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When the "expected" life changes: A raw conversation Hi Friend, I’m coming to you today with a conversation that I think you’re going to need to sit with for a while. In this week’s episode (#147), I sat down with Disability Advocate and author John Fela. I didn’t want to spend our time talking about the perfect IEP or the best therapy techniques—I wanted to talk about the things we often hide: the terrifying moment of a sudden medical crisis, the reality of marital strain, and the deep,...
Are they just "invited to the party"? 💃 Hi friend, I talk to so many parents who feel relieved when they see their child placed in a "regular" classroom. It feels like a win, right? It feels like we’ve finally achieved inclusion. But lately, I’ve been asking myself—and the parents I coach—a harder question: Is your child actually included, or are they just sitting in the room? There is a massive difference between proximity and belonging. Too often, I see children sitting in the back of the...
The 30-page surprise (and how to stop it) 🛑 I still remember the feeling of sitting down at my children’s elementary school IEP meetings. The team would slide a 30-page document across the table—stapled, dated, and looking very... finished. Sometimes they’d project it on a SMART board and read it to me, word for word. By the time we got to the end, I was exhausted. I felt like the train had already left the station, and I was just there to wave it goodbye. I had no idea back then that I had...