Blog Posts

Learning to Self Advocate

11/23/2020

In recent months I have had the opportunity to work directly with one of my clients children. When I first began advocating for him and his family, he had just entered a public middle school. Years of private school education in a setting that specialized in meeting his specific learning needs had set him up to be an academically strong student who continues to require extra time to complete work that relies heavily on reading.

His mother and I worked together to put supports into place that were appropriate to his needs through direct advocacy at all team meetings. Mom too, was learning what special education looks like in the public setting.

Now I find myself working directly with him as he is learning how to successfully advocate for himself in high school. This maturing student is the expert in what he needs to demonstrate his learning.

Together, with the push from his mom, he is moving towards complete competency in the ability to observe, inform and adjust the demands of high school. He gets stuck in overwhelm - that is where I enter the problem.

He feels overwhelmed at the amount of work, yet once he is able to articulate the particulars he becomes clear on a pathway to success. This week when I reached out to him to problem solve I discovered he had decided on a plan similar to the one I thought would work. Together we fine tuned the plan and discussed the best way to inform his teachers.

He decided how to attack his work load. He generally works slowly so he requires extra time. Then, he got COVID-19 which had him completely unable to do any work for a period of time.

Now recovered, he has decided to keep up with newly assigned work, and attack the previously assigned work as time permits. He believes he can get all the work in before the end of the semester. He identified what he could do quickly. The one subject that was reading dense would take longer to complete.

We discussed emailing each teacher separately, informing each of his plans including a timeline for completion in each subject. I offered to craft and email for him to send by the morning of the following day, if that would help. He decided to write the emails himself and send them. He did that the following morning.

He and his teacher in the most reading dense subject came up with a modified work load that will still allow him to earn his customary ‘A’ if what he turns in is up to his usual standards. This work will take the longest to complete. His other teachers were fine with his plan as is - and appreciated him letting them know what is going on.

This 9th grade student is learning to successfully advocate for himself. He has moved on from complaining to problem solving. Instead of needing his mom to ‘tell the teachers’ he has done that himself. I simply provided a framework and support for success.

This level of self-advocacy is what we all want for our children. It is a skill that needs to be taught and supported like any other. It has clear steps and check-ins to make sure progress is being made. Successful self-advocacy, when realized can bring life changing self-assurance in any situation.

Have a question or concern?
Reach out today. Call (215) 932-1702 or email:kswilson2358@gmail.com

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COVID-19: Returning to the Brick and Mortar School

11/2/2020

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The challenges of COVID-19 are once again changing the lives of our children in very dramatic ways as schools across the country are opening their doors for in person learning. What that can look like has more options than a Dunkin’ Donuts case of goodies.

Many schools are offering a variety of instructional models that are once again requiring our children, teachers and parents to expand their idea of what school looks like. Do you choose in person or virtual? Is in person every day or a partial week? Is virtual part of the in person experience?

If you choose virtual will it be with a teacher who now has an actual physical class with them? How will that differ from full virtual? Will the teacher move around the room to assist those children sitting in front of them and become invisible to the student on the virtual setting? Will the child asking a question in the physical classroom be heard by the student sitting at home?

Many of my clients tell me their children were reluctant to ask questions when all children were in the virtual setting. Will that continue to be a hindrance with the dual option?

If someone in your home is diagnosed with Covid does your child need to go from in person to virtual learning? Do they then return after the all safe is declared? Will they be able to understand that they are staying home not because they are ill but because someone they live with is? How may that in and out affect your child? The class as a whole? Will higher absentee rates and perhaps longer absences affect the flow of instruction?

Physical health concerns will be a factor for the child attending a brick and mortar setting. However, the child at home, may have to deal with an increased sense of social isolation as they observe their friends from a distance. They are not part of the lunch and recess activities - which in reality schools are putting extra effort into as they provide safe structure for the students who are physically present.

The change from new norm to new norm is stressful enough for adults to manage let alone our children. It is important to monitor our children closely during these changeable times. They hear so much from parents and other children. Every person has a unique perspective on the ‘right’ way to approach these times. It is important for we adults to strive for understanding and provide reassurance of safety for our children.

As our children move out into the bigger world their understanding of what is best is going to be challenged. This goes far beyond the stressors of the classroom yet impacts them in the classroom and beyond.

I do not have answers to these or any of the other questions that will arise from the limited opening of schools. Reassuring your child of their safety is a priority. Answering their questions is a must. Monitoring changes in behavior and talking with their teacher can not be overlooked.

These are yet again uncharted waters. We need to be kind to all involved. The questions I offered above are questions I am sure teachers and parents across the country are asking themselves as their students are both in person and virtual. They may assist you in opening up necessary conversations should the need arise.

Have a question or concern? Reach out today at 215-932-1702 or kswilson2358@gmail.com. I would love to help you.

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IEPs and the Virtual Classroom

10/21/2020

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This past week was very busy with Remote Learning/IEP Meetings. I must admit I am not a big fan of these. Connections are in and out. People are not always visible on the screen, so it is difficult to gage reactions to what is being said. I am never sure if everyone is still in the room, listening. Often in a face to face meetings people are multi-tasking. I assume it is happening at these meetings, too.
Because I am attending as the advocate for my families I do not know the staff by sight. I am unable to recognize anyone by voice. I find myself constantly saying this is Kathi when Iparticipate in the conversation. As an advocate I do that a lot.

I am sure I am not the only person who finds these meetings even more difficult to navigate than the traditional in school meeting. The important thing to remember is that these meetings are intended to be inclusive of you, the parent.

You are not invited to hear what the school wants to tell you as an audience member. You are a vital participant in the process. You have an obligation to ask questions, share information and suggestions as to what your child needs to be successful. What I have become so aware of is that thru virtual learning you have new information that needs to be shared.

In preparing for these meetings I spend several hours going over documents and speaking with the parents. It is what I normally do when I am working with a client. Virtual learning has significantly enhanced these conversations. The willingness my clients have to share their observations with me is the same willingness they, and you, must have at the meetings themselves.

Parents, I mean you, have become more aware of how your child learns and behaves in the ‘classroom setting’. ‘He does better when he is standing’, ‘he likes to be facing away from the other kids’, ‘she puts her head down but is actively listening’, ‘he knows the answers, it is really the writing part that is hard’. These behaviors are not barriers to learning. They are part of how your child learns.

These behaviors need to be shared and developed into accommodations that are workable in the classroom. As your children return to brick and mortar learning you must take what you see working in the virtual setting and advocate for its appropriate use in the face to face model.

At one of my meetings this week. The willingness to take parent observations and put appropriate, out of the box, accommodations into the IEP almost brought me to tears. Not only were the teachers and specialists willing to listen to the parents, they presented suggestions as to how they would support the accommodations across all settings. This is key to the effective implementation of accommodations that are creative and child centered.

Teachers must be supported in how to implement the non-standard accommodation so that they feel comfortable in doing something different. They must be reminded that what a good accommodation accomplishes is the facilitation of learning and the demonstration of that learning by the child.

Before your next meeting think about what you know your child can do and how they like to do it. Brainstorm ways this can look.

At the meeting state what you see working at home and ask how that could be accomplished in the classroom setting?

Would your child benefit from an island marked out on the floor in which they can move during Instruction?

Would they benefit from a study corral to block out distractions?

Is sitting on the floor their preferred place to read?

Be open and invite help from the staff to support your child’s growth. Be a part of the conversation. You are not there to listen and agree. You are there to craft a learning plan for your child and their needs.

Have a question? Reach out today.

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Remote IEP and 504 Plan Meetings

10/5/2020

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Just yesterday I was contacted by a client who is attending a remote IEP for her daughter, today. She asked me to look over the proposed IEP, 25 pages in all, and let her know if I have any thoughts.

She is happy with how her daughter is doing this year - based on what we put in place last year and felt that due to the remote learning environment - this IEP would be easy.

After reading the IEP and providing feedback, in the form of questions I would want answered and some suggestions to further support her child, she noted that she ‘never would have thought to ask these questions’ and that ‘this would be easy’. Easy is one thing. Accurate and accountable is something else.

All IEP’s and 504 meetings are important. It is true that you can always ask for a meeting to review and update the plan, you need to know what the current plan is providing, what growth will be monitored, measured and reported and what the school is doing.

Your IEP should not say we are providing accommodations through remote learning that were on the IEP so they no longer need to be listed. (This was on another IEP I was asked to review.) What were they and how are they being delivered now? This alone would require a new IEP when the child returns to school. Would you remember that if there was no specific reference as to what has been dropped? I wouldn’t.

Here is the litmus test of whether or not you have an IEP that you understand. If you walked out of the meeting and met your mother-in-law and she asked you about your child’s learning plan would you be able to describe it with confidence? The goal here is to be able to tell someone who loves your child how they are being supported in school in easy to understand language.

You should be able to ‘see’ your child’s learning in your mind’s eye.

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Learning to Self Advocate

COVID-19: Returning to the Brick and Mortar School

IEPs and the Virtual Classroom

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