Short pieces about what more than thirty years inside special education really look like. Written by Dr. Elizabeth Long. Not advice and not a rule book. Just what she has seen.
Stories about the students and families Dr. Long served are composites, with names, schools, and details changed. Stories about her own family are her own. About the author.
For more than 32 years, I have been a member of IEP teams.
I have sat through thousands of IEP meetings over my career, and I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty:
I have never liked the phrase “the district side of the table”, or “the parent side of the table.”
After more than 32 years in special education, I have learned that the most important thing about a child is also the easiest thing to lose sight of.
Since the early 90s, I have loved Dave Matthews.
There is a Taylor Swift song called “You Need to Calm Down.”
If you have ever watched Survivor, you know the moment.
Note: I am going to date myself with this reference, but hang in there. Once upon a time, the story I refer to won a Caldecott Medal and was one of my…
The word advocate can mean different things to different people.
Same Team