Christy LaPaglia has been working in the field of special education as a teacher, consultant and an autism awareness educator for over 20 years.  Christy began her career by being hired to be the teacher in the first classroom in a public school in Northeast Ohio designed specifically for children with autism. Most recently she was charged with the design and development of the first public school designed to meet the needs of students on the autism spectrum. She is currently the director of the Cardinal Autism Resource and Education School in Mentor Ohio.

Over the years, Christy has developed a quality and highly respected program for students with autism. Since then she has been asked by surrounding districts to help recreate similar programs in their own districts. Christy has been trained in many methodologies of educating students with autism including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Greenspan’s DIR model, Carol Gray's Social Stories, but her primary focus has been on the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) methodology. Christy has twice been awarded the Franklin B. Walter Award for outstanding achievement in special education.

Christy has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Kent State University and a Masters in Curriculum and Design from Cleveland State University. Christy holds a permanent teaching certificate moderate/intense K-12 and an administration license K-12.