My Own Two Hands, LLC was started in New Jersey by Lynda Goetz.

 

Lynda began her career in 1988 as a Teacher of the Deaf/hard of hearing following

graduation from The College of New Jersey with a Degree in Education of the Deaf.

 

Lynda's first teaching job was in Bergen County, NJ.  She was a classroom math teacher

in an academic Deaf middle/high school program of approximately 60 students.  There,

Lynda taught math for several years before deciding to apply to Texas Tech University's

Graduate Program in Dual Sensory Impairments (deaf-blind education).  Lynda spent

two years in Lubbock, TX at TTU and earned her Master of Education Degree in Special

Education/Dual Sensory Impairments.  While working full-time toward her Graduate

Degree, Lynda also completed the requirements for theTeacher of the Visually Impaired/Blind

Program and the Orientation and Mobility Specialist Program. After graduation, Lynda

accepted a job with Perkins School for the Blind and the New England Center for Deaf-blind

Services in Massachusetts.  

 

Soon, Lynda's desire to become self-employed grew.  Since leaving Massachusetts and returning to New Jersey, Lynda built a private consulting business focusing on serving Deaf, blind, and deaf-blind students in NJ, NY, DE, PA, and VA.  Lynda has been hired by school districts, state agencies, and parents to plan programs, develop IEPs/IFSPs, train staff, and provide direct service.  Her students have encompassed all ages--including babies in early intervention, school age children and young adults, adults in the workplace, and retirees who are themselves grandparents.

 

In 2000 and 2001, Lynda followed her desire to help deaf-blind children in India.  She was contacted by a worker at one of Mother Teresa's orphanages in Calcutta, asking her to help them with their children who were Deaf, blind and deaf-blind.  The workers there did their best to serve this special population, but simply did not have the training or skills to provide education for these children.  Lynda immediately knew she would go, and ended up spending two summers working in many different orphanages in Calcutta and Mumbai assessing children, meeting with doctors, developing educational programs, and training orphanage staff to carry out the newly developed programs.  Lynda is hoping to return to India to work with their next generation of deaf-blind children.  

 

In 2010, Lynda was contacted by the Dr. Phil show and asked to dedicate one year to working with "the world's only known deaf-blind triplets" in Houston, TX.  She sadly left her NJ students in June of 2010.   When she returned from TX in 2011, she began focusing again on the children in need in the northeast.  She is currently back in action in NJ and working with families and school districts in the region.  

 

The focus of her work is to develop appropriate IEPs and programs, to provide consultation and training to school staff and parents, and direct service to her students in order that they may have fulfilling, productive adult lives...by learning their purpose.