The Parent IEP Lab

Do you really know what's in your child's IEP and why it's so imporant for you to be able to understand it? Tune into this episode where we talk about why it's imporant before you even start advocating to know what's in the document, and also 6 things you should be looking for when you look at your child's IEP to understand it! Register for IEP Bootcamp Join Facebook Group Shownotes

School Nurses are an important member of the IEP Team, especially if you have a child with medical needs! In this episode of The IEP Team BONUS Series, we discover some context to what they do and what their qualifications are. In this episode we cover: 1) School Nurse qualifications using Colorado's qualifications as an example 2) Nurses Aid's and their qualifications 3) 1:1 Nurses for medically...

Welcome to the extra-special 100th episode of The Parent IEP Lab Podcast! My very special guest is Jamie Spencer of Miss Jamie, OT. She is explaining the aspects of vision that aren't common knowledge that just may be impacting your child's ability to learn. We cover: 1) What is functional vision? 2) 3 Aspects of Vision (more than accuity or glasses!) 3) What professional to seek for diagnosis 4)...

Did you know that a child can be on an IEP AND ALSO have a gifted education plan? It's true! In this episode of the IEP Team BONUS Series, we go over the qualifications and what gifted educators actually do as part of your child's school team. We cover: 1) Example of state requirements to have this certification 2) What gifted educators actually do in their sessions 3) A common example of a studen...

Knowing how it's *supposed* to go enables you to know when things are a little different, and of course to ask really great questions because you have come context! In this episode we cover: 1) Steps 1-10 of the annual IEP Review process (referencing the handout -- link to get the handout is below!) 2) 3 Common deviations from the normal steps and why this happens! Download FREE IEP Process Step -...

If your child has a visual impairment or is blind, this episode explains the qualifications and job responsibilities of an Orientation & Mobility Specialist, or O&M! In this episode we cover: 1) What is Orientation & Mobility Specialist (O&M) 2) Qualifications 3) What they actually do to help your child access their education 4) Possible overlap with Teacher of Visually Impaired (TVI) Facebook Gro...

IEPs have a 3-year cycle. Which means there are different kinds of meeting for where you are in that cycle! And when you know what kind of meeting is coming up, you can be mentally prepaired for it that much better!  In this episode we discuss: 1) 5 different types of IEP meetings (initial, annual, re-evaluation, amendment, and transition) 2) When each type of meeting happens 3) Embedded opportuni...

This week's IEP Team BONUS Series has a special guest! Meet Amy Sarow, Doctor of Audiology! In this episode we discuss: 1) What audiologist do 2) The overlap and difference between Audiologists and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teachers (DHH) 3) Auditory Processing and why it's so controversial 4) Qualifications of Audiologists Download FREE IEP Process Step-By-Step Guide Join the Facebook Group Showno...

School team underestimating your child? Do you ever feel like even you are suprised with what your child can do? Today our guest is talking about "presuming competence" and why this makes so much of a difference for your child's long term future (think going for it in your vision statement!!!) In this episode we discuss: 1) What presuming competence is 2) The risks of NOT presuming competence for...

Did you know that Physical Therapists can write emergency evacuation plans into the IEP? Did you know that they also can help with adapting Physical Education? I didn't either until working in the schools alongside some amazing PT's! In this week's IEP Team BONUS Series we cover: 1) Qualifications of physical therapists 2) What PT's can do in the educational environment that you may not have known...

What happens when a school IEP team member can't come to the meeting? It's called an excusal...and although it's *supposed* to happen one way...it does happen that that you are left in the dark or suprised by an excusal! In this episode we discuss: 1. Behind the scenes information about why an excusal may happen. 2. What is supposed to happen if an excusal is necessary. 3. What often happens when...

In this IEP Team Bonus Series we are talking about occupational therapists, my own profession! It's a little bit more in depth than you likely need...but then again...OTs are one of those professions that can cover a LOT when it comes to supporting your child! In this episode we discuss: 1) What requirements an OT needs to practice in the schools 2) What an OT actually can DO for your child 3) Som...

Placement is one of the hardest things to get "right" right now. This is because while special education "isn't a place, it's a service," schools still have a framework for assigning caseloads and having some sort of order for their staff... ...and that leads to support levels where children are encouraged to fall within a certain placement. In this episode with Angelica Medrano, we discuss: 1) Wh...

Welcome to this week's IEP Team Bonus Series Episode! Today we talk about the qualifications of a school psychologist, a but about the difference between school and clinical psychologist, and what they actually DO inside the school! Facebook Group **NEW** Free Guide: IEP Process Ste-By-Step Guide (including when to share parent input!) Shownotes

Welcome to a little bit of a more casual episode that's PACKED with information and context about the special education process! Today's guest is Ashley Barlow of The Special Education Advocacy Podcast. A former special education teacher, parent to a child with Down Syndrome, and special education attourney.  In this episode we discuss: 1) Parent Rights 2) Inclusion (including a non-deffinition of...

We talk about how imporatant collaboration is...but it doesn't always work, right? In this episode, Lisa Baskin-Wright, a general education teacher first, then a parent advocate for her daughter, talks about her own experience with working with her child's IEP team using collaborative methods, what happened when that failed, and why she continues to try to return to collaboritive efforts as much a...

**LAST DAY FOR GIVEAWAY!!** I used to think Speech Language Pathologists (SLP's) just helped people to talk more clearly... ...turns out they do A LOT more than that! In this epispode we discuss: -Qualifications for SLP's (and a TINY but about SLP Assistants) -Speech Therapy scope of practice (articulation, expressive & receptive language, pragmatics, and augmentitive and alternitive communication...

Welcome to the 4th week of the IEP Team Bonus Series! Today we ae talking preschool teachers, and there are 2 different situations! 1) A district hires a preschool teacher who is a general education teacher AND an "itenerant" ECSE (early childhood special education teacher) 2) A district can hire someone who is DUAL certified and is the general education teacher AND the ECSE! In this episode we br...

We are finally talking about it! Today's episode is about 1:1 or getting a para for your child and what school team's consider when they are making this decision!   In this episode we talk about: 1) What schools look for when determining if your child has a para need. 2) How to structure your ask! 3) Why you may get pushback from the school and how to overcome this pushback. Shownotes Facebook Gro...

This week we are talking about General Education Teachers! A STRONG ally for you and your child...but also may have some similar feelings about IEP meetings as you do :) In this episode we cover: 1) Education/Qualifications 2) How they are involced in the SPED process (including the section of the IEP Meeting you do NOT want them to miss!) 3) What they actually DO for your child! Also! Here is the...

Multitiered Systems of Support (but called MANY other similar names) is a system outside of the special education system that provides targeted support to children.  But why are we talking about it on an IEP podcast??? Because... 1) You may be a parent trying to get your child an IEP but are getting pushed towards the MTSS system first (this can be good or bad!) 2) You may be seeing a need your ch...

IEP Team BONUS Series: DHH & TVI! This series is all about giving you the most basic context for what qualifications each IEP team member has and what they do so you know who you should go to on the team to advocate for what need! In this episode we discuss: -Deaf/Heard of Hearing Teachers: Their qualifications, responsibilities, and what they actualy do as a service provider -Teacher of Visually...

Episode 80: Accommodations Trial And Error Approach!   Getting your child the right accommodations can take some time. It's all about trying different accommodations and seeing which ones work and which don't work. But how do you know what accommodations are actually being implemented at school?    In this episode, we are digging into figuring out which accommodations are actually being used at sc...

[Scroll down for giveaway details!] Welcome to the FIRST EPISODE of the IEP Team Bonus Series! If you voted to continue the bonus series theme AND that you wanted this IEP Team theme thank you!  Today we are talking about special education teachers! Here is what we cover: 1) What qualifications does a SPED Teacher have (education, licencing, etc) 2) They can be case managers AND direct service pro...

Episode 78: What is an Educational Therapist? with Wendy Taylor   Are you looking for a way to get your child more support outside of the school setting but aren't sure who can help? Wendy Taylor of Learning Essentials is sharing all about educational therapists today.    She is giving us all the details on what an educational therapist is, what they do and the services they provide, and when it m...