If you have an older student, you might already be thinking about post-high school transitions, so we are excited to dive into the topic of programs for students outside the school setting. Join us to learn more! Robert Freiri is the Executive Director of Gateway Center in Monterey County, CA. Most of his career has been spent in the nonprofit space, working with YMCA Boys and Girls Clubs, after-school care programs, Habitat for Humanity, residential foster care, and now, Gateway Center. Show Hi...
Nov 28, 2023•22 min•Ep. 290
Wherever you are listening from, your area of the country is probably in full back-to-school mode. We love to bring you helpful information to ensure that your school year is off to a great start, whatever the situation for you and your kiddos. We want to educate parents and school personnel about how we can work together to make safer and more inclusive spaces for our kids in schools. Our guest today helps us start the conversation around racism and implicit bias in today’s classrooms. Join us ...
Nov 21, 2023•26 min•Ep. 289
We see many clients in the transitional time of life after finishing high school and wondering what comes next. Today’s show focuses on a wonderful program that meets specific needs in multiple ways, alleviating the worries of many parents of neurodiverse young adults. Join us to learn more! Dr. Michael Held is the Executive Director of The Village, which offers a multitude of programs that serve about 700 youth and adults with developmental differences each month. As a trained clinical psycholo...
Nov 14, 2023•20 min•Ep. 288
You have heard us often discuss the shortcomings of standardized assessments in accurately determining the best ways to meet a child’s needs in the classroom. Standardized assessments are a tool, but they are not the best tool to use for every student. Today we dive into “learning stories,” observations that tell a story recognizing a child’s everyday efforts as milestones in their growth. Join us to learn more! We are joined by Julia Koumbassa, the Professional Development Director at Educa , t...
Nov 07, 2023•19 min•Ep. 287
Here we are at the end of October already! If you haven’t met with your IEP teams, we remind you to schedule those meetings and do a check-in, even if it’s not quite time for your yearly meeting. Today’s episode takes a new, more holistic approach to neurodivergence as we focus on neurodivergent-affirming care in the IEP process. Join us to learn more! We are joined by Dr. Taylor Day (Dr. Tay), a child psychologist with years of expertise in the early diagnosis and intervention of autism. Her ho...
Oct 31, 2023•24 min•Ep. 286
As we find ourselves here at the end of October, we are in the thick of the first semester. The holidays will be here before you know it, so this is your friendly reminder to schedule those IEP meetings with your school team if you have been procrastinating. Today’s topic is how schools and teachers can be more supportive in providing appropriate gender-affirming care for students. Join us! We are joined by Erin Pollard, LMFT, LPCC, an academic administrator at the community college level in CA....
Oct 26, 2023•29 min•Ep. 285
Today’s episode finishes out this brief series on the four low incidences eligibility categories. We covered blindness, deafness, hearing impairment, and now, visual impairment. “Visual impairment” is an umbrella term that includes an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness. Join us for a closer look! Show Highlights: Services these students need to access curriculum, including assist...
Oct 24, 2023•12 min•Ep. 284
In this series about the four low-incidence eligibility categories, we are giving examples of different accommodation services we have advocated for in serving students. Next up in today’s episode is low incidences of hearing impairment. This is defined as “an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” Let’s take a closer look! Show Highlights: How this eligibility category differs from the deafness category regarding the s...
Oct 17, 2023•11 min•Ep. 283
As we continue with our series on the eligibility categories of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), we present another brief episode on the second of the four categories that can be summarized within the law as “low incidence disabilities.” Join us for a closer look at low-incidence deafness in today’s episode. To clarify, the deafness category includes a severe hearing impairment affecting the child in processing linguistic information through hearing (with or without amplif...
Oct 10, 2023•12 min•Ep. 282
We are returning to our series on the eligibility categories with four brief episodes on the categories that can be summarized within the law as “low incidence disabilities.” This section of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is an umbrella of four sub-categories, so let’s take a closer look at low incidence deaf-blindness in today’s episode. Show Highlights: Why the deaf-blindness category is for students with both severe hearing and vision loss who need additional services ...
Oct 03, 2023•11 min•Ep. 281
It’s the perfect time to give parents tips and best practices in navigating IEP meetings and working in collaboration with your school team. THE most important aspect of that collaboration is effective communication, and we have not one, but two communication experts joining us for today’s episode. Join us to learn more! We are joined by Peggy S. Bud and Tamara L. Jacobson, the co-authors of Navigating Special Education: The Power of Building Positive Parent-Educator Partnerships . Together Pegg...
Sep 26, 2023•29 min•Ep. 280
We are excited to follow up Episode 274 (Understanding the Enigma: Autism in Girls) with a Part 2 discussion with Melody Abbene. There are so many nuances of autism that we can understand better through the lens of Melody’s expertise. As most of the US is a few weeks into a new school year, this is the perfect time to have these helpful conversations to bring clarity to confused and frustrated parents. Specifically, today’s focus is on how to get diagnoses and services when there are no problema...
Sep 19, 2023•20 min•Ep. 279
Here in mid-September, we are well into a new school year around the country. This is your friendly reminder to get ahead of any developing issues and schedule those IEP meetings now. Make those contacts with your school personnel in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation for the good of your student. The focus of this episode is on the design plan that goes into brand-new school campuses and the innovations that can be made to existing school spaces. Today’s guest gives insights into the p...
Sep 12, 2023•19 min•Ep. 278
As we are off and running into the new school year, we are sending out good vibes and best wishes to all parents and educators that 2023-2024 will be the best one yet! We always strive to bring you relevant information about topics that can help the students in your life get the very most out of their educational experience. Today’s show focuses on dyscalculia, a common math struggle for many students. Join us to learn more from today’s expert guest! Dr. Sandra Elliott began her career as an edu...
Sep 05, 2023•21 min•Ep. 277
Wherever you are listening from, your area of the country is probably in full back-to-school mode. We love to bring you helpful information to ensure that your school year is off to a great start, whatever the situation for you and your kiddos. We want to educate parents and school personnel about how we can work together to make safer and more inclusive spaces for our kids in schools. Our guest today helps us start the conversation around racism and implicit bias in today’s classrooms. Join us ...
Aug 29, 2023•26 min•Ep. 276
A new school year is always ripe with hope and anticipation that this one will be better than the last. We can all learn from our past mistakes AND successes to enter the 2023-2024 school year on a hopeful note. On today’s show, we talk with a guest who works every day as a fierce advocate to empower parents, grandparents, foster parents, educational right-holders, guardians, and all others who have a child in their care. Join us to learn more! We are joined by Dan Vosnos, Executive Director of ...
Aug 22, 2023•19 min•Ep. 275
Today’s topic is one that many people don’t recognize or acknowledge: autism in girls. Autism seems to present differently and to be much more commonly diagnosed in boys, so let’s learn more with today’s guest. Dr. Melody Abbene is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in working with neurodivergent people, most of whom are autistic. She does therapeutic work and adult autism assessments and is based in Los Angeles. Show Highlights: The differences in autism that present internally (more comm...
Aug 15, 2023•18 min•Ep. 274
Things are always changing in the field of education, and sometimes even new legislation and policies are like a whirlwind. Today’s episode takes a look at some exciting steps forward in inclusive education practices in California. Join us for more! Arielle Starkman is an Inclusive Education Consultant originally from New Jersey, and she now lives in Los Angeles. Her career as a special educator began right out of college when she first moved to California. Comparing her east coast experience to...
Aug 08, 2023•25 min•Ep. 273
As always, it seems like the summer flew by, and now we find ourselves jumping into another school year already. One question that comes up frequently in IEP meetings is why schools use standardized testing for kids with learning differences. Specifically, why do many school districts hold standardized test scores as the gold standard, when we know that kids with special needs aren’t being adequately evaluated? We are tackling this topic with Dr. Jayme Jones, who returns for a Part 2 conversatio...
Aug 01, 2023•31 min•Ep. 272
For our July shows, we are featuring a few of our most helpful episodes that you might have missed during the busy school year. Today’s encore edition is the second part of last week’s episode, where we take a closer look at what the law says about IEP eligibility. This part focuses on the “other health impairments” (OHI) category. As a reminder, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ), sets forth 13 eligibility categories, and each state is allowed to expand (but not shrink) the...
Jul 25, 2023•17 min•Ep. 271
During our summer break for July, we are featuring a few of our most popular episodes that you might have missed during the busy school year. Today’s encore edition covers a disturbing trend we’ve seen about eligibility for IEPs in which children who need services are being denied for a variety of reasons. The best way to be a prepared parent is to arm yourself with knowledge. We hope this information will be helpful as you plan for the 2023-2024 school year. Show Highlights: The starting point ...
Jul 18, 2023•22 min•Ep. 270
For many, the intricacies of IEPs can be overwhelming, and often, essential details in the plan may be crucial to a child’s educational success. In today’s show, we are replaying a previous episode where we break down some of those little details 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 me...
Jul 11, 2023•23 min•Ep. 269
During our summer break for the month of July, we are featuring a few of our most popular episodes that you might have missed during the busy school year. Today’s encore edition covers important information for parents who are gearing up for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. Join us as we break down some of those little details that are most often overlooked in IEP meetings. Show Highlights: What to consider in state testing accommodations, both typical assessments and modified/alternative ass...
Jul 04, 2023•23 min•Ep. 268
Today’s episode is Part 2 of our conversation with Jack Robinson, a partner and co-founder of the law firm Spies, Powers, and Robinson, in Denver, CO. In last week’s episode, he highlighted his landmark case, Endrew F v. Douglas County School District , and we discussed its impact for students with disabilities across the nation. Our focus today is Jack’s perspective on the state of special education today and how things can differ from one jurisdiction to another. As we usually do, we are takin...
Jun 27, 2023•20 min•Ep. 267
We are so honored to have today’s guest with us for an inside look at a groundbreaking case in the field of special education litigation. Jack Robinson is a partner and co-founder of Spies, Powers, and Robinson, a law firm located in Denver, Colorado. He took one of the biggest cases in special education all the way to the US Supreme Court in 2017. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District , Jack represented a family that sued their school district, claiming it did not provide their autisti...
Jun 20, 2023•32 min•Ep. 266
Summer can be hectic for families, and we hope you have a plan to manage your parental sanity and have time to make great memories with your kids! As always, we will be here with podcast episodes full of helpful information and insights. We have a great conversation today about social workers on school campuses that have access to your child. Join us! Laura Adams is the mother of four daughters, two of which are adopted from China. She is the founder of FACTS4SafeFamilies, an organization whose ...
Jun 13, 2023•26 min•Ep. 265
Today’s topic is a new one for the podcast, and it may be something new for our listeners. We are learning about an immersion school, how it functions, and why this education model works well for many students and families. Join us to learn more! We are joined by Maria Ventura and Jasmine Allen-Matora. Maria is a special ed teacher in a self-contained classroom of kids from TK- 5th grade. She has two master’s degrees in multicultural education and special education. Jasmine is the Prevention Int...
Jun 06, 2023•24 min•Ep. 264
Our heads are spinning as we rapidly approach the end of the school year. Fresh off the first couple of post-COVID years, it is important to change things in education and revamp what’s not working well. Today’s guest helps us gain a fresh perspective on our kids as individuals, neurodiversity, and inclusive education. Join us! Dr. Rina Bliss is a genetics expert, sociologist, and the author of three books. She is also the mom of three kids under 7 years of age. A former teacher in the Oakland U...
May 30, 2023•30 min•Ep. 263
The end is near! We are SO close to summer break, even though schools everywhere are finishing up at different times over the next couple of weeks. It is a busy, busy time for everyone involved in education. We need to continue to push for change, which is one thing we hope to accomplish by going through the eligibility categories. We didn’t want to let May (Mental Health Awareness Month) end without touching on the emotional disturbance category, so that’s the focus of today’s show. The categor...
May 23, 2023•18 min•Ep. 262
If you're a parent or caregiver of a child with neurodevelopmental differences, you know how important it is to have a clear understanding of your child's eligibility for educational and treatment plans. With so many questions surrounding eligibility evaluations, it can be overwhelming to navigate the process. As we continue with our series of shows about eligibility, we are here to help with an information-packed conversation! We are excited to be joined by Dr. Jayme Jones, a pediatric neuropsy...
May 16, 2023•28 min•Ep. 261
