Meet the Owners of Connections Early Intervention and Supports: Liz and Rande
Liz Jones
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Liz Jones is co-owner and executive director of Connections- Early Intervention and Supports. She graduated from Towson University with her master's degree in occupational therapy and has over 15 years of industry experience.
Liz has extensive background and experience working with children with sensory processing and feeding difficulties. She is certified in the SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding and has obtained a post professional certification in Sensory Integration through the University of Southern California Her passion is working with families and children with autism and related disorders. Liz’s approach in therapy is family centered and neurodivergent affirming.
Additionally, Liz enjoys sharing her expertise and has provided speaking engagements for York and Adams county public library systems, WellSpan parent groups, Elizabethtown College, Dallastown High School, and other local businesses to educate community members about Autism and Sensory Processing difficulties. She is an adjunct faculty member at Elizabethtown College and enjoys mentoring new graduates in feeding and pediatric occupational therapy practice.
Rande Fregm
Pediatric Development Specialist
Rande Fregm is co-owner and Executive Director of Connections- Early Intervention and Supports. She is an Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate who serves as a Developmental/Behavior Special Instructor in Early Intervention. She has experience serving children with speech and language delays, behavior challenges, Autism, and various developmental delays.
Rande has 15+ years of experience in early intervention, relationship-based behavior interventions, mental health, and high-risk family matters. She provides parent coaching and education opportunities on challenging childhood behaviors with effective strategies for family and education setting implementation. Rande has extensive training in the Foundations of Infant Mental Health and uses these social-emotional practices across her work with children and families.
Rande is an active member of the York/Adams Rapid Response Team; a county initiative to team with daycare centers to reduce expulsions and suspensions. She consults with various childcare centers and community partners to offer education opportunities to provide staff development and guidance on effective behavior approaches within programs.
TESTIMONIALS
“Liz is absolutely AMAZING, and I knew it from the MOMENT she came to our house to meet our son Caleb for the first time. Caleb's autism diagnosis was still very new at the time, and we had just added Occupational Therapy to his Early Intervention. I had no idea what to expect, and when we met Liz that day, Caleb connected with her right away (which was HUGE!)!! She made everything SO fun for him, and seeing him light up with excitement and genuine happiness made me tear up with joy, and it's a day I will never forget ❤I remember looking over at my husband with THE BIGGEST SMILE, and he just knew how happy I was. Caleb is a big guy for his age, which has limited others from being super active with him - but not Liz.
Within the first 5 minutes of meeting her, she was picking Caleb up, giving him squeezes, making obstacle courses with him, lifting him, jumping with him - and he was having the best time of his life. Every session since has been nothing short of Amazing. I can't tell you how much I looked forward to our OT sessions, and how much Caleb loved his time with her. Liz is so creative in her therapy and always finding new ways to help her kiddos in every way they need. In addition to her amazing expertise in Occupational Therapy, she is a such a genuine person & and wonderful friend. We are SO glad to have met Liz, and she helped our son, and MANY others, in so many wonderful ways. ❤ ”
- Erica L.
“My daughter began Early Intervention Services when she was 18 months old. When Rande walked in my house on that first day, I knew that Charlotte would be in good hands. Rande had a way of connecting with Charlotte that I have never quite seen before. As we continued getting to know her, it became clear that Rande’s services went above and beyond Charlotte’s service hours. She became Charlotte’s advocate. She taught daycare staff how to best work with Charlotte and helped me find a great OT that would work well with Charlotte’s sensory needs. When I pushed to have Charlotte evaluated for autism, Rande went with me to the evaluation. She was there when the diagnosis was made official and sat down with me to determine next steps. Through her amazing efforts and guidance, Charlotte was placed in two amazing schools and Rande gave me the strength and the hope that I needed to be able to handle all of it, all before Charlotte turned three. When Charlotte aged out of Early Intervention, Rande and I stayed close friends. Nearly three years late, she continues to help me make sure that I always have someone available to help me make the right decisions when it comes to my daughter. To say that Rande is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to working with young children and parents struggling to navigate their way through the world of Early Intervention is an understatement. Rande’s passion for helping children and families shines through in everything that she does.
I am so excited and hopeful for the future of the children and families in this area now that Rande is beginning on this journey to start this company.”
- Gretchen S.