Episode 80: Helping Your Child in School Through IEPs and 504s ft. Amber Feller

IEPs! 504s! Sometimes those services provided by the school can feel overwhelming, even when know they can benefit our child. School Board Trustee and NICU mom, Amber Feller, breaks it all down into practical steps, with action items to help you focus so you can assist your child in receiving the services he or she needs.   In this episode, we chat about: What led you to pursue a fulfilling, but sometimes contentious, spot on the local school board? You have both school board and parent experience with services provided by the public school system. Biggest take home lesson from both experiences? Some parents may be familiar with early intervention (looks different in every state), but what is an IEP and how does it differ from a 504? When a child graduates from high school, how do they get help in college? How does a parent begin the process of asking for help for their child from PK-12? What questions should they ask and how do they know their rights? Does the school district make a diagnosis based on testing they do or is that up to the parent and an outside medical professional? What do you think parents should know about IEPs? Sometimes there's a negative stigma with receiving help through special services. How can a parent (and a child) overcome that stigma? What's your best advice to a parent seeking an IEP for his/her child?   Amber Feller has been actively involved in Round Rock ISD schools since 2008 serving in various volunteer roles and she currently serves as a Trustee on the School Board. Amber has also been very active in the community while serving through Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, her church and her children’s extracurricular activities. Amber earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology, with a Minor in Math, from Texas A&M; University and her Master’s of Education in Counseling from the University of North Texas. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor as well as a Nationally Board Certified Counselor.   Connect with Amber: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmberFellerForRRISDSchoolBoard/    The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.   Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.   Connect with Hand to Hold: Learn more or get support at handtohold.org   Follow Hand to Hold on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold    The following music was used for this media project: Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license   Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license