Hey Team!
Today, I'm talking with Erika Levine, a special education professional with a clinical background in Occupational Therapy. Erika has made it her mission to simplify the legal and procedural hurdles that keep parents from getting their kids the support they're legally entitled to, drawing from her deep well of lived experience as both a professional and a parent of neurodivergent children.
In this episode, we get into the nitty-gritty of advocating for a child who isn't "failing" but certainly isn't thriving. We dive into the legal weight these documents carry, the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan and how we can walk into those meetings with six professionals without feeling like you're the one being sent to the principal's office. Erika also shares some personal history about her own mother's advocacy and why she created "My IEP Hero" to help parents navigate the system.
Mentioned in this episode: https://myiephero.app/
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/275
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
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- Treat the IEP as a legal mandate and understand that it is a legally binding document that schools must adhere to strictly; it is not a set of globalized suggestions, but a tailored plan for a specific child.
- Remember that the IEP team should include more than just teachers; it includes specialists like OTs, PTs, speech-language pathologists, and psychologists who can address the child's needs.
- If a school denies services because the child is "fine" academically, parents can request an Individualized Educational Evaluation (IEE) from an outside psychologist, which the school may be required to fund. Remember we want to focus on our children thriving, not just passing by through school.
