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Parent Consulting

Offered either remotely via Zoom and email, or in person.

Special education teachers at schools prepare IEPs for many students, for a wide variety of reasons.  The IEP is important because it explains what accommodations will be made for the student, and teachers are required to follow it.  Usually, parents are either consulted during the process or asked to approve a draft IEP.  However, the IEP process can be confusing and intimidating to parents.

I help parents to be confident that the document they're signing will meet their child's needs as well as possible. I meet with the parents to learn about the child.  A parent then emails me a copy of the draft IEP.  I review it from various potential perspectives depending on the family’s needs.  Some parents would like to gain a deeper understanding of the document or its terminology. 

Others ask whether I would recommend adding or enhancing elements of the IEP. For example, the school may not know that an occupational therapist has recommended that the child sit at the front of the class, and the parents may not know that it should be included in the IEP. We then meet a second time to discuss my findings, and I help them to prepare their feedback to the school.

Parents are often concerned about their child's school experience.  For example, when a child comes home complaining of a problem, it’s difficult for the parents to know what actually happened.  Did someone actually bully or start a fight with their child?  Did their child unintentionally cause the disagreement by behaving inappropriately?  Is there a pattern or was this a one-time event?

Most classroom teachers aren’t trained in social cognition, and they have many students to help.  They may not see, or may not realize, exactly what’s going on.

At parents' request, and with school permission, I can visit the school to observe the student.  This enables me to provide the parents with a professional view of the child’s experience and to suggest any follow-up actions.  With the parents’ permission, I can also share information with the school.

For my Social Behavior Course clients, a school observation can also help me to adjust course content to reflect any observed issues.

I am available to participate in parent meetings with the school administration.  The advantage to parents is that as a trained educator I am better able to advocate for their child.

In addition, when a school knows that I work with a particular child, they will sometimes request a meeting with me.  This can be a follow-up to a school observation visit, or to help their staff to better meet the child's needs.  In the past I have collaborated with school psychologists, speech language pathologists, school principals and special education teachers to strengthen the partnership between home and school.