We are in the final stretch of the 2022-2023 school year as most schools have had Spring Break at this point and are on the final push to the end. If there are things you need to cover with your IEP team, our advice is to get it done now! Don’t wait!

In today’s episode, we are returning to our series on IEP eligibility categories; this topic is more extensive and is taking more episodes than we originally thought, but we want to take the time to cover the 13 categories with proper attention and information.

Today’s category is autism, sometimes previously referred to as “autism-like.” Contrary to what most people think, a student does NOT have to have a medical diagnosis of autism to fit into this category. Join us for more!

Show Highlights:

• How autism is defined by the IDEA as a legal (not medical) term
• What we have seen from school district reports of misinterpreting the language of the qualifications and characteristics
• What the mandate says about “verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction”
• Why parents need to be curious and ASK QUESTIONS
• How autism presents with an array of characteristics and needs a deeper analysis to determine eligibility
• What it means that “no single score or product of scores shall be used as the sole criterion for the decision of the IEP team as to the child’s eligibility for special education”
• How we can help parents even in other states besides California

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Email us: [email protected] 

Innovation in school districts comes from leadership. We often see school districts, administrators, and teachers who are hesitant to embrace change and innovation. Just because it’s always been done a certain way doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for new ideas and techniques. Today’s guest has served in various capacities in special education, and he’s here to share his experience with us. Join us to learn more!

Jaime Sowers is the Advisory Team Director at BlazerWorks, an organization that helps school districts across the country with their special education staffing needs.  

As a 19-year-old, Jaime’s summer job at a camp for children with disabilities changed his life and set him on the special education trajectory. After spending time as a special ed teacher, he moved into leadership roles. 

Show Highlights:

• How Jaime came into special education and the work he does today
• How he saw the problem and decided to “do” something about it
• What Jaime has experienced around inclusive education
• What we can do to shift from an academic focus to a whole-child focus for more inclusivity
• What can be done in teacher education and preparation to take a new look at inclusive education
• Why most general education teachers–and even administrators–are not properly equipped to deal with special needs, so they react with fear
• What Jaime would want teachers and administrators to know about inclusivity

Links/Resources:

Connect with Jaime and BlazerWorks:  Website

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us here and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected]

You may have seen our “tease” for this topic on Instagram last week. We are breaking it down today and discussing the new California pathway to high school graduation. It’s a new law that was signed last year, and we began discussing this topic last year (April 21, 2022) in Episode 211, titled Transitions from High School and Beyond, Part 2. You may want to go back and listen to that episode as a preview of today’s conversation. Join us now to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• How the new law provides a third option for exiting high school in addition to a diploma or certificate of completion
• How this applies in other states, too–not just in CA
• What the provisions are in the law (51225.31A) for special needs kids regarding college acceptance
• How the new law changes the minimum requirements in various subject areas
• How the new law aligns with the state standards of coursework requirements
• Examples of how the new law affects kids who are in functional classes
• Why IEP teams have to identify candidates for this exception before the end of their 10th-grade year

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected] 

For many, the intricacies of IEPs can be overwhelming, and often, important details in the plan may be crucial to a child’s educational success. In today’s show, we are breaking down some of those little details that are most often overlooked in IEPs. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• What to consider in state testing accommodations, both typical assessments and modified/alternative assessments
• Why assessments and accommodations should be discussed at every IEP meeting
• Why it might be beneficial at times to opt out of assessments for your child
• How physical education testing and district testing takes place
• How to understand the terms “embedded” and “non-embedded” in regard to accommodations
• How California has a specific Medi-Cal provision to pay for some related services in the IEP
• How the “Special Factors” page may differ according to districts and states but has provisions for “low incidence” students
• How to understand the assisted technology (AT) component of the IEP

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us here and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected]

Could there ever be a podcast guest with more experience in special education than 60+ years? We don’t think so! We are thrilled to be joined by Dr. Turner for a discussion about her career, the evolution of “special education,” and why we are still missing the mark in meeting the needs of our children. Join us to learn more!

Dr. Ruth McLean Turner has had a long career in education that spanned more than sixty years. Most of those years were in service to students with disabilities as a teacher, administrator, and consultant. Her recent book is titled Special Education Leadership as a Personal Journey. 

Show Highlights:

• How Dr. Turner began her career in education after graduating from college in 1948
• How “special education” was very different in the 1950s–WAY before the IDEA
• How Dr. Turner, as a school district administrator, made pioneering innovations in special education in Texas that were unheard of at the time
• How our education system has always been focused on labels for students with any type of special needs
• Why diversity is the nature of education
• Why Dr. Turner thinks the special education system as we know it should be abolished

Links/Resources:

Get Dr. Turner’s book:  Special Education Leadership as a Personal Journey

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected] 

As Spring Break season approaches, we always like to remind you to schedule any assessments that might be needed before the end of the school year. Don’t let the timeline sneak up on you! Check-in with your school now so you don’t get pushed to the next school year. 

Our series on eligibility continues as we are joined by Melissa Brady Petrillo, who came up with a unique idea for children with special needs. She is a teacher in New Jersey who is passionate about books and inclusion and was inspired to see that children with disabilities and special needs see themselves mirrored in the books they read. Her goal is to help students and families understand that everyone encompasses a unique mindset that must be valued in our world today. Join us for the conversation!

Show Highlights

• How Melissa saw the need and took the risk to bring awareness to the inclusion problem
• How Melissa came up with evaluative criteria for books that address different learning needs
• Why children need to understand diversity in order to relate to others
• How books can be used as a starting point for conversations and connections
• How more books are being written today that portray what neurodiverse people are going through
• How Melissa provides resources for other teachers through the Teachers Pay Teachers website
• Why libraries, our communities, and our world need to become more inclusive
• What’s next for Melissa

Links/Resources

Connect with Melissa: Instagram, Her book, Sometimes, Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected] 

Welcome! Our eligibility series continues in today’s show as we take a look at one of the most misunderstood eligibility categories: Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). Although the federal law (IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) trumps state laws, state laws can go further but not limit the IDEA provisions. In California, most state laws are similar to the IDEA, but this may not be the case in your state. It’s worth checking how your state laws compare with the IDEA provisions. Let’s take a closer look!

Show Highlights:

• How a Specific Learning Disability is defined under the IDEA (with the double requirement of having a diagnosis AND that it adversely affects educational process)
• Why a qualifying SLD has to be a specific learning deficit in a particular area of learning and not a broad diagnosis, like dyslexia or autism
• Why most failures occur in the analysis of the broad language of the IDEA by school districts
• How the term “significant discrepancy” can be interpreted in different ways
• How the California education code splits the qualifications into A, B, and C sections of the clarifications
• How the California code addresses the discrepancy model with specific language that demands more than one source to indicate a learning deficit
• Why it’s clear that school districts should be doing more when they analyze the categories of eligibility
• Why parents have the right to ask what is meant by the language used by the school district in analyzing their student–and demand that they support their conclusion with data

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected]

We are continuing our series of episodes on the subject of eligibility, which will carry over into March. There is SO much to cover! We are joined today by a returning guest, who discusses what she is seeing in the trend of school districts denying IEPs to children who clearly meet eligibility requirements and trying to exit students out when they have needs and disabilities that are impacting their education. Join us for a closer look!

Peggy Schaefer is a board-certified Neurological Music Therapist (NMT), and her work focuses on how the brain processes rhythm and applies it to non-musical interventions. She studied with Dr. Michael Thaut at Colorado State University, which is where this research-based approach originated. The application has been widely used with patients who have Parkinson’s disease and has been proven to be as effective as medication. Peggy’s past work has been with US service members in neurological rehab, stroke patients, Parkinson’s patients, and those with traumatic brain injuries.  

Show Highlights:

• What Peggy is seeing as a trend in children being denied IEPs, one-to-one aides, and services for alternative communication
• How taking away these students’ rights is a civil rights issue
• Why it’s frustrating when the school personnel talk about what they don’t understand regarding what an individual student needs in order to learn
• How workplaces have become more flexible since COVID—but schools have become more inflexible
• How the system wears down teachers AND families
• Why punishing and shaming a child doesn’t work for long-term change
• How effective communication can make all the difference in the IEP process
• Why it’s as simple as listening to what the child says they need

 Links/Resources:

Connect with Peggy: www.theimperfectplace.com  

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us here and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Our February series on IEP eligibility continues in this episode. Today’s focus is on the “other health impairments” category. As an explanation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) sets forth 13 eligibility categories, and each state is allowed to expand on those categories but not shrink them in their implementation. Join us for a closer look.

Show Highlights:

• What is covered by the OHI (Other Health Impairments) category of the IDEA
• How the IDEA code mentions “educational performance” but not academics
• Why a health impairment does not mean a medical diagnosis but can be anything that impacts a child’s health
• Why nothing in the code prohibits eligibility for a student with an OHI who is “making progress”
• Why we want to give parents information to ask about the IDEA code and how it is being interpreted for their child’s eligibility 

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected]

We made it through the super-long month of January, and we are officially into the second month of 2023. Whew! We have certainly had some crazy IEP meetings already, and we are seeing a disturbing new trend regarding eligibility for IEPs in which children who need services are being denied. Our February series that begins today will address this issue, and we will be going through the eligibility categories in these episodes, along with explaining what the law says about eligibility. We are starting today by sharing what we are currently seeing in our cases. Join us for a closer look!

Show Highlights:

• The starting point for eligibility: the assessment
• How the trend is for opposing counsels to use special education language and buzzwords to apply delay tactics and “wait and see” approaches
• Why an IEP DOES NOT equal special day classes and removal from general education classrooms
• Why struggling children are being denied IEPs with the excuse that “they are doing OK without any services”
• Why struggling academically is NOT the only basis for IEP services for a child
• What the law actually says about eligibility criteria for IEP

Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

Instagram–We are doing videos on Instagram, so connect with us there and send us your questions!

Twitter

IEP website

Email us: [email protected]