Summary: Welcome friends, On today’s episode of ”Advocate like a Mother™ Podcast,” Michelle and Ashley chat with the Sandi Ames. Sandi is the director of Parents CAN which stands for Collaborate, Advocate, Navigate. Parents CAN is a non profit that provides education and support to individuals with disabilities, their families, and those that serve them. She is an incredible child advocate and parent mentor. We sat around Michelle’s kitchen table with Sandi to discuss IEP’s (individual educational plan). We discuss goals and the actual assessment in our first part of this two part series. Sandi is a powerhouse advocate when it comes to IEPs and the school, she’s been in the field since the mid 80s! On this second part of this episode we discussed the actual meeting itself. Sandi is working hard on giving the educators the resources that they need. Going into the IEP meeting make sure you know this is not a us vs. them, We need to all work together. You should review the assessment, and the proposed goals, make sure you have a vision for your child. Come prepared with your talking points. Keep in mind we want to build a strong relationship and help build this foundation for our kids. Be proactive not reactive. Don’t feel overwhelmed when you feel emotionally charged during the meeting, take a break, take a deep breathe, and come back. There’s so many approaches. You can always bring someone with you to take some notes. You have a voice in this, you can ask for them to explain their abbreviations and district terms. It’s your meeting, we are equal members of the team. To make it a little less stressful we have included a checklist you can bring in alongside your brag sheet! To any parent struggling with a child that has an IEP, you are not alone. We are here to help encourage you, and to help find your community. Michelle & Ashley Check out the IEP checklist here: https://www.advocatelikeamother.org/podcast/s01ep3-iep-sandiames-pt2 CONNECT WITH OUR SHOW INSTAGRAM | http://www.instagram.com/advocatelikeamother TWITTER | http://www.twitter.com/advocatelikeamom EMAIL | Hello@advocatelikeamother.org
