E147: Is My Child's IEP/504 Working? Webinar Replay!
The #1 thing I help parent advocates do is to focus in on WHAT their advocacy should be focused on. SO!
The #1 thing I help parent advocates do is to focus in on WHAT their advocacy should be focused on.
SO! It’s not suprising that we have to back up and ask ourselves some questions about the plan in place, and how it’s working and how it isn’t!
This is the recording of the free webinar we held last week to help parents answer 3 questions to determine if their child’s IEP/504/other learning plan was effective, and YOU can listen to it today!
E147 Is My Child’s IEP/504 Working? Recording
Samson Q2U Microphone-1: [00:00:00] Well, hey there, this is Beth Liesenfeld with the IEP Lab, and I want to welcome you to the Parent IEP Lab podcast today. Today is a little bit different because if you haven’t been listening lately, or maybe you just found me, we just had a free webinar that happened this past week entitled, is your IEP or 504 working for your child?
And so we had three main questions that we went through as a group together to see if your child’s plan is actually working so that you can focus your advocacy and know what your next step is to get them supported in school. Now today if you weren’t able to make it to the webinar for whatever reason, I have a special treat because the audio is our podcast today. So you get to listen to the webinar. Now I do want to let you know though, that I had to cut out some of the Q& A.
We had amazing questions throughout the whole entire webinar. But I was really trying to make this podcast as close to an hour as possible. So I had to cut out a chunk of Q& A in the middle of the [00:01:00] session, and also some at the end too. So just know when it sounds kind of weird or maybe there’s not a great transition in there that that is why I had to cut some of it out because it went long because we had a lot of participation.
It was more like a workshop, which was amazing. And then just a heads up
the latter part of this podcast is actually talking about the Parent Advocacy Club, thank you so much if you joined. It’s going to be so fun. We have a very healthy group inside the membership and if you’re considering it, just know that you have until Thursday. So just two days to join before I do have to close the doors because I’m actually switching platforms. Normally I will leave the Parent Advocacy Club enrollment open because I don’t ever want a parent to come and find me and then not be able to access the club, but I do need to shut it down for a while so that I can get everything switched over to our new platform.
So, please, please, please, if you’re considering it at all, jump into the club and we will see you in there.
Okay, without further ado, let’s get into breaking down if your child’s IEP or 504 is working, and let me know if you have any questions by [00:02:00] hopping into the Facebook group. The link to that free Facebook group is underneath this podcast and your podcast player as well.
So, I hope you enjoy it. We’ll talk to you soon.
Samson Q2U Microphone: You are listening in the Parent IEP Lab, the podcast that helps you become an informed parent advocate to get your child supported and learning in school. I’m Beth Leisenfeld, occupational therapist passionate about leveling the school support information playing field for parent advocates using my experience in over 400 meetings.
My mission of the Parent IEP Lab podcast and also the online courses, workshops, membership, and summit of the IEP Lab is to Is to provide insider knowledge of the school system so that you can formulate informed, thoughtful questions to fuel collaboration and see your advocacy actually get your child supported in school.
So let’s dive into the topic today and think about what we can change and tweak to get the right formula for success for your child to learn and grow in school. Welcome to the lab.
Beth: Good morning, everybody. I am so excited to have you guys here. Welcome in. I’m Beth [00:03:00] Liesenfeld, occupational therapist and owner, founder of the IEP Lab. And today we are taking a topic that was actually a question asked in my last free webinar about how can you tell if a child’s IEP or 504 is working or not.
And that is. The topic for today. So, um, it’s also the theme this month inside our parent advocacy club. We’re going to talk about that in a little bit. Um, but first we’re going to really dive into three questions that will kind of help center you and understand if that learning plan, no matter what it is, IEP 504, whatever is working or not.
This is the perfect time of the year to get into it. So I’m so excited to be here with you all. So a little bit of housekeeping things and introductions first, um, before we get into those three questions. So if you’re new to me, my name is Beth Liesenfeld. Um, originally I was a therapeutic courseback writing instructor, and then that’s how I found [00:04:00] occupational therapy.
And occupational therapy is taking somebody’s role. Or their life as far as occupations, what they want to do and need to do and breaking down barriers to them wanting to access it. So, you know, when we start out and we look at child concerns, we’re looking at, especially in the educational realm, do they have access to be able to participate in their evaluation or in their education?
Sorry. Um, and so when I started this business, I started Uh, out in outpatient therapy. So really parent involved. And then when I became a school therapist is when I said, Oh my gosh, like a, this system is super confusing. B it’s not parent friendly at all. And it really is confusing. Nobody has time to break it down for parents and make sure that you guys are really incorporated into the team.
So I really felt like I wanted to pull parents aside and say, Hey, like. Ask this way or Hey, this just got granted to somebody [00:05:00] else because of this way that they presented it. And so that’s where the parent IEP lab podcast started, uh, about two, two and a half years ago. And now I help people through the podcast and we have a summit every year.
This is going to be in February this year. Uh, my signature course is the ultimate parent IEP prep course, which helps parents prepare for their IEP or 504 meetings. Um, we just recently had some people who didn’t have a plan yet go through that. Um, that prep course and it was really helpful. I was blown away by the results they got from that.
And then the Parent Advocacy Club, which we are going to talk about a little bit later after we get through the topic for today. So, you know, I, there are other IEP and 504 people out there that are out there to help you advocate. If I would say what my superpower is, it would be how to read a room and how to work with people’s concerns and solve problems between teams and create those win win solutions.
Um, the most often thing that I get [00:06:00] asked that I really love and see a lot of results from the people that I coach with is. How do I write this email with a, um, really knowledgeable event? Like I know what I’m talking about. Ask those poignant questions, but still be collaborative with the team because I’ve seen that be effective more than any other approach to advocacy.
And that’s my sweet spot. That’s what I love to talk about. So a little fun pictures over here. Me with my podcast microphone, which isn’t working today. And, um, this is my, my son who is now three. His name is Gabe. In Wyoming, because we love Wyoming. Um, you know, I retired a horse from the therapeutic riding place and I had her for a year until it was the end of her life.
It was a very special year, only horse I’ve ever owned in my life. Um, and then I worked as a wilderness outdoor trip leader, so. I was, uh, 23 years old at the time, so long time ago, like 15 years ago, um, and it was super fun because we got to kind of road trip around the country and all of these kids [00:07:00] had ADHD, Asperger’s, which was what it was called at the time.
So autistic now and, um, learning disabilities. And we coached them through their high school years. We would do two weeks long of just being in Utah or being in Arizona. And so I’ve been all over the country with that. Super, super fun. Okay. So let’s talk about today. Let me kind of check the chat as I go to, um, so today, this is kind of like our map of what we’re going to cover.
So. You’ll see the big chunk, which is the three questions. We’re going to ask to see if the plan is working for your kid or not. And kind of focus in on these questions and see what you think. Um, but first we’re going to talk a little bit about background, like traditional advocacy, why that traditional advocacy doesn’t work.
There’s a big call for change in that. We’re going to talk about that. We’re going to talk about prioritizing, which is probably the number two thing that I get asked in a big chunk of the parent IEP prep courses. Is kind of honing in and saying, okay, what should we prioritize our [00:08:00] efforts on? Because you are busy.
You probably can’t do 10 different priorities for your child in one year and have it be effective. So we’re going to talk about how important that is. We’ll get into the three questions to really determine if the plan that you have going this year is working or not. And then we’ll talk about next steps if you need some support in really working through these questions and what to do next.
In order to be effective in your advocacy this year. Um, okay, so quick term review. I always feel like I have to back up a little bit because that first year I was an OT in schools, I was like, where did all of these terms come from? Like. Insane. I was like, Oh my gosh, what does this mean? And what does this mean?
But I had the advantage of being on staff and going through 80 meetings in a year and being able to figure it out and also ask all these questions throughout these meetings. So let’s just back up and talk about this a little bit. So IEP stands for individualized education program. I always learned it as individualized education [00:09:00] plan.
So you’ll hear that interchangeably. It means the same thing. This provides not only accommodations. And accommodations are the way that the environment or the learning is changed to provide your student access to the curriculum, to what they’re learning. But it also has goals so we can track progress, which we’re going to talk about today, and services.
So this is the special education teacher. This is the OTPT. Uh, school psychologist, anybody who could be on the team. The 504 is also a legal plan, but it only provides the accommodations and sometimes services. We can talk about that if you have some questions about when services can be included, but the main thing that the 504 provides Is accommodation.
So again, the way that the learning is presented differently or the environment can be changed so that your child can have access to what they’re learning. Okay, doesn’t necessarily change what they are learning, but it changes the environment of how [00:10:00] they access that learning. So hopefully That makes sense.
Let me know if you have any questions in the chat. Um, and then if you don’t have any plan at all, more and more people are finding my community and my resources that are going through that evaluation process and they don’t have anything yet, or you have a 504 and you want to know if an IEP asking for that is appropriate, or you don’t have anything and you just know they’re struggling and you don’t know what the next step is.
So that is okay. Any of this. Content in the webinar today is really going to be helpful, no matter what plan you have. So I’m really trying to open it up and make it accessible for everybody. My main people that I find, um, really need help is like, okay, we have an IEP now. What kind of things, but I’m finding that I’m helpful to everybody.
So why not help everybody? Okay, so let’s talk about traditional advocacy. So You know, when I first started the IEP lab and I started looking to see, like, what is out there for parents, like, is there anybody who’s [00:11:00] doing what I want to know? Who’s breaking down the terms? Who’s breaking down this process so it’s more accessible for parents to know what comes next?
And what I saw was a lot of professional advocates pushing for advising parents to fight people calling themselves a pitbull in the IEP lab. Um, and the IEP meetings and arguing for things. And when I looked back at my career of being in schools and being on the other side, quote unquote, of that table, I was like, Oh, that doesn’t work at all.
Like it just doesn’t because what happens is you’re forcing these people who really got. Got into this in the beginning to try to help people and they feel like they’re being pushed and forced to do something that doesn’t make sense in their head. So when we say, no, they need the service when that individual, like, let’s say occupational therapy, for example.
So, you know, the parent is like, no, they need OT. They need [00:12:00] OT for something like sensory concerns. And so we’re like, okay, so we’ll pull them for sensory concerns. But that person. Meaning the OT still has to know what they’re actually teaching and what the skills are that are actually needed in order to serve your child.
And if that’s not super clear and everybody’s just pushing for the service and you’re like, well, I have to pull them, but I don’t really know what we’re working on, you can see how that doesn’t become effective. Right? And so it’s like, okay, well I’m pulling them, but I don’t really know what I’m working on because it doesn’t make sense to that person.
So it really makes sense. To come into this advocacy as trying to collaborate with the people on the team because they’re the ones being implemented. They have to implement this team. Um, and this plan to make it effective, right? So it’s not just having the support plan on paper. It’s also. Implementing that plan, right, which is what we’re going to talk about today.
So, in my experience, when people come in and they advocate this way, [00:13:00] and they really push for certain services, or they push for a goal, um, and the school is like, well, I don’t, I don’t really know, but I also don’t want you to sue me. So they put it in the IEP It, it just becomes this like hesitant kind of service where it’s not super effective.
Okay. Um, so, and it’s like a lot of emotional energy on your part too, to even get it in the plan. And then if it’s not being implemented, you’re like, Oh my gosh, well now what do I do? Right. It’s not being implemented. What do I do? Um, so again, go in the chat. If you’re wondering if your plan is being implemented.
This is where you start. So you can let me know in the chat if you’re like, this is me. I’m not sure if it’s being implemented. That’s actually the first question. So let’s go ahead and advance this. Um, let’s first talk about what advocacy is effective and I’ve talked about this already. So really quickly over 400 IEP and 504 meetings actually more than that.
I’ve seen a middle of the road [00:14:00] approach. So I call this the Goldilocks Theory of advocacy, where you’re not super aggressive and you’re not super passive. There is a middle of the road, and the biggest barrier for that is managing emotions. I’m finding really, really hard to kind of reign in those emotions and really prioritize and focus your advocacy so that you’re effective.
So yes, we address that in the parent advocacy club. We’ll talk about that later. Um, but that language really needs to communicate a knowledge of the system. Just a little bit. You don’t have to know everything. And I still run into parents who are like, I don’t know this and I don’t know this. It’s okay.
You don’t have to know everything, but I find that parents who have a little bit of knowledge about the system can create this communication. That’s like, Hey, I’ve heard that this is supposed to happen. Or I know that this is supposed to happen. Cause I’ve looked in my parent rights or whatever that your resources.
And that’s what gets you the most attention and be like, Oh, this parent is educating themselves. Like we have to be on our a game, [00:15:00] right? But your communication also has to respect the people who implement the plan. We just talked about this, right? And your communication has to clearly communicate the issue and the reason for your request as well.
Um, so talk to me about communication if you want to in the chat. I see there’s a couple of there and I’m going to check that right now. Um, but when we talk about communication, this is like key, right? This is how you advocate is through communication and This is how you’re effective or not in your advocacy.
Yeah. So it seems like this is, this is an issue. Yeah. Not being implemented. Yeah, for sure.
Gut requesting meeting. Okay. Yeah, we’re going to get into this. So don’t worry. It’s coming. Okay. So starting with communication. This is really hard, especially with emotions involved, but I want to make sure that you know that having one or two priorities for the year is really difficult. But it is so [00:16:00] effective to be able to focus your advocacy efforts on those two things for the year.
Okay, so it makes it easier if you understand that advocacy is also year round and not just at the meeting, because you can address more than two things, um, outside of that meeting. You know, if you’re like, okay, like it’s time to, to work on this, it’s time to work on this. Um, you can do that throughout the year.
So again, this time of year is perfect to talk about if the plan is working or not, because. We’re before the holiday break. We have enough time to kind of switch things up, request a meeting like some of you are doing right now. You have plenty of time until that winter break comes, but you have enough data and enough information to say, Hmm, I’m noticing this about this year.
It’s time to really take action right now and get that support. Excuse me.
So again, it is a perfect time. To kind of know what’s happening to get a little bit of a clue and context about what [00:17:00] should be happening and then really make those priorities and focus on this year. So we’re already on step 3. So let’s dive into question 1, which is, is the plan being implemented, which I know.
Many of you are looking forward to that topic as well, right? So here’s, here’s the first big question. So is the plan being implemented? How do you know? And this is like the hardest thing ever. I’ve, I’ve heard of people, you know, asking for, um, asking to come in and observe the classroom. I’ve asked for, um, I’ve seen people like volunteering to go on field trips to see if the plan is being implemented.
But again, like, Okay. You’re there and people know you’re there. So it’s a little bit different. So let’s talk about how you can know if the plan is being implemented. You tend to have a feeling like people already in the chat, you’re like, no, I don’t think it’s being implemented. And you might have like little things that have happened here or there, how people present themselves, little things that they talk about.[00:18:00]
And you’re like, wait a minute, they have an accommodation for that. And I’m not seeing it come home or I’m not seeing it, right? So you might have a feeling of if it’s being implemented or not. You are likely seeing work come home from a service. So a lot of special education teachers, you’ll see, Oh, okay.
Like this is coming home. Cool. Or you’ll hear about an accommodation coming home or your kid. Really can report if they’re getting that accommodation or not. Those are all just like clues, right? It’s not anything definite, but you’re like, Oh, okay. Like work is coming home. Cool. It’s being implemented.
Sometimes if you don’t see that we’re coming home, it’s really hard to tell, right? You can ask for service logs and I just want you to like, no, but I think I’ve only had maybe two or three parents ask for service logs. Um, there is no official. Log that that is distributed to the service providers to say, track your time in implementing this way.
A lot of times like the [00:19:00] IEP or the 504 software will have an option for a service log, but I’m just going to say that most districts will leave that up to the service provider on how they want to track their time. So you can ask for service logs. Of course, those service logs can kind of go back if I’m like, Oh my gosh, I’m like a month behind, but I know I saw them on this date so I can catch up real quick.
A lot of times that will happen too. So just know you can ask for service logs. Um, I’ve seen a lot of like when I work with parents and I’m like, you can request it. We work out that language of how to ask for it. Um, so it’s not. It doesn’t put them on the defense because you probably are going to put them on defense a little bit when you ask for service logs, um, but just know that you have the right to ask for that and like, it might be a little bit of a hot mess because every provider is not necessarily good at keeping track of their time, even though legally they are supposed to do that.
So just heads up on that one. You can ask for that. It’s a little bit tricky, but it [00:20:00] might be another clue with even how they respond to that. If they’re like, we don’t provide that or they give you some excuse for why they’re not providing it, that can be a red flag for you as well. Accommodations. There might be evidence that your child would be able to tell you.
There might be evidence in like if one of the accommodations is to That they are supposed to be getting skeleton notes, which is like notes from the teacher that have like little blanks. So they still have to pay attention and they fill in those. And I think we’re all familiar with that. Maybe not the term, but that might make sense to you might see some evidence of those accommodations.
And even when I was collaborating with some lawyers from California, you know, we’re asking about this, like, how can you get these accommodations get like evidence if they’re being implemented? And they said, well, you can kind of write them in a way that creates some sort of. of evidence home. So we can look at the way that those accommodations are structured.
You know, if this is like, I don’t think they’re being implemented, we might [00:21:00] be able to do that moving forward in your IEP or 504 plan, um, to say, okay, like, you know, weekly reports or these. You know, send a copy to the the parent as well of these skeleton notes so that you have a copy as well. Um, those kind of structures can be put in place.
But if you don’t have that right now, it might be hard to say, Oh, okay. Like, are they getting that small group instruction or are sorry? Are they getting that small group testing environment that we asked to do? You know, Hey, can you note down at the top of the paper, you know, um, At the time that they’re taking the test that they got this accommodation, things like that can be advocated for.
If you’re like, I don’t think this is being implemented. We also just need to look at the plan and see if it’s clear or not, because that’s also sometimes the the tricky thing is that people don’t understand what the accommodation actually is, because sometimes they can be quite vague. Um, and then The last, well, I have two more things on the slide.
So the behavior of your child, we’ll talk about that next. Um, but that [00:22:00] also will tell you, is this being implemented? Is there any change between when we did changes to that IEP or 504? Are they coming home more regulated? Are they coming home more exhausted, less exhausted? What is the behavior of your child?
So there’s a lot of observation clues that you can look for as well. Um, but again, Thank you. This is a very case by case basis. So I’m going to have I see there’s some messages in the chat. I’m going to quit. I’m going to check those really fast. Um, and then we’re going to move on to, um, the second question as well.
Okay. If the actual meeting is in November. Okay. You have a different question. So let me back up. Um, so I don’t see any chunking of assignments by teachers for, um, Eighth grade ADHD. Um, so if your meeting is in November, this is a perfect time to, um, really prepare for that meeting. Um, if you are in the parent or sorry, if you’re in the ultimate parent IUP prep [00:23:00] course, this is a perfect time to jump into there and really narrow down your priorities and look at preparing for that meeting and really asking, okay.
Really, the more effective way to do this is to go to the teachers themselves, especially the general education teachers and say, okay, is this accommodation working for you to implement and really trying to problem solve with them to say, is this working for you or not? He really needs this as evidenced by this.
Can we get this implemented, right? So that’s really the first step that I would do. But if you have a meeting in November, that’s perfect timing. Um, but I would really come at it with a, a list of those accommodations, especially because I see you’re more worried about accommodations and saying, okay, like, is this working for you guys or not?
Is it being implemented? A lot of times, if you have a good relationship with that IEP team in general, when you come to that meeting, you can say, okay, like, I know that not every accommodation is like perfect. So let’s go through the list and see what’s working, [00:24:00] what isn’t.
Substitute teachers such a good question and so hard. Um, yeah. So if you have substitute teachers, this is really, really hard. You should have a case manager, which. Is generally either a speech language pathologist if their speech only if they’re qualified under that category, or they have a case manager who is the special education teacher of some form, like they can also be like teacher of the hearing impaired, they’re also a special education teacher.
I would contact that person first and say, okay. Like, um, they have a lot of substitute teachers. That’s a lot of change a and that’s really hard to be able to implement all those accommodations. Um, again, going back to priorities, making sure that you have a couple priorities with a couple accommodations that are really, really, really like paramount.
That he gets and making sure that you [00:25:00] either have contact with that substitute teacher or that that case manager is informing the substitute teacher of those accommodations. So that’s a really, really good question. Excuse me. Yeah. So you so Jennifer. Yeah, you know, Then the answer to this question that that things aren’t being implemented, right?
So if your child is giving you feedback that they aren’t being implemented, it’s probably true, right? Um, so that’s what I would say. Yes. Like you need to go to that meeting that you have. And if you want to address it before, then that’s fine. Um, but yes, you present the problem. Instead of the actual accommodation sometimes.
So that’s that bringing them, um, to the meeting and saying, Hey, let’s go over accommodations. Are these working? Are these not working and problem solve what the actual need is for your kid instead of coming and being all forceful with the accommodation that you want. There are many different ways to approach a challenge as far as accommodations go.
[00:26:00] So I find it’s more effective if you come in with that challenge rather than, um, focusing on the actual accommodation. Okay. Somebody says we get a daily record. That’s amazing. So that you’re actually kind of seeing what’s being implemented or not. Perfect. Oh, no. Yeah. If your case manager is not there, that’s really, really hard, right?
Um, and relationships with the teachers are definitely important. That’s something that we talk about. A lot as far as being effective in your advocacy. Um, so yeah, it sounds like we need to problem solve a little bit how to get a relationship with the teacher first before we can say, okay, like, is the plan working or not?
Right? Um, because if it’s not being implemented by by. The substitute teachers, it’s probably not working right, um, but we definitely need some way to contact that special education teacher and that person definitely needs some contact with your kid in order to be effective, right? So [00:27:00] yeah, we need, maybe we’ll problem solve that more at the end as we go along too.
So the second thing that we’re going to jump into is, are they making progress, which I think we get. really lost sometimes when we’re like, okay, we have the IEP or 504. Okay. This is going to be like it, this is going to be awesome. This is going to be great. And then we’re like, wait a minute. Is it working?
Is it not working? And we forget to go back to the progress. So we’re going to talk about that now. And this can look different again. And this is why we’re going to talk about the Parent Advocacy Club later because there’s so much opportunity for like individualized advice when we go through this because this is, this is hard stuff, right?
Figuring out if it’s working or not is a really big case by case basis. So yeah, it totally makes sense. Okay, so getting into the second question that I have for you is are they making progress? So for IEPs, we’re going to kind of break it down by plan a little bit. So for IEPs, which have. [00:28:00] Goals and then progress reports, which come out around grade report cards.
Um, so usually every nine weeks, it depends on if your school is doing quarters or semesters, or sometimes trimesters, but you should be getting a progress report if you guys have an IEP at the time that grades come out as well. And these progress reports should. Be more than that drop down menu that has making progress, goal met, insufficient progress, or goal not worked on.
Um, one of the things I absolutely hated when I was in an OT in schools is that our special education director would say, You only legally have to put what’s in the drop down. And I was like, Oh, that’s fine. But. I want to give a little bit more context than that, especially if there’s insufficient progress made or goal not worked on.
That needs an explanation. Right? So if you’re getting those progress reports and it’s very, very minimal, you can [00:29:00] request more information from the team on, Hey, do you have more raw data like percentages or where they’re at as far as progress on this goal? Um, you know, you can present it as, Hey, we’re trying to work on it at home as well.
504 and just making sure we’re kind of on the same page with the percentages we’re seeing when we work on the school. However you want to present it, we can wordsmith if you want to at the end. But you should getting more information than that as well. And then 504, this is where you can look at grades.
And I know grades are very touchy. We’ll hear a lot of people say Oh, grades don’t matter, especially like in the elementary school environment, but that is an indication of Are they getting access to their education? Is this working or is this not working? And if grades are really hard, if grades are plummeting, if they’re dipping, if there’s missed assignments, that kind of thing that’s affecting the grades, then we really need to look into this.
504s as well, especially because you [00:30:00] are relying on the general education teacher most of the time to implement these accommodations. We really need to look at parent teacher conferences and making sure that you’re taking clear advantage of those parent teacher conferences to look at those grades, to have some information about are they making progress?
Is it looking better? Are they able to access their educational environment better now that we have this? What accommodations are working or not. So parent teacher conferences are something that I remember, you know, I, I covered multiple different schools. Um, I would cover preschools, um, at certain buildings and then I would do two different elementary schools and then a middle school.
And then some years I was doing high school in that 18 to 21 program, just depending on, um, my assignments for that year as well. And parent teacher conferences, I think I had three parents. Over the course of my career show or request a meeting with me as the occupational therapist or take advantage of those parent teacher conferences.
Most of the time the special [00:31:00] education team, meaning the teachers even, or the speech language pathologists, we would just use it as work time and we would be working on IEPs, but we didn’t really have a lot of contact with the parents. They were mainly going to the general education teachers. So just don’t forget that you can talk to more people.
Then just your general education teacher when it comes to, um, those parent teacher conferences as well. Um, those are amazing. Face to face and like contact is really, really amazing as far as advocacy goes. It’s so effective. Okay. So if you don’t have a plan yet, if you don’t have an IEP, if you don’t have a 504, then of course you are, uh, looking at grades You are looking at what are the reports when you go to parent teacher conferences.
You’re also doing observations of your kid before school, after school weekends, that kind of thing. Um, and so that rolls into our third question. Okay. We have something in the chat before we move on. Okay. [00:32:00] Perfect. Awesome. Great relationship with the team. That’s amazing. Cool. Cause without that, it’s really hard.
And I know a lot of people are in that hard spot where you’re like, Oh my gosh, I’m just hitting the brick wall. So yes, yes. You’re not alone on that for sure. Okay. So let’s get into question number three. So observations of your child’s well being. So let’s talk about this a little bit more specifically.
So how are they at school? And before you’re like, I don’t know. I’m not in school. I don’t know what they’re doing. How many phone calls home are you getting? Um, how much frustration are you hearing from your kid about school? Are you getting clear communication from the team? Because here’s the thing. If you try to change what’s happening in the plan, And.
You aren’t going to know if those changes are being implemented, or you’re not hearing money, many things back from the team. We need to fix this communication issue first before you can even change anything in the plan, right? So that becomes [00:33:00] how can I create the relationships with the team? How can I figure out what’s going on at the school so that I’m getting at least some communication from the team before we go like ripping the whole plan apart because we think it’s not working when in reality, we just know.
Thank you. We don’t know what part is working and what part isn’t working, right? This is all a trial and error process, which I think is the most probably frustrating thing is because not every little thing is going to be like, oh my gosh, this works. Oh my gosh, this works. This is amazing. There’s always going to be things that need to be changed and tweaked in that, in that plan.
But overall is the whole thing working better than what we had before, right? And we’re just continuously looking at improving that. And then how are they at home? So. How is that transition to school in the morning? Is it similar to other transitions? And I say it that way because of course, some people transition out of the house better than others.
We’re looking at, okay, my kid really hates to transition in general, but school [00:34:00] transition is the same as any other transition to go anywhere else, right? That’s what we want is okay. If they’re really easy to transition. And school transition in the morning is fine. It’s about what we expect. Then that’s great, right?
They’re probably being supported. Are they coming home as themselves as you would expect them to come home? What we’re looking for is, are they? Pretty well supported at school so that when they come home, they might be tired. Most kids are really tired when they get home from that big day. But are they like, okay, I get it.
It’s been a really long day. They’re they’re tired. They don’t want to talk to me. You know what the whatever that is. But we don’t want them to come home and completely fall apart, and they’re so different from themselves that we really have to look at, oh my gosh, what do we need to advocate for during the day, because they’re exhausted, or they’re masking, or they have some sort of stress that we need to relieve from school, right?
And then what does homework look like? There are [00:35:00] so many schools that are not implementing homework anymore, especially the lower grade levels. I’m totally… Totally behind that. Um, I’m an occupational therapist. I want to see kids be able to enjoy some part of their day. You know, they get some breaks as far as recess goes.
Sometimes those are, are stressful to, you know, when they come home and they look at homework, what does that look like? Um, a perfect example too, is, is my sister, my sister has a math learning disability. And so all through school, all I remember is like tears. Tears at the table when we tried to work on math and she didn’t get diagnosed with that until she was in her last semester of college.
She did get through college. She works with numbers every day right now. She has those accommodations that she’s figured out have worked for her, but obviously she was not getting enough support during school because she would come home and homework did not make sense to her. And she was so frustrated.
She didn’t have the skills to work through that or the self confidence to work through that. So yeah. That that was an [00:36:00] indication that she wasn’t getting the support that she needed. So hopefully that helps you guide what exactly are you looking for when we’re trying to figure out if this plan needs some tweaks or not, right?
So in the chat, you can tell me which. You are saying no to which area. Do you think that you really need to focus on your advocacy in order to move forward and get this plan to actually be more supportive than it was before? So again, the three questions were number one. Is the plan being implemented, which I think a lot of you, at least a handful of you are saying, no, the plan isn’t being implemented.
I have this gut feeling that is not being implemented. I have this evidence in this little evidence in this little evidence, this clue that it’s not being implemented. So, okay. Like, do we need to look at this plan being implemented? Because here’s the thing. If it’s not being implemented, we can’t see if they’re making progress, right?
If that plan isn’t being followed. And we’re not providing that [00:37:00] support, then we can’t expect them to make any progress. So again, question number two is, are they making progress? Are we seeing that they’re getting more access? If that’s a 504, are those accommodations actually working, um, for IEPs, are they making progress on those goals?
Are we getting progress reports? There’s been so many times where I go into a coaching call with a parent and I’m like, they’re asking kind of about things and I’m like, well, you know, what did your progress report say? And they’re like, I didn’t, I don’t even know if I have those, you know, like make sure that you’re getting those on a regular basis and look back on your IEP if you’re like, I don’t know when I’m supposed to get those.
Usually it’s around grade period time, but it should be noted in your IEP as well if you have an IEP. And then number three is, is your child, um, The same child you’re expecting at home and at school, right? Are you getting an exorbitant amount of phone calls home? Are you getting reports of frustration from teachers that you’re like, well, I’m not there.
I can’t really do anything about it. Um, you guys are supposed to, you know, [00:38:00] figure it out at school. Um, or are you getting, you know, school refusal in the morning? Are you getting some meltdowns at home at the end of a long day? Like, what does that look like? Okay. Let’s look in the chat and see. Oh, perfect.
Okay. Yeah. Incomplete stories. So hard to get like little clues here and there. Um, and especially if you don’t have like amazing communication, it sounds like you’re maybe getting like half truths from people, right?
Mm. Okay. So how, how can you improve communication? This is getting into like what we’re talking about next, right? Which is okay. So what’s my next step? So yes, I love that you’ve said, okay, I’m getting this in pieces. We need to improve communication. How do I do that? Right? Um, communication is a year round thing.
It comes in bits and pieces as you form that relationship. Right? [00:39:00] So, um, even in the parent advocacy club, we talk about communication styles. And if you’ve Never heard of this. It’s a DISC profile, D I S C, um, and this is a profile. I’m happy to link it up. I think there’s a free quiz that you can, um, kind of look at your own communication style.
The communication that I’ve seen be the hardest is when there’s a case manager who is either one of two situations, and I’m like very much stereotyping this. So there are variations, of course. There’s a case manager that is either Very, very, um, like factual and very like results oriented and very kind of, um, I know what I’m doing and here’s the data and this is what we need to do and kind of that way.
And the parent is kind of the opposite communication style where you’re like, I just want my kid to be supported. I want to feel like I’m heard like the soft skills part, right? [00:40:00] Like you’re like, yes, I want them to make progress, but it’s more important that they’re supported. The reverse is true. You have a case manager who doesn’t want to tell parents, um, a bad thing that’s happening, or they don’t want to admit that they did something wrong, or, you know, they want that parent to feel like they’re supporting their kid and they love their kid, but they’re less, uh, attuned.
To the progress and the structure and saying, okay, they’re not making progress in this. I think it’s because of this, like let’s problem solve together. And they’re, they’re less organized in their, um, communication with you. And also like in their instructions, sometimes too, it can be a little bit like, Oh, let’s do something fun and kind of incorporate this skill instead of like really being, um, like very targeted.
And really that depends on the kid on if that’s going to work or not, but in the communication style, like then we have. A parent who like wants that, like you need to tell me if they’re not doing okay and why not like you’re not gonna be in trouble. I just need to know. Um, and so that’s when I, when I [00:41:00] really see those communication differences pop out more and I see that meetings and I’m like, okay, can, can you.
Alter your communication style a little bit like this. And can you kind of meet in the middle? Um, so hopefully that might be the situation that might not be the situation, but most of the time when I see these like talking in circles, that’s because you guys are focusing on two different things or they’re intimidated and they want to, don’t want to tell you that something isn’t working.
Um, or they’re doubting their skills and not wanting to tell you, um, that can happen a to. Um, so hopefully you, you messaged me back, um, and I’ll look at your answer, but Okay, so we’re saying no, the plan isn’t being implemented. No, they’re not making progress. Um, and sometimes they’re, they’re being okay when you come back and down.
So if you’re saying no to multiple questions, you need to focus on number 1, which is, is the plan being implemented? Right? Um. Okay, so getting another person says getting reports [00:42:00] that she is threatening to sacrifice other students with scissors at recess. Yeah, so we’re, we’re seeing some behaviors, right?
And so behaviors are just an indication that support needs are Are not being addressed. Right. So if you’re getting those phone calls home and you’re like, Whoa, like she’s she’s being aggressive at school and that’s not like her. That’s not expected. Even if it is expected we need we need to address that right that’s a safety concern for her and for others.
So again, like, do we have the right plan in place. Is what we do have being implemented, is it actually effective or is she feeling supported? Is she making progress? Um, that’s probably a no, um, to all three of those questions, I’m guessing. Um, okay, so what do I do about feeling that someone is something is not being implemented, um, with toileting, but it’s not happening, but it’s not happening consistently.
Sorry. Tripping over my words.[00:43:00]
Yeah. So, so I think this is interesting too. So what you’re saying is that, um, sometimes he needs help with toiling, but he is capable of doing it, but he needs help sometimes. So now it’s time to target. Okay. Like, how can we tell when he needs support for that and when he doesn’t and focusing on some advocacy skills, depending on what age and depending on what skills is going on, like, we need to look at, okay, do we need to add an additional thing to that plan?
If it’s being implemented, if it’s making progress, how is he going to advocate for himself? Like, do we need to look at, hey, they don’t have the skill yet of advocating for themselves. So we need to change the plan and have that more explicitly in there that they need it. Every single time they need somebody to go with them every single time, um, and then be able to assess if they need help or not.
So that’s kind of a little [00:44:00] bit of both like, hey, it’s not being implemented because they think they have the skill. Well, we need to go back to the data and say, do they actually have the skill or is it a support need and and go from there so that can also be an indication of what you need to change in that support as well.
Okay. A couple more, and then we need to move on inside it as well. So, two, barely. Oh, one, answer to question number one is barely, and then no, and the child is thrilled because he isn’t being asked to learn anything, which I laugh, but it’s not very funny, is it? Goodness gracious. So yeah, we need, we need to look at that implementation piece.
Man, this needs to be a topic in the parent advocacy club, I think, because there’s a lot of nose on the being implemented part.
Oh, and then inaccurate reporting that’s something that we can talk about a lot to [00:45:00] you. That’s really frustrating because there’s not not a ton that you can do, um, except for go up the ladder as far as supervisors go to that person and be like, I’m not seeing this at home. Can we have an observation of that?
Specific goal to see that that, um, data is accurate. Oh, yeah, that’s really frustrating. Okay, last one before we move on. What do I need to ask for to help to get social emotional help? Grades are great. Um, so that seems to be what is the hang up? Probably. Yeah, yeah, a lot of a lot of teams will focus on the grades part and they’ll be like, she is fine.
She’s being able to access everything because her grades are good. Yes, so that’s when it’s time to pull up the idea law and to pull some quotes from there and say, No, no, no, it’s more for more than just grades right. Um, [00:46:00] Okay.
Okay, so if they’re doing a little bit better, um, as far as with the plan goes, that’s a good start, right? It’s always great to have just a little bit of progress and you’re like, okay, we’ve got something that’s working. Now we need to break it apart and say, okay, like, is it being implemented? Um, and if that’s the question again, and we need to talk about this more, um, if you’re not sure how it’s being implemented, if we need a problem solve that it’s time to to really get going on that relationship with teachers.
Um, and that’s different for everybody. So we can talk about that more. Um, but we need a relationship. We need to have some really good communication to see, is it being implemented? Um, and what is, what is working and what isn’t okay. Okay. I’m going to move on. I know that there’s one chat that I didn’t get to, and I, I will get to it.
We’re at the, we’re at the last part. And we’re doing good at work doing okay on time. [00:47:00] Okay, so hopefully those three questions have really grounded you and saying, okay, I think that this is the main thing that we want to work on, right? And if you’re saying no to all three of those questions, then we really need to start with number one, which is what sounds like a lot of you guys are into.
Um, so that’s really helpful for me to know. And we’ve talked about this before. And it’s really, oh gosh, it’s like, Really case by case basis, right? There’s really good themes that we can work on together. But then there’s a point where if you’re like, Okay, I need I need some help. I need some personalized support in that.
Um, so let’s let’s go back to what we talked about in the beginning, which is prioritizing, right? You’re like, Okay, hopefully those three questions really helped you prioritize. What you’re going to advocate for. Right. You might still have some questions about how to go about doing that. I’m totally here for you for you on that.
Um, but hopefully that helps you prioritize. Oh, okay. Like I need to focus on this thing before I can get to this thing. Right. Um, so again, it depends on [00:48:00] your situation. So if you are looking for some support, right, because You know, we got like 15 more minutes of this webinar and I will absolutely stay later if you guys have questions and want to talk it out in the chat.
Um, but I just want to let you know that I am offering, um, a lot more support for 24 a month. So we’re going to talk about the parent advocacy club, especially if you’re like, okay, I’d love to have support moving forward for the rest of the year or however long you want so that we can work through some of these things.
Again, this time of year is perfect because you should have enough data right now to see if it’s working or not. A lot of you guys had answers to those questions, right? If you’re like, answer 123, you’re like, okay, I, I really think that it’s a yes to this one. No to this one. But you still have time before the winter break to trial some changes and to really make some gains on either relationships with your school IEP team, 504 team, Whatever team is supporting them right now and get some plans in place and get some changes in place.
So you can see [00:49:00] if there’s a difference or not before you have a break when it comes to the holiday break. And then when you come back from that break, you again can see, okay, is this plan working? Do we need to change? So the spring semester has its own period of time where you can jump in, um, and really make some really solid changes.
I find if people try to advocate. too much in the very beginning of the year. Um, it’s not quite time yet. You don’t really have enough data yet. This is like the sweet spot I’m finding for most people. So, um, if you want a place of support, if you need a place to bounce ideas off of and kind of get that support of like, okay, what do you think about this idea?
Or, Hey, where do I even start? I need somebody to help me know where to start. Um, then I’m going to talk about the parent advocacy club. Okay, so the Parent Advocacy Club is a membership that provides ongoing training, support, and resources for parents wanting to build their advocacy skills and kind of know, okay, this is the goal, right?
I want my kid to be supported in this [00:50:00] way, social, emotional skills, you know, dyslexia, any of those things and getting that step by step approach of like, okay, what do I do next? Okay. What do I do next? And breaking it down for you. So, um, we’re going to talk about what’s in there, but I just want to. Um, put out there that the link to join or to learn more information is the IEP lab.
com slash club and that’ll be later too after we talk about it. Um, so this is what is included in the club. We have a monthly theme every month. And so with you guys really saying, no, it’s not being implemented. I’m like, okay. That needs to be a theme that’s coming up in the parent advocacy club. We need to spend a whole month really talking about is your plan being implemented?
How can we tell what are the next steps that we go through and really break that down by category of of what’s happening, right? So this is just an example. We’ve focused on emotions and advocacy before we’ve talked about understanding your support documents for the IEP or [00:51:00] 504 understanding what it says and what you can ask for.
And so we have an example on a later slide with all of the trainings that we’ve done until this time, and we started it back in April, you get all of the trainings that are on demand from the time where we started it as well. So again, we do the monthly three in training.
So that’s an on demand webinar, kind of like this, but it’s recorded. Then we have a monthly IEP advocacy Q and a so we show up. Um, you can pre submit your questions if you can’t make it live and those questions are answered at the beginning of the recording so you can find them pretty easy. And then people who are live, we get to kind of talk back and forth and wordsmith and problem solve together.
Um, there’s also a parent connections group. So this is where I’m not there and we have a fellow parent advocate, Chellar Crossley, who comes in. She has a son with autism. Is autistic. Um, and she comes in and she is a very skilled group facilitator, but it’s like a come as you go. You make connections with [00:52:00] other people in the group.
You have a place to vent. You have a place to say, Oh my gosh, I’m so frustrated. It can be related to that theme of the month or it cannot be. It really doesn’t matter. It’s just a place for you to show up, learn what other people are going through, provide support to them and also get support for yourself.
And then this is like the favorite part is the additional templates or tools. So I will do something related to the theme and I’ll provide you two resources a month for that. So it’ll be like email templates or it will be, um, like this. This actually is theme for October in the parent advocacy club. So we talk about, you know, your action planner, your advocacy planner, that’s a free download that you get as part of your membership, um, to help you focus on what your next steps are for advocacy.
And so this is kind of like a. what the training is for this month, but actually it goes a step further and we’re talking about the next steps of like, okay, so I, I know my answers to these questions. What do I [00:53:00] do next, and the tools to help you organize that and decide what you’re doing next and what those actions will be to you.
We also have a private Facebook group so if you have questions in between. I’m in there all the time, we’re trying to get that ramped up and going. We’ll do lives, we’ll do, you know, if there’s a. Especially a lot of questions for that month, and I’ll hop on a live and answer those questions as well. Um, so that’s kind of exciting.
And then again, you get the training vault. So any training that we’ve done in the past in the club, you get access to that as well. And then starting in November, we’re actually trialing Voxer support. So if you don’t know what Voxer is, um, it’s just a way to like. Text message me or leave a voice message for me without us exchanging our actual phone numbers.
So, um, it’s kind of a walkie talkie app. It’s really fun. Um, there’s new parents that we’ve been trialing it in some of my support options and it’s been really fun to like be able to talk back and forth. You don’t have to have like a super quiet background like you do on zoom. So it’s working out really well.
Um, and [00:54:00] these are all organized around the pillars. There’s three pillars that I saw in, um, the over 400 IEP and 504 meetings that I was in knowing about the system. And this is IEP system, 504 system, how support needs work in. Work in the school so that you can create those really good questions, connecting with resources and building meaningful relationships.
So all of these trainings are surrounding that and really breaking down the barriers that you might be experiencing when it comes to being able to advocate with effectiveness. Um, so this is just a list of our past trainings. So we did emotions and advocacy, harnessing the process, building effective relationships.
Understanding the IEP document, that one’s IEP specific, um, strengths based plans, beginning of the school year, advocacy, that was really fun, um, and then this month is again an expansion of what we talked about today. Um, next, we have all of these that are proposed, but now I’m like, Well, we need to put, um, how can I tell my plan is [00:55:00] being implemented and action steps and strategies for that as well.
So, um, we have, you know, re evaluation, advocacy, communication styles, which we kind of talked about a little bit in this training, organizing your information, um, parent rights, teaching your child, self advocacy skills, all of those kinds of mini, mini skills that we want to get into a little bit deeper and have support with.
Because again, when everybody’s situation is so different, um, it’s really hard. Thank you. To pinpoint, like in a training, I’ll give you the basics, but then we get to follow up and I get to know you as it goes, you know, month over month and you have questions and I get to know your situation. It’s really easy for me to be like, yeah, so this is the history, right?
This is what you’ve done before and kind of help you have that context to move forward as well. So plus. You get this personalized support for your situation. So the live q and a dedicated Facebook group. And then in November we’re, we’re trialing that Voxer support so that you can, um, ask a que a question any day of the month and get that support even if you can’t make the [00:56:00] live q and as.
So that’s kind of just supplement that. Um, so just a couple things of what people are saying. So, you know, these are from parents, um, that have worked with me. So thank you for helping me to educate myself about the. process. I’m so glad I found your business and podcast. And then the other one is when I clicked the purchase button yesterday, I felt a huge release of anxiety.
I felt supported right away. And that’s what I definitely want for you as well. Um, so as far as pricing goes, so I’ve been very much researching what’s out there. Um, when we talk about advocates, um, I compare myself to an advocate a lot because, um, I’m helping you in that build your own. Um, you know, bag of tricks and become your own advocate because I am very, very, very strongly that parents can advocate better than like a professional advocate can with the right education and support, right?
They are 200 to 300 per hour. Sometimes even like. These packages that they have for [00:57:00] 10 to 15 hours is like 3, 000. It’s insane. Um, I, myself charged for one 99 for one on one services and I support parents in that all the time. Um, so you’re getting, as part of the club, you’re getting my attention and my, my services.
Um, Kind of like a one on one service, but we’re kind of splitting it. So I’m able to provide it as at a discounted rate. So 47 a month feels fair. It’s what I’ve seen other support memberships do. Um, so, you know, 47 feels really fair, but I really want to make this affordable and I want it to be as accessible as I possibly can while still keeping the business going so that we can still do the podcast and do the things that people can afford that.
Um, so the price of the Advocacy Club is 24 a month, or you get two months free if you purchase a year membership. So that’s 240 for a full year or 24 per month. And that’s like insane, right? To get the [00:58:00] training and to get the personalized support, um, through the support options is really, really, really a good deal.
At least I think so. And the people in the club thinks it too. You also get an additional bonus. So most of the time I hear people being like, Oh my gosh, how can I fit that in? Like I’m already so busy. How can I possibly fit that in? So I have a couple of tools that are available right away in the portal to help you figure out, okay, this is important.
I know that I need to focus on this right because the time that you invest now will serve you for years and years and years to come right once you get a plan that is most of the time working it’s like just little small tweaks and and changes here and there. But the core is working, right? So every year you feel more confident and prepared going into that meeting.
So it really is important that if you feel like this is on your heart, that you are like, yes, this needs to be addressed, but I don’t have time. I created a time budgeting flow chart. So, um, that’s what this is so that you can [00:59:00] say, okay, like it’s. It’s about three hours a month that you get inside of this club that are like the resources, right?
You can dig in more than that if you want to, but this is just kind of a tool to help you. And it has another sheet to it as well to help you budget time so that you have time set aside for the advocacy because it is important, right? And then really being clear about what you want your advocacy to have at the end of it.
Quote unquote in the end, right? You’re always going to be advocating, but what would a successful advocacy year look like to you? And that’s what the sheet is right now. So these are free. And then you also get this free training inside of the portal right away, where it’s these three pillars of parent advocacy.
So you can say, okay, like, these are the things that are really important that we saw in over 400 IEP meetings. Um, and so start here, right? Okay. So that is a value of 99 between, um, this whole get started pack with the training and then the [01:00:00] two additional downloads. Um, it helps you kind of come into that club and get the most from the club that you possibly can.
Um, and then you get those two templates per month. Um, those are a value of 27 each month and that parent connection group, right? It’s so important to have.
That support. And so the value of that is 47 every single month that you get chiller kind of helping you through the things that are holding you back. Um, and then this live IEP advocacy Q and a, the value of that is 47. So if you break it down like this early, it’s a deal, right? Facebook group support value, 19 a month.
And so it just makes sense, right? 24 a month for the parent advocacy club. You can cancel it anytime, or you can get two months free if you commit to a year of 240. So 240. So you can learn more and sign up at the IEP lab. com slash club. I also hinted this at this as well.
If you’re like, well, I really want to check it out, but I’m not really sure we have [01:01:00] a seven day money back guarantee. So if you get in there and you’re like, you know what? I just don’t think this is right for me. Then you can just email me and let me know. Um, and we’ll cancel it. And you have a seven day.
Money back guarantee. So you might be thinking, do I have time for this? Um, and also like. It’s not free, right? And so you might be thinking, I don’t know if I want to invest in this, right? I don’t take this lightly.
This is insane, right? Like 47 a month is really, really reasonable for a group like this, especially with the support. So I don’t take this lightly. I try to pour in as much value as I possibly can for you and as much support as I possibly can for you as well.
So this is it. A fraction of the cost of the one on one. So again, that link again is the IEP lab. com slash club. Um, and then just a couple more experience, like quotes and experiences. So, um, that’s made me feel so much more optimistic and confident about advocating for my child. And the last one is, but there’s a very knowledgeable, personal and helpful during my painful IEP process.
Beth is per perseverant [01:02:00] and just what is needed to help parents in this process. So I do my best. Okay. So. If you’re feeling like you need support, you’re like, okay, I have my answers to my three questions today, but I need to take it a step further. Stop stressing. If you need support, I have a really, really effective option for you.
So, um, go ahead and check out more information at the iuplab. com slash club. So thank you so much for coming.
Well, I will go ahead and stop the recording and I’ll prep this and I am going to send it out. So, um, if you’re watching the recording, I will go ahead and stop and let me know if you have any questions about that parent advocacy club
Samson Q2U Microphone-2: Hey there! I hope you learned so much about the three main questions that you can ask yourself and the observations that you can look at to see if your child’s 504 or IEP is working or not. Just remember, if you want to hop into the Parent Advocacy Club and get support no matter what plan you have for your child, even if you don’t have one, then, [01:03:00] then go ahead and join before this Thursday,
October 19th to be sure that you can get in the club and get all of the support that we went through in this webinar. Thank you so much and please hop into the free Facebook group or DM me on Instagram if you have any questions about the club. We’ll talk to you soon.