannion

I am originally from Billings Montana. I went to school in Seattle Washington and did a student teaching in Limerick Ireland as well as in Kirkland Washington.  I earned my Bachelors of Education in 1985 with Certification in Special Education. I have taught Special Education ever since. 40 years working with parents and colleagues and the most amazing students.  I taught in Montana, Washington, California and Ireland. A life time of experiences and learning. I have countless amounts of hours and years in courses in Special Education . I worked on a Masters in Special Education during my time in California and Montana . In 2012 we gathered the family and moved to Roscommon Ireland . My husband is Irish. I had the honour of teaching in special schools in Ireland. I was in Longford, then went up to Sligo for 7 years and back to Longford where I concluded 40 years of teaching. I took Soma Mukhopadhyay's course from Halo on RPM(Rapid Prompting Method) to use with my students in the Autism class in Longford. I completed the initial training in March of 2022. I worked closely with Alex Hopwood from TEFA Connect Through Spelling (RPM adapted for UK and Ireland) for 2 years and then travelled back and forth to the UK to complete Alex's level 1 training. Alex continues to mentor and support us in Ireland. In March of 2025, I completed yet another level of training in RPM (Level 2) with Jackie Dorsett (Level 4 RPM ) I attended the RPM conference in Austin Texas in March of 2025. I am an advocate of continuous learning for all. My biggest learning curve has been since opening my own All Ability Learning and working with the most amazing individuals. They continually challenge, amaze and astound me with their determination, stamina and ability to overcome and achieve all they want. Even as an early, young teacher I knew that my students that were nonverbal only needed a way to communicate and tell us. I can't begin to tell you how many hours and workshops I attended in hope of gaining a way in. When I found RPM I knew it was special. It isn't fancy, I don't need huge electronics, or fancy software. I need a letterboard and a good sense of rhythm. My class began to light up, they were interactive, began to answer yes and no questions, make choices and then they began to spell. What an incredible journey. The next chapter of my story is being written as you read. Such an epic adventure. Come join me on this journey. It promises to be worth it.

We have a new addition to the team: Caolinn Bruen.

Caolinn is a skilled provider that works incredibly hard and is passionate about giving the students the best to improve skills, communication and learning. She is a true asset to the team and to the students.