Our Founder
Mr. Marques is a high school Reading Intervention teacher and Special Education Coordinator in Newark, New Jersey, where he has spent his career supporting students with diverse learning needs.
As a department chair and instructional coach, Mr. Marques designs and facilitates professional development for special education teachers, with a focus on practical, research-backed strategies like increased opportunities to respond and modified discourse cycles. His writing on inclusive instruction has appeared in Edutopia.
Mr. Marques started Sped Friendly with a simple belief: quality special education resources should be within everyone’s reach.
Our Mission
Democratize Access to Quality Special Education Training and Resources
Every student deserves instruction that meets them where they are. But too often, the knowledge and training needed to make that happen is locked behind expensive professional development contracts, dense academic jargon, or systems that leave parents and support staff out of the conversation entirely.
Sped Friendly was built to change that.
Our mission is to democratize access to quality special education training and resources. We believe that the strategies proven to work for students with disabilities — differentiated instruction, meaningful accommodations, structured opportunities to respond — shouldn’t be specialized knowledge held by a select few. They should be in the hands of every teacher planning a lesson, every parent sitting down at an IEP meeting, and every paraprofessional, counselor, and administrator who touches a student’s day.
That’s why we serve the whole team around the student. For teachers, we translate research-backed practices into tools you can actually use on Monday morning — no fluff, no theory without application. For parents, we break down the systems, terminology, and rights that shape your child’s education, so you can advocate with confidence. For school staff, we provide the shared language and practical training that turns a building full of individuals into a coordinated support system.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple conviction: differentiated instruction isn’t an add-on or an accommodation checklist. It’s just good teaching. When educators are equipped to design instruction that flexes to meet diverse needs, every student benefits — not only those with IEPs, but every learner in the room.
Sped Friendly is grounded in real classroom experience, not just theory. Our resources are created by educators who have lived the daily realities of special education: the caseloads, the compliance deadlines, the meetings, and above all, the students whose growth makes it all worth it.
Quality special education shouldn’t depend on your zip code, your school’s budget, or who you happen to know. It should be friendly, accessible, and within reach for everyone committed to helping all students thrive.
That’s the promise behind our name. That’s Sped Friendly.
Sp.Ed. Friendly 