Being a mother can be challenging, but if you have a child with special needs,  your world can be turned upside down with the added stresses of specialist appointments, therapies, and special diets or medication schedules. Just like any other mother, it is important to have a social outlet. You need a person or a group to be a part of your team. To cheer you on when times are tough and celebrate even the smallest of victories with you. In this episode, we will be discussing the importance of Finding Your Tribe.

The holidays can be a stressful time of year for any family. There are all of the traditions, family gatherings, work parties, kids out of school, but at the same time just as much on your plate as before. Now add to the mix having a child with special needs and added considerations to make the holidays go as smoothly as possible. In this episode, I will give you 5 tips for navigating the holidays with a child with special needs. Hopefully this list will bring you some comfort while letting you know you have permission to let go of those things that do not serve your family right now.

In this episode I will be discussing 3 of my favorite gift ideas for children that all work on hand strengthening and proprioceptive input, which is the deep pressure/heavy work that gives input to our joints. All 3 items are kid tested and approved by my students!

It has been awhile since I have added a new episode. In this episode, you will hear about some exciting things that have happened since the last episode and how I am reformatting the podcast a bit to reach a broader audience. Also, I define what exactly is “The Heart of Advocacy” to me!

What is school avoidance and how is it different from truancy. In this episode, I share a personal story about my son and his struggles with attending school. I share what I think has led him to where he is now and what the school and I are doing to try to help him. Throughout this journey, I have found that connection is important when working through school avoidance as well as approaching it from a troubleshooting viewpoint.

Did you know that anxiety is your body’s response to danger? It is your body’s way to prepare for “fight or flight”. In this episode, you will learn about some common forms of anxiety among children, how the anxiety manifests as well as some self-care options to help control anxiety.

What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 Plan? What are the requirements for each one? Are there similarities? In this podcast episode, we explore the similarities and differences between IEP’s and 504 plans.

If there is one thing I know as a Special Educator, it is that IEP’s come with a lot of paperwork! In this episode, we explore functional ways to organize paperwork to make it easily accessible to you.

In this episode, we explore why data collection at home can be beneficial and what to do if data does not align with data that is reported from the school.

In this episode, we talk about how to set up a learning space at home based on the purpose of the space and how to make it functional to meet the needs of you and your child.

Sensory Magic is going to be things that you can add to your bag of tricks to help you meet some of your child's sensory needs.

When asked how many senses we have we typically think about the 5 senses: vision (sense of sight), auditory (sense of sound), gustatory (sense of taste), olfactory (sense of smell), and tactile (sense of touch). But did you know there are actually 8 senses. Today we are going to talk about the three lesser known senses, red flags, and two of my favorite sensory resources.

Let’s talk about the 5 senses that you learned when you were very little. Then let’s go further in depth with the four sensory needs including seeking, low registration, avoiding, and varied. Finally, I’ll share some red flags to help you determine if your child might have any sensory needs that are not being addressed.

In this bonus episode, I share some things that have been on my mind in regards to advocacy and a few fun facts about me!

What you do after an IEP meeting is just as important as what you do before and during the IEP meeting. In this episode, you will learn next steps, including how to write a follow up email.

Do you ever get lost in what you should be doing prior to your child’s IEP meting? If so, this episode is for you! We are going to talk about writing a parent input statement, requesting and IEP draft, and note taking.

In this episode we will discuss the different formats of visual supports and the pros and cons of each one.

Visuals are one of the number one tools used to help children with or without disabilities successfully navigate their world. Find out what visuals are and why they are so valuable!

Throughout this podcast I will be answering the following questions: 

1. What is an IEP

2. What are the parts of an IEP

3. What is your role as the parent or legal guardian in the IEP process?

Wouldn’t it be great to have a crystal ball so you could see into your child’s future beyond school. Wouldn’t you like to know the skills they possess, if they have employment, where they live, who their friends are? With that knowledge, it might be easier to map out their educational career to get them to where they are going to be in the future.

In this episode, we will discuss what a vision statement is and why it is important for your child to have one.