Deborah French M.Sc.

Deborah French, M.Sc., is a Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapist and founder of an established private practice, Small Steps; Big Changes. Deborah teaches women, teens, and children tools to manage and reduce all types of anxieties as well as behavioral and communication challenges affecting family dynamics. As a mother of five children, two with special needs, one of whom has ASD while the other is non-verbal with Down’s syndrome, Deborah has accumulated two decades of hands-on experience encompassing both the emotional and psychological aspects of raising children with special needs.

Deborah regularly lectures on all things parenting, is the author of two books on special needs, and has been published in Autism Parenting Magazine and the NHS. Deborah is also the founder of the nationally award-winning program Mazal L’chaim in Israel and was listed as one of Israel’s 70 most influential women in 2018. Through this program, Deborah has taught over 1,300 students about how to break down social barriers that exist between neurotypical and neurodiverse children, helping to pave the way for acceptance and, ultimately, inclusion.

More recently, Deborah has combined her personal life experience with her academic advancements to develop innovative strategies and techniques to support the development of neurodiverse children as she currently works towards her doctorate, researching a new hybrid treatment for children and young adults on the autistic spectrum.