The Collaborative IEP

The first step to effective advocacy is organization. You have to know a child - both objectively and subjectively- in order to develop a good plan for him or her. Parents are usually experts on subjective information - how they feel about a child's diagnosis and the impact of the diagnosis on learning, how a child is doing in school, generally speaking. However, when parents share those feelings,...

Parents often consult with me for ideas on how their child’s school can be more inclusive.  I’ve come up with a list of ideas by thinking on the spot, having great discussions with other parents and IEP teams, and doing lots and lots of reading.  In today’s episode I talk about three strategies I recommend for schools that want to be more inclusive.  I’ll give you the strategy AND t...

I’m using my Oprah voice.  Please welcome HEATHER AVIS!  That’s right, Heather Avis of the Lucky Few joins me in this week’s episode.  Heather is an author, blogger, narrative shifter, and shouter of worth. In the episode, Heather talks about how The Lucky Few community began, the importance of having such a big community, and the impact that the community is making.  She has s...

Nobody expects IEP meetings to go sideways; yet, discussions over get rhetorical and unproductive.  In today’s episode I am sharing three super practical, easy steps that will help you get discussions back on the right track.  I take a lot of continuing education classes on negotiation strategy, and I read about the topic a lot.  Therefore, I know formal negotiation strategy in and...

The  United States Department of Education gives us several gifts every year.  The come by way of Dear Colleague Letters and Guidance Documents.  In this episode, I’m going over a Dear Colleague Letter written back in 2011 that is super helpful in inclusion/ LRE discussions with IEP teams.  The letter, “Dear Autin,” gives us two really helpful quotes about educational placement...

Ray Nelson Advocacy and IEP Coaching Bio I approach advocacy and IEP coaching a little differently. Part of that is my background, which is in sales and finance. I come from a work culture designed to solve problems rather than minimize them. That means I focus more on the child and less on the conflict, which increases my success rate with schools and IEP teams. By keeping focus on the child, man...

A Manifestation Determination Review is a nice safeguard in special education.  IDEA and state laws require IEP teams to meet when a child with a known or suspected disability faces a cumulative of ten days of suspension in a school year.  That meeting is the MDR.  There are three things I always try to bring to an MDR, and I walk you through them in today’s podcast episode.  W...

We met on the podcast back in September to talk about how to start off the school year with success.  Why does it feel like that was five years ago?!!  Anyway, today I’m talking School Year Wrap Up over on the podcast.  I’ll walk you through a few easy steps you have take to ensure that you’re ready for Summer Fun and a smooth transition back into the 2021-2022 school year come Augu...

If your child is disorganized, has a hard time regulating emotions, doesn’t self-start, and can’t ride the wave of life’s ups and downs, you may want to consider an evaluation for Executive Functioning Disorder.  In today’s podcast episode we’re talking about some executive functions and signs/ symptoms that you can identify in your own child.  EF is often overlooked or glossed over as b...

Special education advocacy, while often stressful and complicated, is really akin to so many experiences in other areas of life.  Somehow, though, because IEP team members, including parents, often feel overwhelmed by the content, and – frankly- because we’re all there to advocate for a child that has a disability, emotions run high at meetings, and the adults often feel overwhelmed.  We...

Now that we’re seeing light at the end of the COVID tunnel, I thought you may be ready for an updated podcast episode on special education during the pandemic.  Today’s episode brings strategies you can use to effect change in your child’s special education – both now and for next school year – in light of all of the oddities the pandemic has brought on.     I’ll share six strategie...

“How can a heart understand the pain of another heart and still do nothing?” -Harshada Pathare. I’m constantly asked by parents, “Why can’t they just do what the law says?”  My response is often, “Well, they should do what the law says, but if they do it because they’re told, it won’t be done well.  The real magic happens when they follow the law, because they care.”  Today’s episod...

Evaluation reports can drive parents in special education absolutely crazy! I was talking to a friend last week, and she said that she was tempted to not even read the evaluation report! I totally empathize with parents that expressed the sentiment; however, the evaluation should be a building block for so many things in special education. In today’s episode I try to walk you through a few steps t...

The Grand Finale---  Join me today for PART THREE of our big dyslexia podcast.  Daphne Corder, our big dyslexia guru, finishes up this three-part series with the big question.  How Do We Know If They’re Doing It Right?  Daphne takes us through common dyslexia interventions and how they should be implemented.  You’re not going to want to miss this episode!  

Soooo many of you reached out with compliments on last week’s podcast with Daphne Corder.  Good news…  she’s back!  In Part Two of our podcast, Daphne and I discuss conditions that often occur simultaneously with dyslexia.  Daphne walks us through each condition, providing definitions, examples, and then the most helpful thing- what to do!  Daphne’s insight on helping chil...

Daphne Corder prepared an incredible, thorough presentation for my January Conference on Dyslexia called How Do You Know If They’re Doing the Right Thing? It was over an hour and so, so intensive.  The only problem: we couldn’t get the audio to play!  We tried a few things after the conference to no avail, so we chose the next best thing… a podcast!  This baby may be a three-parter....

I learned a lot about myself when Jack was a baby.  One of the most obvious things I learned is that I’m a “why” person.  I want to know the reason for stuff.  I want to know the “why.”  We worked on coming to midline, deliberately reaching away from midline, and crossing midline.  Sure, I would have done it, because the therapists said to, but I really needed to know why....

You’ve probably heard me talk about All About Me Books, and you may be wondering what goes in this kind of document.  In today’s podcast episode, I walk you through All About Me Books (let’s just call them AAMBs) – why to draft them, what kind of information to include, how to format them, and how to use them in your advocacy.     I like to start an AAMB with a good description of t...

You’re getting the inside scoop on today’s podcast!  Tales from the trenches.  I sat down and thought about three common mistakes that people make in IEP meetings and am serving them up – with recommendations for doing better – for you today!   The mistakes: Agreeing to decisions without the knowledge to back it up, not knowing the people on the team, and not reading “the stuff.”&nb...

In today's episode we talk about the thing everybody fears: conflict. We don't only talk about it, but I actually encourage conflict. Keep reading. It gets better. You see, I always say that conflict yields effective change. I believe in constructive discord , allowing everyone to be heard, accountability for all team members, and interest-based negotiation.  Sound better than conflict? Yes!...

Meet Chrissy Baily, mom extraordinaire and graceful advocate for her adorable children, Juni and Johnnie.  Chrissy had talked with representatives at her local Down syndrome organization and her state’s disability rights staff but was still putting out fires advocating for her two children.  Then, her Down syndrome organization gave her a scholarship to my Special Education & Advocac...

My divorce clients sometimes say, “I’m sorry, Ashley, but you don’t understand,” often while pushing back on some optimistic or uber-reasonable advice I’ve given.  My patent response is, “You’re right.  I’m not divorced, so I don’t understand your experience, but I’ve had a lot of experiences that have given me perspective.  I have four broken vertebrae in my back and live in chroni...

Join me on today’s podcast episode as I chat with my good friend, Diana Abril, special education attorney and parent.  Diana and I not only talk about the importance of parent advocacy but also about steps that she’s taken to get started on her journey as a parent.  She offers lots of tips on where to get started in a parent advocacy journey, what skills to develop (and where to find tra...

Do you ever wonder how the experts do it?  What if  a poli-sci major that worked as a journalist and knew how to get the bottom of things got a Masters degree in education and then had a child with Down syndrome?  How would SHE advocate for inclusion?  Friends, meet Courtney Hansen, Rockstar Inclusion Advocate!   Courtney joins me in this week’s episode to talk all things...

We met on the podcast at the beginning of the semester – what was that eight years ago?- to discuss Preparing for the First Semester.  It felt like a more important semester but not the beast that it actually became!  It seemed natural therefore to give you some suggestions for this important second semester.  This week’s podcast is called “Three Tips for Preparing for Second Semest...