In today’s episode, we’re talking to Joanna Salzman about IEPs, 504 Plans, the laws that make them possible, and More. Joanna is an educational consultant in Maryland. Joanna is a strong advocate for families in the initial identification of students who need an IEP and 504 plan. She is well-versed in the law, IDEA, and ensures that schools follow the proper procedures and rules.

Today we will answer these questions:

• What is the law that provides rights to special education services?
  • IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
    • FAPE - Free and Appropriate Education
    • LRE ( Least Restrictive Environment)
• What is an IEP?
  • What are the major parts of the IEP?
  • Who decides what goes into a child’s IEP?
  • How should a parent prepare for the IEP meeting?
  • What happens at an IEP meeting?
  • How often are IEP meetings held?
• What is a 504 plan?
• What is the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP?
• What should a parent know to advocate for their child?
• What can a parent do if they feel the IEP or 504 Plan isn’t being implemented as outlined?
• How does an educational consultant like Joanna, help advocate for someone’s child?

More about Joanna:

Joanna Salzman is the CEO of JMS Education Consulting. Joanna has a wealth of knowledge and expertise with 30 years of experience in the field of special education.

Joanna received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from James Madison University, her Master’s Degree in Special Education from American University, Education Specialist Degree from George Washington University, and an Administration Certificate from Towson University. She completed her special education teacher training at the Lab School of Washington in Washington, D.C.

Joanna’s experience includes observing students from 3 to 21 years of age with differing abilities and disabilities. She has extensive knowledge and expertise in problem-solving and identifying supports that students need to be successful. These skills were perfected due to her time teaching in Prince George’s County Public Schools, as well as in the Montgomery County Public School System as a special education teacher, special education instructional specialist, and special education supervisor.

Most recently, Joanna was a guest speaker at George Mason University for an Advanced Practicum class in Clinical Psychology with Third-year doctoral students. The objectives of the course are related primarily to the application of psychological skills, supervision and interpersonal skills, professionalism and ethical standards, and demonstration of understanding how to function on a team with other professionals.

Links and Resources:

• Joanna’s practice: https://www.jmseduconsulting.com/about
• Joanna’s phone number: (240) 994-0330

Make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media so you never miss an episode!

• Website: http://www.readingllcenter.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/readingllcenter
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/readingllcenter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWlbl8Ea8DJFADaNU9ZK1Vw
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reading-and-language-learning-center

In today’s episode, we’re talking to Amy Mounce & Shari Perry about removing before and after-school roadblocks for student success. Amy & Shari are the owners of Proactive Strategies & Solutions where they equip all stakeholders with the knowledge base and strategic approaches to facilitate children and adolescents’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success. They are based in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, but provide both in-person and virtual services throughout the country. Today we will answer these questions:

• What roadblocks are parents seeing before & after school?
• Why are students experiencing these roadblocks?
• How can parents get to the root cause of these roadblocks to help remove them?
• Let’s go through some example scenarios/questions
  • How do I help my child when they say they don’t understand the homework or what was taught in school?
  • What can I do when my child comes home with incomplete and unorganized materials?
  • Even with constant reminders, my child cannot complete their morning or afternoon routines, why is that and how can I better assist them?
  • How do I help my child when they have meltdowns before going to school?
  • How do I help my child when they have meltdowns at homework time?

More about Amy

As a passionate educator, Amy is dedicated to empowering students, families, and educators to improve students’ success across all domains. While student, staff, and school communities’ needs are ever-changing, having a systematic, data-driven approach to identify needs and proactively modify approaches, strategies, and supports results in improved academic and social-emotional success of students and educators. As an experienced certified special educator in public and private institutions at multiple levels for students with varying disabilities including learning disabilities, Autism, OHI, anxiety, vision impairments, and twice-exceptional, university instructor and teacher intern supervisor, educational diagnostician, advocate, and parent and educator trainer for over 25 years and a mother of two, Amy understands the importance of working proactively and collaboratively with stakeholders to create effective and sustainable supports across settings to meet academic and social-emotional needs of clients.

More about Shari

As a lifelong special educator, Shari is dedicated to the success of all students. Over her 30-year career, she has acted as a liaison between students, families, school staff, and community support agencies at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Shari has vast experience in both comprehensive and alternative school settings, supporting students with specific learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and those identified as twice exceptional. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a unique set of challenges for schools, families, and students. As a mother, Shari has seen the impact both at home and at work. Her expertise in various parts of the educational field enables her to utilize proven and current data-driven strategies that yield comprehensive, structured plans of support customized to meet the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of her clients.

Links and Resources:

• Their practice: https://www.proactivestrategiessolutions.com/

Make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media so you never miss an episode!

• Website: http://www.readingllcenter.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/readingllcenter
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/readingllcenter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWlbl8Ea8DJFADaNU9ZK1Vw
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reading-and-language-learning-center

In today’s episode, we’re talking to Aubrey Huntsman about occupational therapy handwriting exercises you can do at home. Aubrey is the Lead Occupational Therapist at The Arc of Loudoun/Aurora Behavior Clinic in Loudoun County Virginia. Today we will answer these questions:

• How does occupational therapy help handwriting?
• What kind of handwriting warrants the help of an OT?
• What makes it difficult for students to have neat handwriting?
• What do students need to be aware of to improve their handwriting (pencil grasp, line height, letter sizing, etc.)?
• What exercises can parents use at home to improve handwriting?
• Who might benefit from these exercises?
• Do these exercises work for a child without dysgraphia who might just need help making their writing a bit more legible?

More about Aubrey:

Aubrey is the Lead Clinical Occupational Therapist at the Aurora Behavior Clinic! She is from New England originally and moved to Northern VA in 2020. Aubrey graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with her Bachelor of Health Science in 2018 and again with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2019. She has been in the field for 3 years and has experience in both pediatrics and geriatrics. Aubrey has worked at Skilled Nursing Facilities, Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals, and Pediatric Outpatient Clinics, working closely with other disciplines and a variety of diagnoses throughout the years. She is currently on the road to becoming a Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist, as she gains more knowledge in working with children with ASD through each course.

She has always had a passion for working with children ever since her early days working in daycares and developing additional clinical experience in early intervention and pediatric clinics in college. As a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), Aubrey has attended conferences and participated in professional development opportunities such as guest lectures and hands-on activities to increase her knowledge of the ever-growing field.

Throughout her time at the Aurora Behavior Clinic, Aubrey has co-founded two programs. She has begun the Feeding Therapy Program and the Play and Say Group, alongside their speech therapist! Aubrey is always looking for ways to grow their clinic, which is evident in these early advances she has made!

Links and Resources:

• The Arc of Loudoun: https://abc.thearcofloudoun.org/

Make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media so you never miss an episode!

• Website: http://www.readingllcenter.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/readingllcenter
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/readingllcenter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWlbl8Ea8DJFADaNU9ZK1Vw
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-reading-and-language-learning-center