IEP/504 Advocates

Hi I guess I'm kicking this off!! Happy to have a space to connect with other advocates and families. I'm a special education parent advocate based in Oregon, and I also work with families in other states on a case-by-case basis. My story is... school psychologist for 16 years in Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. Started making an exit plan from public service a few years ago, and mulled over what I might like to do next. I realized I always really loved connecting with families and helping them to understand what was going on with our school plans. I've been a 504 case manager, general ed behavior intervention guru, and of course spent many years doing psychoed…

I am offering advocacy services for Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I specialize in Learning Differences, IEPs and parent supports. COPAA Member & PEAC Parent Consultant Sharon Marzocco Special Education Advocate [email protected]

I'm looking for advice in the state of Kansas. Let me give you some details..... -Child was enrolled in public school in Kansas -In Pre-K family was promised that his new school could handle his behaviors and elopements. -Now in Kindergarten (young 5 yr old currently) -The first semester he had over 300 elopements plus big behaviors. -Had multiple IEP meetings to try to meet his needs. -Family wants him in behavior school, but the school district does not agree. -School district proposed the SER program. -Family toured 2 buildings -Huge safety concerns due to elopement and was express to school team -Could not agree on placem…

Hello, My daughter is 14, has an IEP and uses cochlear implants to hear as she is deaf. We have had 2 CSE meetings and at our last one our request for CART was denied - even though our hearing specialist argued for it, and we had data (functional listening assessment) supporting how she does not have access. We also had multiple examples of times our daughter could not hear what was said in class. We are moving to request a PWN. Does anyone have a sample letter or advice on what to include? I have searched online, but was looking for some additional input. Thank you in advance!

Can a charter school deny ABA for a student if the services are paid for by parents or insurance? I know, by law, regular public schools must allow PIP (private instructional personnel) to deliver ABA but a local charter school is denying this request. If charters are supposed to follow IDEA, wouldn’t they also have to allow PIP to deliver this service?

My oldest has also been diagnosed with ADHD (2nd grade), Convergence Insufficiency, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, OCD, ODD, mood disorder, executive function deficits, sensory processing disorder and auditory processing disorder, and suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is now a Sophomore in high school. I have been advocating for an IEP since 2nd grade due to her extreme ADHD and my concern regarding additional challenges but have been repeatedly denied assessments. Due to my inexperience, and the schools legal violations she has suffered and is now facing truancy court and is at high risk of dropout. The school specifically stated in the court documents that t…

Hello, The district I am in forcibly retained my child in kindergarten for social/emotional/maturity. There was no testing of any kind, no IEP tests and no discussion an entire year. The decision was made 2 days before a school started, they forced him to repeat Kindergarten. I requested a special education evaulation. They did an IEP and found no disabilities, I requested an IEE and they recommend parameters for the classroom. The district denied the IEP. My son was just evaluated by a psychologist she diagnosed him with ADHD. He does not have social/emotional issues, but ADHD. He is very smart but has slower processing speeds. The psychologist recommends that with …

Hi! I’m Mallory Pacheco, and I’m an IEP Family Advocate and Consultant. I have spent 10+ years navigating Medicaid/Katie Beckett, private health insurance, Early Intervention, public school special Ed, and private service providers. I have voraciously researched and consumed any information I could get on my child’s diagnoses and how to work within the systems that don’t always work for them. I will take that same energy and tenacity to advocate for your own child. I believe in clear communication and accountability, and I strive to build better connections between schools and families to ensure everyone is on the same page and operating in the best interest of …

I need help and guidance. My child has a severe reading comprehension disability as well anxiety. The school psychologist of our virtual school is strongly advising that our family considers going down the OHI path instead of the SLD one again after IEP reevaluations. There is time to decide, but I believe I will ruin my child’s life with the wrong decision. The advice I have already received is: leave it how it is vs. an OHI will guarantee my child will get all intervention they require to make them successful.

I am a Mom to triplet boys; 2 of which have active IEPs. I have been successfully advocating for them for 9+ years. My passion lies with supporting and empowering parents and guardians to equip children with all they need to be successful. I am laser focused on addressing and meeting the needs of the total child--academic, physical and social / emotional. I have been in my client's shoes. I have walked the road. It's that simple. I am committed to providing others with the resources I wish I had when I first started out. My background has provided me the foundation for this path. MA Education Administration from Grand Canyon University Professional C…

Hello ISO a template for the denial of an AT evaluation for a student, denied 3 time parent went out of sate for a full comp eval 16 pages long parent want to file a state compliant.

My son is 11 with autism and adhd. The school said he tested out of iep so I requested IEE. It shows he needs help in math,memory, processing speed is slow and he is failing some class. I have meeting tomorrow any advice would be appreciated

Hello from Driftwood Texas (outside of Austin). After 19 years in school nursing (campus and district levels, Illinois and Texas), I am moving on to help those students and families with healthcare needs navigate schools. I am here to answer questions about what you should expect with regards to healthcare in and its influences on the education setting, and collaboratively plan for an inclusive and appropriate individualized experience. I have a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and am a National Certified School Nurse.

I am a working advocate and IEP coach in San Antonio, TX. We specialize in ADHD, Autism, and mental health. Our mission is to keep neurodivergent students out of the school-to-prison pipeline. See our article attached. We are currently working with the San Antonio Police Department to train cadets on autism. Re-Route Magazine.docx

Hello my name Latina Nickelson , most people call me Ms. T. My pronouns are she/her/hers/ella. I began my professional life in the out of school time education administrator. I gained expertise in community relations, facilitative leadership, strategic planning, data analysis, and negotiation; skills that are invaluable in the world of special education advocacy. I entered the world of special education 5+ years ago, advocating for my own children with IDD's then friends and family. It lead me to become mentor, coach and advocate for parents & caregivers of youth 3 - 21 with intellectual disabilities. I’m known for helping clients go from Chaos to Collaborati…