Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Guardians of Hope podcast where we bring together parents, nonprofits, and legal experts dedicated to positively impacting children's lives. I'm Cynthia, your host. Before we begin, it's important to note this content should not be used as legal advice.
Speaker: The purpose of this podcast is to inform and unite. So please seek advice from your attorney or therapist to address any of your specific needs. The thoughts and opinions of my guests are not necessarily my own. This is a platform for sharing. I'd like to welcome my guest, Jennifer Bernheim, founder and advocate of Right to Read Advocacy. Welcome, Jennifer. Thank you so much for joining me. Cynthia, thank you for having me.
Speaker: Of course, I wanted to talk to Jennifer because following her youngest son's dyslexia diagnosis, Jennifer struggled to navigate the challenges of getting a dyslexic thinker the help they needed, even in a highly ranked Connecticut school district. The experience inspired her to found right to read advocacy to help other parents of dyslexic learners.
Speaker: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 15 % of all public school students across the United States in the 2021 -2022 school year were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Speaker: IDEA, or IDEA, was enacted in 1975 and it mandates free and appropriate public school education for eligible students identified by a team of professionals as having a disability that adversely affects academic performance and as being in need of special education and or related services.
Speaker: So Jennifer, your organization provides support and advocacy for dyslexic thinkers and their parents. Tell us about what you do and how organizations like yours can help support parents and students with various disabilities.
Speaker: Sure. Thank you again for having me, Cynthia, and for the opportunity to share a bit more about Right to Read Advocacy. With our organization, we focus on empowering parents of dyslexic learners through both advocacy and education. So we help to advocate for children who are classified as having the specific learning disability of dyslexia or those who are in the process of being evaluated for dyslexia.
Speaker: And we do that through coaching, behind the scenes, advocacy, and education. And I'll just briefly share what each of those entails. With our coaching, which is behind the scenes, it is so because sometimes parents aren't ready to have an advocate sitting at the table with them. So we inform them of their rights. We help to identify the services needed within a public school district.
Speaker: we can help parents with drafting letters to school personnel, which is really important because as we'll discuss during the podcast, everything needs to be in writing, right? So very important to have these letters to school personnel who we are trying to seek support from. And then we're also here to help analyze monthly data. So if your child is on an IEP, you want to know if they're making progress, you certainly want to look at that data collection and analyze whether your child is making progress.
Speaker: And then we can also review student records and provide recommendations, you know, if there are holes missing within the evaluations that your child has received. We can also advocate for students at IEP meetings, meaning we can actually attend those meetings and sit and be an active member of that student's team. Again, they are to support the parent and the student.
Speaker: And then we attend those meetings and we make sure that they're recorded if that is applicable within your state, or they're going to take notes because it's often an overwhelming amount of information. And we can also send follow -ups regarding next steps. And again, making sure everything's documented in writing. And then lastly, and what I really enjoy is the opportunity to educate parents.
Speaker: We offer webinars and live events that focus around dyslexia. We recently had one on assisted technology tools, free tools online for dyslexic learners, and we have many more events coming up. It's a little bit about what we do. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks so much for sharing. That is so helpful. You mentioned IEP, and I wanted to talk a little bit about what the difference is between an IEP and a 504 plan.
Speaker: For sure. Yeah, this is a really big question. We could talk for a long time about the differences between the IEP and a 504 plan. But there really are some great resources that I just want to point your listeners to, and then I can dive in. But understood .org does a really nice side -by -side comparison, you know, the differences between IEP and 504. And the National Center for Learning Disabilities has a great
Speaker: IDA parent guide, and then the State Department of Ed does a nice job. I mean, not the state, but the Federal Department of Education does a nice job with outlining 504 plan. So those are just a few resources. But in diving in, I think the best way to approach this for your listeners is to really discuss how students are determined eligible for either the individualized education plan or the 504 plan. So just going to speak to that briefly.
Speaker: Under IDEA, it's really a two -prong process to determine whether the student is qualified to receive services through an individualized education plan. And the National Center for Learning Disabilities outlines it this way.
Speaker: And I think it's helpful and makes it comprehensive. So prom one is that the student must be determined to have one or more of the 13 disabilities listed in the IDA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. And the most common disabilities that we're seeing at this time are both autism and specific learning disabilities. But in addition to having one or more
Speaker: of those disabilities, that a student must, as a result of that disability, need special education in order to both make progress in school and to benefit from general education. So again, two -pronged approach, the student could have a disability but might not need special education in order to make progress. So they definitely need to check both the boxes in order to qualify for an IEP under IDEA.
Speaker: Now, with Section 504, the law defines a person as disabled a bit differently. And that is a individual or student, in this case, would have a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Now, that list of major life activities is quite long and can include learning, reading, concentrating, thinking.
Speaker: And that is how it's defined under Section 504 and then typically a student would receive accommodations or modifications and they actually can also receive special education services under a 504. So I think those are, you know, that's a really
Speaker: big main difference is how disability is defined. Some other differences between an IEP and a 504 include your rights as a parent. So those differ. Also your participation as a parent, who can sit at the table for an IEP or a 504. So with an IEP plan, you're definitely an active and contributing member as a parent.
Speaker: With a 504 plan, it's definitely the right thing to do to have you sit at a table, but the district does not have to include the parent in that process. And then there are also different procedural rights and safeguards, and how do you exercise your rights if you're finding that your district or local education agency is not providing the student the services that they need.
Speaker: That is so interesting. Thank you for sharing that. Now, we talked about the differences of classifications or the 13 disabilities. What should a parent do if they feel that their child may fall into one of these classifications and how do they start working on getting their child evaluated for special ed services?
Speaker: For sure. So if a parent is seeing that their child is struggling in school, they don't have to know the answer, or what, or why, or what the classification is. But they can just reach out to the teacher, particularly in writing, if possible, and share those concerns. And I really encourage them to do that immediately and not to wait, because the process for qualifying for special education is actually a long one.
Speaker: So from that moment that they might send the email to the teacher or to the district administrator, you know, they have then 10 days to even call this, you know, IEP, we call them PPT meetings and Connecticut planning and placement team meeting to then determine if they're even going to evaluate the student for special education. And then from that determination,
Speaker: They have 45 days in the state of Connecticut, but 60 days is the federal guideline to actually evaluate the student. And those are school days, not just calendar days. So you can see the process takes a very long time. And then you come back to the table and decide if that student is qualified for an IEP or 504. And if it's an IEP, the district then has time.
Speaker: at least 10 days to put together that plan. So the calendar, you know, is moving quickly and your child is really not then getting the services that they need. So if there's any inkling that your child would qualify for special education or a 504 plan, I would reach out to a teacher, you know, much easier at the lower school because your child has a, you know, one point of contact, the classroom teacher. As your child moves into secondary education, there are many.
Speaker: And so then you can reach out to an administrator, principal, et cetera, and just simply state that you have a concern. Yeah. Thanks, Jennifer. Now, I know you have a lot of experience working with parents and students. What is some of the best advice you can give to ease parents' concerns about their kids needing special education services? Sure. Thanks for asking.
Speaker: And the advice that I wish I received too, you know, you are not alone. So don't go it alone. I think it's really important to know and as I'm sure you know as well to really kind of build your community of support as you go because there are other parents.
Speaker: you know, going through the exact same thing at the same time or parents who really are years ahead of you and can tell you what's coming up as your child transitions into middle or high school and how those accommodations and modifications or special education might differ, right, as the child gets older. So I really think it's important to just develop a network. And I think there's so many great resources available to us
Speaker: online now. I know that does not replace that human connection, but it's a great starting point for parents. There are plenty of associations specific to a disability. There's also a great organization called the Council of Parent Attorneys
Speaker: and advocates COPA, which offers a lot of training for parents who want to learn more about the law and how to apply to their child. And, you know, for us, there is, you know, a decoding dyslexia or the International Dyslexia Association. But just know that there are other parents going through the same journey and that there are
Speaker: there are resources available. And also just go with your gut, I would have to say. One thing I've learned after all these years is the mom instinct or dad instinct is typically right. And even when you're sitting at that table and others might make you feel like you're a little crazy, you're not. Just keep in forging ahead for your child to get the services that they need and that they're entitled to under faith.
Speaker: is a free and appropriate public education.
Speaker: Yeah. I know from my personal experience, my son is on an IEP and he's transitioning out of elementary to secondary middle school. So I think my advice is to just, like you said, stay informed, read the resources, you know, connect with other parents, especially in your community or in your school district, attend as many webinars as you can or listen to podcasts and inform yourself and just warm yourself. Yeah.
Speaker: Because when I first started, like you mentioned, I felt like I was alone too. And it's important for us parents to stick by each other and support each other, especially when we feel like people are not taking us seriously or that we're being emotional when it comes to our children's needs.
Speaker: So, I think this is great advice and this was such a wonderful conversation to have with you to get started on this topic. So, Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing your story and for also for helping parents navigate this process, which can be so challenging and emotional at the same time. To learn more about Jennifer's organization, go to RightToReadAdvocacy .com.
