Puzzle Board Advocacy

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Since I started the Puzzle Board page, I've been shocked by all these extreme IEP coaches claiming that all kids should be exclusively in General Education (GenEd) and assume that Para (teaching assistants) and GenEd teachers can take the place of a Special Ed (SpED) teacher simply because they have a behavioral plan (BIP). Now I get that every disability is a spectrum, and a least restrictive model is always the best option but at the core it, when it needed it is needed. I never had intended for PBA to be a soapbox but here we are. Pull up a seat…

I was a child in SpEd and I am horrified by this idea. I was a gifted kid but I was also high risk for self harm with multiple attempts by the time I got to middle school. Logically this hurt the brains of educators who couldn’t understand why both could be true. So more then once they tried to force me into GenEd- and that failed horribly.. most of the time. A few classes where great, but some caused massive panic attacks, acts of violence towards my self and others- it was bad. I wasn’t a bad kid at all, it was just apart of my journey and I’m not proud to share it but with every thing I see in the news I can’t be quiet about it either.

The reason why this argument bothers me so much is because it means that these coaches don't know what a magical unicorns SpEd teachers are. They don’t understand that teaching methods of SpEd are designed per kid not per class. Not all students learn the same; this is true for all students, but when you apply spectral disabilities these difference can seem extreme. So instead of teaching 1 plus 1 you might be teaching apples and pears. Or maybe in terms of Elmos and Cookie Monsters. Or maybe you’ll have to teach in dancing terms or clapping. This process takes a while to figure out what works for both student and teacher. It’s specialize learning and in a small class everyone gets their style taught and sometimes it’ll be intergrated all once. Desks get moved, homework assignments given out on multiple formates- it’s impressive.

My teachers kept me safe from myself but also challenged me. I had one teacher who taught me Algebra II in his Algebra I class and gave me my first intro to coding. This happened because I was forced in a GenEd class where I exploded
on the teacher after he called another student dumb for not understanding the material. Was it wrong what he did, yes- but I was also disrespectful and disruptive, and that impacted not only the teacher but everyone in the room. Again, Inclusion is only good if you are also empowering the student to meet their goals. If I was having a panic attack in a classroom I wouldn’t have been able to learn. My SpED teachers rolled with it and gave me an environment where I could thrive, where I was safe and I wasn’t explosive.

This argument also doesn’t understand why it’s harmful to everyone to overload an already overloaded GenEd teachers. This isn’t to say that GenEd teachers aren’t talented but the environment they teach in isn’t designed to accommodate at that level. While teacher aids or Para’s are fantastic and we are so thankful for ours, they too aren’t trained at the same level as a SpEd teacher. Most can only follow guidelines not make them up on the fly and a SpED can’t truly exercise that magic unicorn style of teaching if they aren’t there to witness the everyday activities. This is a massive disservice to everyone and from what I saw and experienced only magnified the discrimination and misunderstanding of those with disabilities and disorders. The goal of inclusion is really to make a better future for all, so yea I am all for inclusive music classes as long as it’s right for the student.

From my perspective, if anything…. parents should demand that all kids have access to small classes with unicorn teachers- not that all kids should be in GenEd. But this goes back to budgets. That is at the heart of this style of advocacy, instead of advocating for what’s right it’s accept defeat and take what you can get. Instead of cutting budgets on education- always demand more. Why? Because an empowered students produce a stronger work force and can pay higher taxes in the future. The more you invest now, the more you gain later. Again this is true for all students. Yes there’s research that would support exclusive inclusion- but if you look at that research you’ll see massive leaps from their findings and methodologies. Many institutes have called out this poor excuse for research but again people who will have you spend less on education will always use it to support their argument.

For anyone who reads this who questions the ability for SpEd teacher to also push academic excellence- I am a former SpEd student but I am also a Cum Laude graduate of American University who rocked academic scholarships. Did it happen right away, no. It took time and a lot of trial and error like most of learning with a disability or a disorder does. But without my SpEd educators, I wouldn’t be here to write this and I wouldn’t be able to proudly say that I eventually beat the harmful sides of my neurodivergence. I am happy now, I am a fierce mama bear but I am filled with love for myself and others (running on almost a decade now).

So protect and honor SpEd. Buy those teachers all the sensory toys, white board markers, Starbucks cards and Clorox wipes… whatever they need, praise them. Praise all teachers they earned it, but empower them too. Treat IEPs as a place where you are working for a smooth year for everyone. The more knowledge your teacher has on your child the better the IEP will be and the more it can be enforced and protected.

So arrive prepared.

Always ask to be apart of the drafting for the IEP.

Have a buddy who can be your shoulder or knows the system like the back of their hand.

Follow up on IEPs. Things happen teachers get transferred, someone goes on maternity leave, things happen.

And if your student ever falls behind the goals that are set or isn’t thriving at their level- you can request to meet again.

So yeah you can be a kind pain in the ass. You can also bring cookies.

Great advice.
Are you giving away too much information?
Sometimes when we live in the world of advocacy we want to celebrate these major milestones. But IEPs and making sure you get your kids teachers all those beloved sensory toys isn’t the only thing you need to think about.

What are you sharing? Why are you sharing it? Who can see it? I know it’s scary to think about but You’ve got this! Happy First Day kiddo!

Thank STL police for sharing this great advice!

If you need someone to attend an IEP meeting with you. My top picks are
* local disability advocacy organizations- ARC, IPUL- you call 211 to find your nearest organization

* Infants and Toddler connection/ they may also be called something else but it’s whoever did your Early Childhood intervention through HHS. Durning this time you had a case coordinator. The Case Coordinator is an amazing person to have with you and can guide this process smoothly, sometimes doing an easy handoff process.

* If you had a Parents as Teacher case worker, also amazing!

* A therapist- OT, PT, SLP that worked closely with your child. They can even talk about what they discovered worked in therapy, or talk about goals they are working. This a great place for creating collaboration and why having a great working relationship with your therapist is also vital not just amazing.

* Your spouse or family member, anyone who is level headed and can pick up quickly on any missed details or errors.

Also many organizations that focus on disability advocacy offer free IEP coaching if you can’t afford a private coach.

YES, I do offer IEP Consultations… within limits. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

✅ I am happy to read your child's IEP,
✅ Make suggestions,
✅ Offer alternative goals/wordings, and
✅ "Coach” you on how to advocate for your child.

You can book a one-hour session here:

https://calendly.com/notanautismmom/1-hour-iep-consultation

More info for transparency…

🚫 I’m not a full-service special education advocate. I do not attend IEP meetings or work directly with the school at this time.

Edited to add: You can bring anyone you want to the IEP meeting, and I can recommend who to bring/invite. I just can’t make that level of commitment at this time. 💜

I‘m most familiar with elementary and preschool IEP’s, particularly students with communication differences.

For older students, I would recommend the fine folks at Reach Every Voice.

Lisa Wright is also a great choice.
https://linktr.ee/lisabaskinwright

Hello!!

One incredible thing about this adventure is being thrown in a Algorithm. Things I never saw before on my feeds are coming up. Voices I never heard before are emerging and it’s pretty amazing!

We are gearing up to do an IEP series for PBA. We are not a course creator instead for this series we would like to empower creators, educators, and parents who want to share their stories and their work as it relates to IEPs. Will you come to the board?

As a parent having gone through it with my child, and as a former SWD student, It would be my honor.

Thank you,

Lyla

Yes 🙌

We'll its funny, I was supposed to have all this cool stuff by today and I got lost in the amazing world of digital accessibility. Why is this important to empowering Children with Developmental disabilities? Well if your main tool for educating is on a digital platform, you could accidentally be presenting a child with unnecessary experiences or you could be excluding them from the conversation completely.

So, since I want to be a leader in this conservation and have all the cool toys, I still need to figure out how to bootstrap all this cool tech stuff. In the meantime please consider joining our group discussion on Facebook.

This week will be introducing the main sectors of advocacy required to empower children and On Friday we will have fundraiser Friday!!!

But yeah accessible technology is cool. Hells yeah AccessiBe, Im a big fan.

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Having moved to multiple states with a child who has a developmental disability, I see you. You don’t have to do it alone.

Join the conversation

Meme credit To: Don’t IEP Alone.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/800724474623362/?ref=share_group_link