Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed

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(00:19)
We're going to talk today about three different things that you can do to avoid the trap of having students earn inclusion. We really do not want to approach inclusion from the standpoint of earning inclusion.  If inclusion has to be earned it really starts to give a feeling not just for the student, but for the entire student body, that inclusion is something that you earn to be with the good kids. And if you don't earn inclusion, you go to the special education room, as if that's a bad thing.

(01:26)
Now that's not the intention of the IEP team of the teachers, or the staff, or the team, but it's what the feeling is and that's really what inclusion is... Inclusion is a feeling. Now we've all felt excluded from activities, right? You as a parent, as a teacher, as an adult, you have felt excluded from a party or a community event or maybe a workshop that you're attending. You know what that feels like?

Let's really work on creating inclusive experiences on...

Missed IEP Minutes is a tough situation for everyone. 

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Video Highlights:

We're going to talk about what to do when you have missed IEP minutes. This is a difficult situation no matter what your role is at the IEP table. It becomes uncomfortable for the teachers, the parents, and the therapists, when it comes this hot topic of what to do when minutes are missing.

How you handle this situation is super important because we want to get to a solution as fast as possible. So as soon as you figure out what is happening in your student's or your child's day it's important we get to a solution

(01:01)
Parents, sometimes you don't realize what's not happening until it hasn't been happening for a little while. That's the case a lot of the time when it comes to missed minutes. These missed minutes can be speech therapy, occupational therapy, minutes, resource minutes, direct instruction minutes.

The first thing is that you need...

Got questions for your IEP team? Whether you are a parent, teacher, therapist or admin, you need to ask!

Highlights from the Video:

• I get a lot of questions that start with, can I ask for and then fill in the blank. So can I ask for more speech therapy? Can I ask for an inclusion specialist? Can I ask for an aide on the playground? Can I ask for a set of textbooks at home? Can I ask for an assistive technology evaluation? And those questions tell me that somebody feels stuck.
  
  (00:57)
• Have you felt stuck in this whole IEP process? Now this happens for parents, but it also happens for teachers. Can I ask foran extra set of tools in my classroom? Can I ask for permission to go to this training? Can I ask for an additional training on assistive technology? 
  
  (01:49)
• Yes, yes. You need to be asking. You need to be asking all the time. You don't know what's possible, if you don't ask. You have to open up those doors and start asking. Now, is there a right way to ask and...

 Struggling to figure out if your child or students are in the right classroom?

Take 3 minutes and find out how to use this key word phrase "Full Continuum of Placements" to take the next steps!

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Special Needs Parents & Special Education Teams... I know you have heavy decisions to make in special education. Follow your gut. Listen to your heart. You got this!

Video Notes: 

00:01 Hey Special Needs Parents and Special Education Teachers,

We're going to jump into a hot topic when it comes to making decisions in the IEP. There's this big place on the back of the document that states what a child's placement is going to be.

There should be three options listed or more that have been considered for our child and one of those options has been chosen. Now choosing the right classroom or finding the right placement for a child who has an IEP can be super tough.

I know this from being a special...

It doesn't matter what your role is at the IEP table, you either have already heard this crazy statement or it's coming your way... "We can't put that in the IEP!"

Take 7 minutes, watch this video and I'll tell you the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard for not putting IMPORTANT details in an IEP.

Then I'll tell you how to get around it!

If you like the simplicity and to the point action steps for changing IEPs in this video, then you'll LOVE the Special Education Inner Circle... come join us! 

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Facts or Feelings - How are you making IEP Decisions?

Listen in to learn the one red flag statement both parents and teachers should be aware of at the IEP table.

During this live conversation on Facebook, Catherine shared how to know when you're making a decision based on facts or feelings.

Next, special needs parents jumped in with questions about how to make their next decisions for their children. 

Make your next IEP decisions easier with your own IEP checklist at www.iepchecklist.com

This morning the conversation on FB all started with "how can I go observe my child in class, if the team says no" and then this happened...

We started talking about how we can help general education teachers read IEPs.

Then we couldn't help it, we jumped into talking about medical dx vs educational eligibility.

Master IEP Coaches were jumping on and helping parents in the comments while I was talking. Because that's just who they are... they are the ones making their coffee, while packing lunches, while answering IEP questions.

Then it happened... I cried. If you know me at all you know, I'm not a crier. Tears don't just flow for me. Sappy movies, weddings, none of it triggers me, BUT... when I think of the Master IEP Coaches who have finished the mentorship, who are helping families across the nation, who flew in to Chicago last summer for a mastermind day, who are dedicating their CAREERS to changing special education - break out the kleenex. I'm a mess. 

Listen in...

IEP Q&A with Master IEP Coaches... got questions about Inclusion, classrooms, goals, services... ask below!

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