Latest / Motherhood Alliance Podcast / Understanding IEPs Without the Overwhelm w/ Hannah Wesolowski | GB Pediatric Therapy
Transcript
- Britney Suttner: Hi, we are Britt Andrea from motherhoodalliance.com and we are excited to welcome you to a new four episode series with Hannah Weslowski, a certified speech language pathologist and the founder of Green Bay Pediatric Therapies. As a speech therapist, Hannah specializes in articulation and speech sound production, language development, autism support, and social skills, helping children build the communication tools they need to confidently navigate the world around Through her work in private practice, Hannah loves being able to work directly with both parents and their kiddos, often meeting families right in their homes where they feel the most comfortable. Outside of her work, Hannah is a full-time mom of two who enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family. We're excited to introduce you to her now. Let's get started with today's episode. Andrea Renkas: Hey everybody, welcome back to the Motherhood Alliance podcast. We are back here with Hannah from GB therapies. Welcome, Hannah. Glad to have you back. Hannah Wesolowski: Bye. Andrea Renkas: We had a really great conversation with Hannah in our first episode. This is our second episode. Our first episode talked all about what you do, which is speech, pediatric speech therapy. we had a really good deep dive into just what that is, how you help who you help all that stuff. But in this episode, we wanted to kind of take it down a little bit of a different path in that we're going to be talking about IEPs. And Hannah is actually very well versed in IEPs. Not just, obviously, she's a speech therapist, so she helps with IEPs in that regard. But if you're looking, if you are a parent and you just got a call about IEPs or you're exploring that for your child in the school setting, It can be really overwhelming no matter what kind of IEP services you're looking for. For me personally, I have a child who has a vision impairment and we have had an opportunity to work with school with an IEP and for us it's actually been a pretty positive experience. We have a very small school and a supportive team and we've been able to help him with being able to see things in the classroom based on what his needs are. And it's been a good experience. Now, when he gets to the older grades in like high school and stuff, this is going be a different challenge for sure. But for now, it's been good. But I know that's not necessarily the same experience for everybody. But in this episode, we really want to just talk about, you know, what is an IP, who qualifies and just get into some nitty gritty details to kind of help parents with you know, what to expect with that. So first of all, Big question, what is an IEP and who qualifies for one? How does it work? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so an IEP, this term, it stands for an Individualized Education Plan. And so the whole goal of an IEP is to get kids adequate access to education. So we know that there are kids at all different levels. Some kids really excel in school, and other kids have different challenges that might inhibit their access to and education. The goal of an IEP is to have a document that writes out all of the supports that a kiddo might need in order to have that adequate access to education. And for every kiddo, it looks very different. There are a plethora of different areas in which a kid can qualify for services. And it's really, again, the name is an individualized education plan. So it is extremely individualized to each individual on what they might need in order to succeed in the classroom and in school. Andrea Renkas: Yeah, and I noticed, I mean, when we sit down, we sit down in the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, for sure to talk about these, you know, what he needs and what to expect and how it went and everything else. And then of course, our therapist talks to us throughout the year based on what she's been doing with them and how his goals are going. I do know it can be very strict if that's not maybe that's not the right word. But it's like, they have if they say that they're going to do something they have to do their best to make sure that those goals and the opportunities and the different things that they've said that they were going to offer within that IEP is actually coming to fruition. I guess how does a child get qualified for an IEP and how do they get evaluated for it? a better question. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so that's a really good question. So the evaluation process starts with a referral and a referral can come from anybody. So it could come from a teacher, it could come from a parent, it could come from a doctor. It could come from a therapist. It can virtually come from anybody. And how that process starts is a phone call. So if you are a parent and you are concerned or you think that your kiddo needs extra services, you can pick up the phone and call the school. At that point, the school will kind of walk you through the process and advise you on if an evaluation, if they're going to move forward with an evaluation or if there's other things in place before that evaluation happens. A lot of times this could be a meeting with the school to kind of discuss those concerns. If your kiddo is receiving outside services or they're in the Birth to Three program, before the age of three, that referral could come from the Birth to Three program to start. Or if you are in class and your teachers bring up concerns, they will start that process within the school and then you will get notified of that at home. So that's kind of how an evaluation starts. And then there is a whole legal process that has to happen. There are legal timelines. There are legal procedures and that's one thing about an IEP like you were saying, Dreya, is it is a legal document. So we are Andrea Renkas: Great, yeah. Hannah Wesolowski: legally required to follow IEPs. And kind of like, let me just break down what an IEP is because again, I think we hear like individualized education plan and we are just like calling out your kids and that's not at all what it is. So there's really like in this plan, There's really like three main sections to it. There is the present level, there's goals, and then there's the services. So present level is a snapshot on your child. So it's looking at what are their strengths, how are they performing academically, and how are they performing functionally. strengths are anything your kid is good at. I think it's always a... a good place to start, right? Like our kids are incredible. Whether they have deficits in different areas or not, every single kid has strengths. And so when we create IEPs, they should be strength-based. So what is our kid really good at and how can we build off of those skills? So we start with strengths. We go to academics. So this kind of just lists out, like think of if you go to a parent-teacher conference. they're gonna talk about your kids academics. Those are all just gonna be listed within that IEP. and then goals is our next area. So goals are what can we do as service providers in order to get your child to the place of same age peers or work in that direction? That's kind of our goal. These goals, tend to be aligned with those areas that they qualify for in that evaluation. But really, the goals can be anything that the team sees as beneficial. And then the services aspect of it outline how are we going to achieve these goals? So is it going to be with an individual in the classroom outside of the classroom? Is it going to be with a specialist or not? Is this something that the teachers can provide? Who's going to be in charge to make sure that these services are met? So it's just a really good plan on how your child can be supported within the educational environment. Andrea Renkas: Yeah, absolutely. And I completely understand that from our point of view as well. I guess, so you said, obviously, this is an individualized education plan. And there's a lot of needs and different disabilities and different kinds of things out there. But who would be Hannah Wesolowski: Thank you. Andrea Renkas: possibly part of an IEP team? Obviously, not every single therapist would be a part of a vision team. But what kind of Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Andrea Renkas: people could possibly be involved in this? this kind of plan. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so there are set people involved on every IEP. So that will be your teacher. A teacher will always be on the IEP team. A teacher outside of parents, they during the day spend the most time with kiddos. So they are in their classroom. They understand their academics and their education. So teachers will always be on the team. The next person who is always on the team is parents. Parents are a huge part of IEP teams because parents are the number one experts on their kids. As parents, we know our children inside and out, up, down, left and right. And... We have a wealth of knowledge as parents that the schools don't have on the strengths that our kids have, what they're doing at home, what's the best way to support them. And I think like as parents, you have a very important role to sit on an IEP team and advocate for your child. So we have a teacher, we have parents. we have the student. So the student is also a really big part of an IEP team, especially in those later years. So in the beginning, like when we're three years old, a kiddo is not going to know what is going on in an IEP meeting. But they can tell you the things that they like building on those strengths. If a kid loves cars, like we can incorporate that into the things that we do to help achieve those goals. So still at three, they are an important part. But as kids get older, when we are 10 years old, when we are 12 years old, when they're 14 years old, right, and they are starting to kind of understand more of like what an IEP is, they are an extremely important part of that team. It is them that we're talking about. Like we are talking, there's a room full of adults talking about a student and they have a right to sit on that team, to advocate for themselves, and to get their needs met so that they're successful in school. So we have a teacher, we have parents, we have the student. There is an LEA. So an LEA is a, hold on, let me look, a local education agency. We just call it an LEA in school. We don't use the full acronym. And what their job is is to ensure that services are provided. Usually this person has knowledge of curriculum and they have knowledge of the district resources. And you can think of them as a third party on an IEP team. So if there are questions, if the team is disagreeing on something, that LEA will step in and be that neutral party within the meeting and just be that person to give the resources, to give. more information to seek out answers. So every team will have an LEA and then your team will have specialists. So depending on what your kiddos needs are, there are a plethora of specialists in schools. So there are speech therapists, there are PTs, there are OTIs. There are reading interventionists that could support. There are aides in the classrooms that work one-on-one with kiddos There are special education teachers who solely assist the regular education teachers in order to meet these goals. Just there's so many. don't even, I can't even list them all. But if your kid has a need, there is a specialist out there who can support your kiddo. And so that team of specialists will be decided based on the needs that your kiddos have. And that is usually determined at that evaluation meeting. We can at any point pull people onto a team. There's just like a process that we have to go through in order to do that if more needs were to arise. So that's kind of like overview of IEP is, but again it's so individualized and every kiddo and every kid is going to be different in terms of who is on the team and the amount of people in the room during those meetings. Andrea Renkas: it can be a little bit a little overwhelming because there is a lot of people involved in this in this process. And, know, Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Andrea Renkas: I, it kind of surprises me in a way because me, my husband and I are very much involved with our kids. But I know not every kid has parents that are want to be super involved. And so even like, the way you're talking about parents, like they're very important. I'm like, yeah. even the therapists at school are like, the parents are really important. I'm like, yeah, of Hannah Wesolowski: you Andrea Renkas: course they are. But I know that it's, it's really important for people to understand that, you know, education is, is what their kids are there for. And this plan is only there to help their kid win is to help their kid be better Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Andrea Renkas: in whatever, know, just to be able to have that education in a way that's Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Andrea Renkas: almost at a level playing field, right, as everybody else, Hannah Wesolowski: Mm-hmm. Andrea Renkas: they have the same opportunities, which is But that's what's cool about those IEPs and important to be involved. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Andrea Renkas: So when the parents come to an IEP meeting, maybe even for the first time, what should they expect? Obviously they may have a room full of these people that you had just described, and it may not be like 10 people. It depends again on what they're there for. But what can they initially expect with this first meeting and beyond? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, so kind of the structure of an IEP meeting is they can last anywhere from 15 minutes all the way up until two hours. It very much depends on who is running the meeting. Some people are very efficient at running meetings and some people love to connect with people and talk. So the range of how long an IEP meeting can take is very dependent on the team and who the teacher Usually people are sitting around a table or in a conference room and will go around and introduce everybody because there's a lot of faces. And the goal of an IEP meeting is to walk through what. a good plan would be as a team. And so one thing that we don't want IEP teams to do is predetermined before an IEP meeting happens. So the goal of an IEP meeting is to come together, all sit at a table, and all have an equal say as to how we can develop an IEP plan. There are specialists who specialize in different areas who are going to have advice on how to get their child to the place that they want them. For example, as a speech therapist, I have a plan of and steps on how to get a kiddo from not talking to talking. And so I am an expert on what goals to write. However, if parents say like, this is an area that we really are seeing at home and are you seeing these things in the classroom or in school environments? Those are areas that we can obviously work on an IEP is. I always like to come to IEP meetings with ideas of goals, but a parent always has a right to say like, no, I don't agree with that. And a parent has the same pull in an IEP team as anybody else on that team. And Andrea Renkas: Yeah. Hannah Wesolowski: so that's where like that parent advocacy is really important. However, that's a whole nother, a whole nother sector or a whole nother avenue. But yeah, come sit down, introduce, and then we're really just walking through that plan. What are we gonna give our, student in order to be successful in school? And that's the whole goal of an IEP meeting. Andrea Renkas: I feel like it is kind of intimidating as a parent to be sitting in with all these professionals, like, the speech Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Andrea Renkas: therapist knows that she's talking about that vision specialist knows what they're talking about. And they may say something Hannah Wesolowski: Yes. Andrea Renkas: or they recommend something that you're like, No, like, for example, Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Andrea Renkas: we have a vision specialist and then we also had somebody who's more of like, I can't remember the term, but she basically helps like kiddos figure out where they're at in the world, she was helpful, but she had said something about my son possibly needing a cane to get around on the streets. And I'm like, he's not blind. both my husband and I were like, Britney Suttner: It would become a weapon. Andrea Renkas: that's exactly what we said. I'm like, we're like, are you kidding me? So it was kind of a, Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Andrea Renkas: it was kind of like a little bit like, what are you she talking about? I think she was, I think she just didn't understand where he was at the at the time. But for for us parents, Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Yeah. Andrea Renkas: it's a little intimidating being in a room of these specialists. Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Andrea Renkas: And then they're, they're not necessarily like, this is what you must do. but it's, this is what we recommend. So how can parents, Hannah Wesolowski: totally. Andrea Renkas: advocate confidently for their kids without feeling intimidated or feel like you're stepping on their, on the specialist's toes? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, I think some like really good questions is just for like sometimes the school world and home world can feel so separated and I think sometimes parents We don't see into the classrooms every day Sometimes parents don't understand the structures of schools and what happens every in like an everyday learning environment and I think sometimes as Teachers to like we get focused on what we see in the classroom and we have to bring in that Home environment into our schools sometimes as well. so some of like the questions that I think are super beneficial to ask is like how is progress going to be measured, right? if we have a goal in the school environment, like what can I do at home to also support this, right? Like what areas can we address at home to help our kid make gains in both environments? Asking questions like what does this look like in the classroom? Like walk me through one of the... Periods in which she's pulled out of the classroom. What does that session look like? Just kind of getting like that bird's-eye view from the therapist sitting at the table or Like my kid is gonna be supported in this classroom in this way What does that look like who is supporting right asking those questions on like how is this going to be achieved? Just so that like parents and therapists alike both have a better understanding of what's going on in those separate environments and then I think if parents have questions, you don't just have to talk to these therapists at this IEP meeting. If Andrea Renkas: That's true. Hannah Wesolowski: something pops up in the next month, we have emails, there are websites that have our contact information, reach out. Home and school do not have to be separate entities. They can be collaborative. And teachers these days, I don't know how they do it, they are incredibly, incredibly busy. Their plates are so incredibly full. But I know that each teacher loves and appreciates when parents reach out to them with concerns, with wins. We love to hear what's going on in all environments of our child's lives. And so if something comes up, reach out, out to the therapist that's working with your kiddo. If you want to have a conversation, call them on the phone, right? we don't just need to talk to school professionals during IEP meetings or the three times a year that progress is sent home. If you want to know how to be more involved, reach out. We are here and we most of the time want to collaborate, so. Andrea Renkas: that. Britney Suttner: Yeah. It seems like this is such a process where everybody is really rooting for the child, right? To just see improvements Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Britney Suttner: and be able to meet the goals. I want to stick on this advocacy piece a little Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah. Britney Suttner: bit longer. How would it work if, let's just say that there's a physical therapist involved and they just don't mesh with the child and the child is coming home and they just do not enjoy spending time with this person. Obviously some schools are going to be like, this is the only PT we have, right? but is it possible to almost like swap out the people at the table? If some people are really not a good fit or you or parents feel like them advocate, like advocating for their child is kind of getting blockaded by a certain person at the table. How does the swap piece work if people need to get swapped out? Hannah Wesolowski: Yeah, most of the time it doesn't. Most of the time Britney Suttner: Okay. Hannah Wesolowski: we don't swap out due to limited resources. It's just like if your kiddo is in a classroom with a teacher and they're not quite meshing, most of the time your student is not moved out of that classroom. However, I think just having those conversations, being open and honest, there always is that LEA. So that, again, is that third party, that neutral position. So you can always reach out to whoever that LEA is on your team in order to support that advocacy. And then one of the really cool things about the structure of Wisconsin is we have CESAs. And so every school district is within a CESA. they are like Andrea Renkas: I'm Hannah Wesolowski: an advocacy base. So CESAs provide school districts with resources. There could be teachers and therapists that are in schools that work through CESAs. CESAs have like specialists, so like a vision therapist, right? Every school doesn't have a vision teacher or vision therapist. They work through the CESAs and they service all of the schools within that, like within those counties that fall under that CESA in Wisconsin. And so it's another step or another advocacy point. So if you are, not getting along with the school, look up what CESA your school is in and you can reach out to those CESAs and they have advocacy professionals who their main job is to provide parents with resources on the special education legal process. And then if your CESA doesn't help, Wisconsin is under DPI. So DPI is the Department of Public Instruction within Wisconsin and they hold all of the legalities of education. So there's a lot of law that goes into education. And they are the entity within our state that deals with all of the laws. So if you have a problem or if things are escalating and you're not being heard and understood, you can always reach out to DPI. You can just Google. like type in DPI Wisconsin into Google and it will give you all of their contact information. And they're also, they have a plethora of knowledge because they work with the law and they also have advocacy individuals within their systems as well. And when you do get special education information, you should get your parents' rights policies. Andrea Renkas: Mm-hmm. Hannah Wesolowski: It's a legal requirement that you get your parents' rights policies. And all of this is listed within there as well on who you can reach out to if you are feeling like this team is in jiving and you need other people outside of the school district on your team. Yeah. Britney Suttner: That's really helpful. I appreciate you spending so much time on this episode. I mean, obviously you're in it as a speech therapist, but like we're Hannah Wesolowski: Yep. Britney Suttner: able to approach this episode to help anybody who has questions about IEPs. So I know that Hannah Wesolowski: Totally. Britney Suttner: Hannah, you do offer a free consult specifically for your private practice as well. Quick question before we end this episode, do IEPs apply to private practice? Do you use them in private practice at all? Hannah Wesolowski: No, we don't. Well, OK, we don't work off of IEPs. IEPs are within the school environment. However, I do have some kiddos who receive both school services and private therapy services. Within the summers, I provide an opportunity for parents to get those services over the summer. So it would just be like an eight to 10 weeks of therapy in order to bridge that gap since school services, they pause in the summer and then they resume in the fall. So this would be for maintenance of goals and I just work off of the IEPs that kiddos have. Otherwise I work with and call up school professionals all the time so that I am targeting goals within their home and the school therapists are able to target goals that are impacting that education. So I work a lot with therapists in the school settings in my private practice, work off of IEPs in the summer and then in like private practice we work off of progress reports which are the same thing. It's just a lot less because we don't have all of the legal hoops to jump through in order to have like this super large 21 page document. Like we don't Andrea Renkas: Right. Hannah Wesolowski: need that in private therapy and you do need that in the schools because there's a lot of, it's a legal system so. Britney Suttner: Yeah, no, Andrea Renkas: Mm-hmm. Britney Suttner: that makes sense. And plus you're doing your own evaluation anyway in private practice. So that's basically what you're doing, right? To get an IEP too. So different, different environments. Awesome. Well, thank Hannah Wesolowski: Absolutely. Britney Suttner: you again for this episode, Hannah. We do have two more episodes coming up we are very excited about. And for those of you who have a child with a specifically an autism diagnosis or an IEP around that area, we are going to be having an episode dedicated to talking about how to help kiddos that are diagnosed with autism with building their communication skills. And in that episode, I'd really also love to help with caregivers, like someone who's maybe not in the home. What questions can they ask to make sure that they're communicating well with that specific child, if that's their diagnosis. But we're going to be jumping back into an episode next that is going to be for all kids. So this next one is going to be about everyday ways to build communication skills at home for our kids to help them be good communicators as they grow up. I love all of these topics, Hannah, and we're so excited to have two more episodes with you. Hannah Wesolowski: Thank you.