And, that was kindergarten - he's in 9th grade now and still in the same placement.(You will need to 'register' to view the webinar.) The webinar PowerPoint is also attached for download. In just about a year, I went from completely stressing about what his placement would be to a desirable placement. I quickly found out the learning curve is steep when you’re trying to learn about IEPs.īut I did it. I stopped dabbling.Īnd I started learning my parental rights and how to leverage the IEP process in my favor. and one that was really inappropriate for him. Lightner, but we will not be making any changes to this IEP today.'īecause suddenly I realized I had to get better IEP meeting results or Kevin was going to end up in a placement that I loathed. It really was the proverbial wake up call when the LEA said 'We appreciate your input Mrs. I can’t even begin to tell you how those meetings shocked me. Then suddenly, I was knee-deep in the Kindergarten Transition process. I was just going through life with two toddlers. One day it seemed like everything was fine. Yet I never got serious enough about it to really understand my rights and the IEP process defined by IDEA.īut then something happened that rocked me to my very core. Īnd I would email my team, assuming they would follow through.

I did things like stepping out of my comfort zone and speaking up at meetings. Problem is, I thought I was taking action. All the charges on my Visa bill made me look pretty serious. Oh sure, all the IEP manuals and guides stacking up on my bookshelf and hard drive made it look like I was serious. I even attended school district training sessions. When Kevin was a baby, I spent a lot of time just thinking about it. There comes a time in every IEP parent ’s life when he has to stand up and say, “enough is enough.” And that’s the day when you decide to change your child's education experience for the better by digging in and being the best IEP advocate you can be.

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