Families come to me when they’re confused, frustrated, or need insight and knowledge on how to navigate public school. I help families prepare for their first ever meetings, understand evaluations, communicate with school staff, and create and maintain positive relationships with school teams.

IEP and Special Education Services

What’s the process?

Step 1: Free consult

Get the ball rolling & diffuse the freak out

You’ll schedule a 30-minute consult call and fill out an intake form. During our call, we’ll discuss challenges, priorities, and why you are seeking advocacy services. The purpose is for you to get to know me and understand my approach. You can expect to leave the call with an action step for what you can do right away.

Step 3. Comprehensive meeting support

Prep for your meeting and bring me with you

You’ll receive support before, during, and after school meetings. You’ll go into the meeting with defined priorities and have an advocate by your side ready to share your perspective. After the meeting, we’ll discuss next steps and I’ll support you in communications.

Communication with school teams - The key to a productive meeting is good communication. When you share your priorities ahead of time, the team has a chance to prepare. I will help you write and revise up to four emails, appeals, or letters.

Pre-meeting strategy session - We’ll meet for 60-minutes before your meeting to prepare. I’ll help you understand what to expect and how to approach the team. We’ll decide together on my role in the meeting.

Meeting attendance - You’ll receive live support in an in-person or virtual IEP meeting. My style is respectful but firm— I will ask hard questions, advocate for what is best for your child, and offer clarification for any confusing language. There is no time limit.

Post-meeting strategy session - We’ll have a 60-minute meeting to discuss how the meeting went and come up with a strategy for how to move forward. You will receive a written summary of this session.

Text message support - You likely have a lot of questions. Sometimes an incident occurs or you receive unexpected info from a staff member. You can text me at any time when you need some quick advice.

Step 2: School support strategy

Learn what to do next

I listen to your concerns and review your documents to advise you on how to proceed. You’ll gain a better understanding of where to focus your advocacy efforts. You’ll receive well-defined action steps so you can make immediate progress.

Comprehensive case review - I review everything you share with me— IEP documents, psycho-educational evaluations from the district and private practitioners, email communications, and more. This allows me to see any gaps or immediate issues that can be resolved.

School support assessment - Based on what I learn via your intake form, consult call, and documents, I’ll provide you with an assessment of your child’s school situation to help determine our priorities.

Strategy session - We’ll have a 60-minute virtual strategy session to deep a deep dive so that we can decide on appropriate next steps. You’ll ask questions and I’ll share advice on how to prepare for a meeting, communicate with your team.

Summary of what to do next - You’ll receive a written summary of our strategy session so you can not only plan your next steps, but execute. This summary will include what emails to send, what issues to prioritize, as well as helpful language for communicating your position.

Additional services for existing clients

Once I understand your case and know your family, I’m well-positioned to continue to help. Here are other areas I offer support:

Attending follow up 504 and IEP meetings
Writing and revising formal appeals to administration and school boards
Researching and suggesting appropriate school and placement options
Touring schools & classrooms
Recommendations for therapists, tutors, coaches, and others who can support your child and family
Connecting you with other families and resources

Advocacy is a substantial investment for many families. Because of this, I offer sliding scale options. California’s Self-Determination Program (SDP) may also provide funding. I am open to receiving SDP funding and we can discuss how to incorporate my services into your spending plans.

It may be helpful to compare the costs of advocacy with attorney fees and specialized private schools. Most California attorneys require minimum retainers of $5,000+ or more. Specialized schools are not only difficult to find, but cost families ~$35,000+ per year.