How to Collect Parent Input for IEPs

Marisha (00:01.332)

Hello there and welcome to the SLP Now podcast. I'm really excited to introduce our guest for today. We have Wendy Taylor joining us and she is a certified educational therapist, Orton Gillingham practitioner and IEP coach. And she does some really amazing work empowering families and professionals to help them navigate the complexities of special education.

she also has an amazing podcast, special ed strategists. So go check that out if you haven't already. know you're going to want to hear more from her after listening to this episode. and she's also the founder of learning essentials. And I mean, there's, won't be able to do her bio justice in this. so I'm going to turn it over to Wendy. So first of all, welcome to the podcast.

Wendy Taylor (00:57.016)

Thank you so much for having me. think it's an important conversation that we're going to have today. So I'm looking forward to chatting and hopefully passing on some knowledge that your listeners can then impart to the folks that they support, whether it's their own personal kiddos or the kiddos that they support out in the professional realm.

Marisha (01:15.976)

Yeah. and then I'm curious, cause I read a little bit of your bio, but I'd love to hear from like interviewees on just like how they got to where they are today. so what led you to become like an educational therapist and kind of diving into this niche of supporting parents and professionals. yeah, just tell us a little bit about your story and how you got.

Wendy Taylor (01:42.786)

Let's do it. All right. So my background is in special education. My first gig was high school juvenile delinquents in the special education self-contained. And I loved it. I loved that no two days were the same. I loved being consistent and supportive of these kiddos and the families that were part of these kiddos' lives. Fast forward, I am a mama of three when I first had our first son, who's now 19.

I was just really actually tutoring and supporting families for kind of grocery money. kind of kid on that one, but yeah, just kind of, got stepped away from the direct day-to-day in the school system. And then my phone kept ringing. So after a second, the phone kept ringing. My husband's like, know, build a business. And so I really took that to heart of kind of more of this holistic approach in bridging learning gaps and helping families access special education services.

Fast forward a little bit more, our middle son who is now completely healthy, he was five and he's a brain cancer survivor. And so at that moment, I then had to sit at this IEP table as a parent and I knew going in, right? You know the players, you know that it's like walking into a cocktail party and everybody stops and looks at the parent and I knew all of this and I knew that

who was going to be at the table. knew the actual paperwork, the whole process, and I was a wreck. It is very hard when you come from that place of fear and love as a parent. And that really just ignited my desire to further help parents coordinate special education services. And where I found a gap was there's lots of IEP coaches, there's lots of advocates out there that help parents with their actual IEP, but so many

families were coming to me and saying, my kid didn't qualify because they had good grades. They didn't qualify for an IEP because they had good grades. And I was like, all right, this is a void in the market of understanding how to advocate as a parent, right? Because when we think about getting an IEP, you think about bell to bell and thinking about all the elements that impact a student. And so really thinking, how can I better serve parents?

Wendy Taylor (04:06.154)

in this capacity and then what we're talking about today in terms of parent input statements so that you can really make a support for your kiddo that truly reflects who your kiddo is. And I think that's incredibly important. So that's kind of what got me here today.

Marisha (04:26.11)

Yeah. Well, thank you so much for sharing that. And it's, I think this is really important. I mean, a lot of what you shared is, I'm, I don't know, there's so much gold in there, but one thing that really stood out to me was you had experience in special education and you had done the paperwork and gone through all of those steps as a professional.

but it was still overwhelming as a parent and you knew all the acronyms and the lingo and all of that. So like to then I think that helps us put ourselves in parent's shoes if they don't have that background and there's still all of the emotion around their like have that IEP process for their child. Like that's really important to think about.

Wendy Taylor (05:16.8)

It really is. I think it is because you think about your kiddo at school, right? And whether they have an active IEP, you're seeking an active IEP, seeking an IEP as a parent, you have to be able to articulate beyond just emotion. You have to be able to sit at that table and really think of it, which sounds kind of disorient not disoriented, but you know, disconnected in the sense that it's

It really is a business meeting, right? Because it's based in law and data will drive placement, data is going to drive needs. And so if you come in as a parent with your own data through your parent input cement, that's incredibly powerful for you to then have some leverage at the table, even though it is nerve wracking, it is anxiety filled.

even to the best of us, right? So to have that information and again, thinking about Bell to Bell, you think about, you're, and folks that are listening are probably like, well, I'm not in school with them. And so I'd like to kind of just talk about how to collect data so that you can then create a strong parent input statements. But when I say Bell to Bell, think about your kid from the time they get to school, if they're on the bus.

Think about the bus ride. Think about hallways, transitions, the classes that they're taking. I want you to think about lunch, recess, specials, any of those things and thinking about processing memory and attention as it relates to that school setting. But then also think about your kid in the home and in the community, right? So if we think about those three areas, how do they...

respond and react and all of those things at home and at school and in the community so that you can start to pull all that information together. So that when it's time to present that to the team, you have it in an articulate form that they can, you can start to pull data from.

Marisha (07:34.196)

Yeah, that's great. then, so, because today we're going to chat about, you started diving into it a little bit, but we're going to chat about parent input statements. And I love what you said about like parents can contribute their own data because the decisions are data-based. But just to like make sure we're all on the same page, like what is a parent input statement? Where does it go in the IEP?

and just like from, and we're speaking to school-based SLPs, so I think we have some idea, but just to make sure we're all on the same page.

Wendy Taylor (08:13.57)

Right, so a parent input statement is going to be asked because of our federal law IDEA, parents need to be part of the process, whether it is seeking an IEP or a current active IEP. And so prior to an IEP, you should receive something that is a form depending on your district that's asked.

for how are things going? Like what are you thinking? And if it's a kid transitioning, what's going on? And kind of getting some general idea. I, through my years, have had parents say, I've never received that, or they didn't really ask a lot. Does it really go in the IEP? There's a place in the IEP, again, depending on your state and your district, where it should go. But it should be, if you think about our...

baseline for starting an IEP evaluation, meaning like your yearly or annual or whatever, present level of performance. So the school is going to come together. They're going to say, this is where your child is performing in the school day. And then parents should have their input as well. And I think you can, if you did not receive anything, I would encourage you to reach out to that IEP coordinator, case manager, whomever you are in contact with.

about your kiddos IEP, ask them, is there a specific way for me to submit my parent input statement? And I say that because I want you to submit it in writing so that it can, and request that it is part of that IEP so that it becomes a part of the living document that will then be reflected and measured throughout the year and then passed on from years prior for moving forward, I should say. And so making sure that it's in

writing would be the key and making sure that you as a parent then have the time. So now that if you're listening to this and you're encouraging your parents to do this, so they have time to really form their thoughts and how they see their kiddo. And I always say, think about short term. So big picture, little picture, think about six months. Where do you see your kiddo? Where do you see your kiddo in a year? Where do you see your kiddo in three years? Where do you see your kiddo in five years? And we know that we have an annual IEP.

Wendy Taylor (10:32.194)

but I think it's important for parents to start to put that down. So if there are services or elements that need to be on a wait list for, or if you're not sure about moving forward, if you're transitioning from, know, transitioning into kindergarten, into sixth grade, ninth grade, and then after you graduate so that you're really starting to be forward thinking in where this kiddo's growth should take place, needs to take place, where we want to see the kiddo

and how independent can we have our kiddo. So these ideas and people on the team may have different ideas from you. And so kind of coming to that collaborative piece of this is my baby, I'm the consistent person at the IP table. This is where I see my kiddo again in the short term and long term areas. And of course that's gonna change, right? As our kiddos master skills and build and grow, we want those visions to change.

but as a parent really ensuring and then hopefully eventually your kiddo can be that advocate and speak of where they want to go and where they want to see each other so that you're mapping out the courses, you're mapping out the resources, you're mapping out what do you have in the community so you can really start to build this broader support system.

Marisha (11:49.416)

Yeah, I love that. so you talked about how like federal IDAA law says that we need to involve parents in the process. So that's obviously a strong reason for why we want to have those parent input statements. And then you're also saying that if parents are able to share like their vision for their child, like what are the short and long term goals?

Knowing what's important to the parent can help the IEP team, like the teacher and the speech therapist, the OTPT, whoever's involved, that can help direct our goal setting to make sure that it's really meaningful and impactful. Are there any other reasons why you think that the parent input statements are particularly important, or do you feel like that covers it? It's required by law and it helps direct the team.

Are there any other benefits?

Wendy Taylor (12:47.992)

So it's also a great way because as a parent, I may, you know, in my family, we may see a different direction for our kiddo that may differ from what the school feels like they see. And so that's one part, right? So that you can then make sure we're aligning that conversation. Then there's times where there's a lot of things to work on, right? So the kid, like you just mentioned, a kid may have...

as speech services and OT services and maybe behavioral services. So they may have this big comprehensive IEP. And I think it begs the question of what are we prioritizing? Because we can't work, if we put goals on everything for multiple goals on many different areas, sometimes they kind of get washed out. So I think it begs the question for parents of, I was asked like, if you had a magic wand, right?

Again, once you start collecting the data in the areas, and we can talk about that, like the different areas again, a little bit more focused on. But once you have that data, what do we want to prioritize? Whether it's for this IP cycle, but maybe it's not even the whole cycle. What do we want to prioritize now? And then can we reconvene? So what can we do? What do we want to prioritize as our focus to help us get to this bigger picture goal of where

we, kiddo included, see themselves moving. And then from there, we can really make sure that we are drilling down on our goals and the services and the accommodations and the support for that student. And so even as an SLP, as you're calling a parent to say, hey, know, I see we have this IEP scheduled, I'll be at the meeting, you know, I've collected this, you know, however you want to say it, asking, what do you see as a priority?

and us working together with your kiddo. And I think that's really important. Sometimes when we as providers, and I even I say that just being a part of the public school system for a long time and writing IEPs and supporting families, sometimes it surprises you of like, what do you see as a priority? And so having that engagement also then broadens this trust.

Wendy Taylor (15:10.196)

of this conversation with a family. They're going to say, okay, well, they're really listening instead of just saying, all right, here's the data, here's what your kid can do, here's what your kid can't do next meeting. And so I think it really then opens up a broader relationship of trust and conversation so that we can ultimately better support a student.

Marisha (15:33.886)

Yeah, that's huge. Cause you mentioned at the beginning that even as someone with a background in special education, the IEP meeting was still really overwhelming. But if you can walk in and know that your input was taken into consideration and that it's actively being discussed and reviewed and integrated into that discussion and into the IEP, I bet that would really alleviate some of that anxiety.

Wendy Taylor (16:02.966)

Yeah, absolutely. Because I think as parents, again, you have that fear and love and you may not understand the whole process and you may lean to the school for it. But I, it does, you know, I think about the IPs that I've been in as a parent, and how important it has been for me to have a resource provider or an IP team member reach out and say, you know, what are you thinking? What are you seeing? Or I you know, what would you like?

to be a part of it. And that makes you feel more of a team player than this like, I'm on an island, I'm in this, you know, silo operating by myself. And it is a lot that especially if you have a complex kid, whether it's medical needs or just a complex learning pattern. Oftentimes parents feel overwhelmed and exhausted because they are now if especially if you have private therapist, then you have your school based therapist and you're really trying to be that quarterback for your kiddo and

pulling all this information together. But I think having that knowledge of writing a powerful input statement and really keeping it organized. using the notes app on your phone, you can just put something in. But I think it's really important to kind of think about who your kiddo is and what that looks like and how do we prioritize that to then get better services for that kid.

Marisha (17:28.734)

Yeah, I love that. And you've already shared some tips around like gathering input from parents. So I love the and not every parent will get to work with you and have your support in building that statement. And I like I personally really like to send out a form to parents because I feel like the majority of parents if I were to say, OK, send me your input statement, they would be like, and super anxious.

Wendy Taylor (17:55.278)

And that's what it is, right? Yeah, that input statement when you see it, it's just going to be a couple of lines like, how's your kid doing this year? It's more open-ended and it seems overwhelming. having a form ahead of time and hopefully somebody's taking notes and just kind of thinking about these elements to document the data for your kiddo.

Marisha (17:58.61)

you

Wendy Taylor (18:24.782)

which does again, sound kind of counterintuitive when it's your baby and you just want to love up on them and snuggle them and make everything roses and unicorns and to then have to be more sterile and be like, I've got to cut that data. It doesn't have to be that, but I think you parents do need to understand all of this element, like the shell again, bell to bell so that you can then have a stronger IEP and stronger IEP goals.

Marisha (18:51.358)

Yeah. Yeah. And I love the idea of like, I'm going to make sure that this is included every time I send out an input form. And I think it might, it, depending on the parent, it might be, cause just for time sake, I think it is easier to send out a form. And then that helps scaffold it, but we can ask follow up questions like during the IEP and or just like,

a quick phone call or whatnot to fill in some of that extra detail. But I love the question of like, where do you see your student in six months or five years and kind of thinking short term and long term. I feel like that would give us some really, really great information that we can use to help parents craft that. And then I love the question you posed, like if you had a magic wand, like what?

Wendy Taylor (19:36.558)

Yeah.

Marisha (19:47.968)

How would you use it or what would it look like? Like what would you do for your student? Is there anything else that you would, like any other types of questions or things that, like strategies that SLPs can use to like get that really valuable feedback from parents?

Wendy Taylor (20:06.882)

Yeah, I think both as an SLP and a parent, thinking about kind of behavior and emotional regulation, right? So are there triggers? Are there coping strategies? What are the kiddos' emotional reactions? What are the teachers saying? I think that's important. I think when you're thinking about if a student is on medication,

What does it look like when they're off medication? What does that look like when they're on medication? Especially during homework time, think that's a really valuable part as well. And that kind of leads me into thinking about that academic component with learning needs, right? So is there a subject specific challenge?

Is it difficulty with reading or writing? then specifically as a parent, if you understand that, or even as an SLP, if you're working with a kid, is it reading fluency as a comprehension? What are you seeing that you can add to their present level of performance, which is going to help that parent input statement for that guidance? If a student, as a parent, if you have a student and you're seeing these needs, you can also do a quick little video of them reading.

or a quick little video of them getting frustrated with writing or their physical aspect of writing so that you can then show the team of like, this is what home looks like for us. Because we also have students that mask during the day and come off as not as impacted, but then they get home and they're tired. And so really thinking about how we can better put in accommodations and support so that they don't have to be so

tapped out by the time that they get home, right? And then what does homework completion look like and understanding and also thinking about at home, you know, what is nice to know? And if we're having to do homework, what is nice to know what is needed to know? So in the event that, you maybe we can reduce some of this workload for the kiddo and then thinking about sensory, physical and movement means having those conversations. So if you are with your student,

Wendy Taylor (22:15.832)

during the day providing services. As an SLP, are they a sensory seeker? Are they a sensory avoider? Do they become overwhelmed? What does that look like in the cafeteria or tactile or classroom materials? What are their physical comfort and needs? What do their motor skills look like?

And even I think as an SLP, can still observe those skills, right? So we're not necessarily an OT or a PT when we're talking about this, but I think it's important to bring to the table because again, bell to bell, community and home, it's all gonna come together needing support, right? And then cognitive processing and executive function, right? What does task initiation look like? What does memory look like and attention?

planning, organization, and time management. These are all life skills that can receive support under NIAP. And then what is their self-advocacy and independence? think as a parent, that's really important to add to that parent input statement. Are they able to complete tasks independently? Are they able to seek help? What does their daily routine look like? And what I find as parents then

say, I'm actually doing a lot for them. I'm structuring their time. have a landing pad for them when they come home and they put all their stuff and then they set it up the night before so then they can leave with all their organized information. Or taking a shower, I've had to do a picture chart for my kiddo so that they have these hygiene skills built in. expressing that to the team.

so that you can then think creatively of what support can we, know, free and appropriate education, of course, but what can we do in a school setting to build these capacities? And then, you know, obviously as an SLP, you're thinking of that verbal, nonverbal communication. Do they have an AAC device? What does their listening comprehension look like? And then thinking about peer relationships. What does unstructured time look like? You know, go out and see what recess looks like.

Wendy Taylor (24:30.83)

If any of you have been on the recess, out at recess or even in the cafeteria, sometimes it's a little bit like Lord of the Flies. So just seeing how that kiddo interacts, but I think those conversations are important for parents and then to be part, but also as your parent input statement, having that information in there so that it is documented. And then emotional regulation, mental health, what are some triggers, coping strategies, concerns?

And then, like I said, know, do a time lapse documentation if you're thinking about out of the box data tracking strategies, maybe a photo journal, again, a medication and behavior correlation. So kind of start putting your sleuthing hat on of what does that look like and thinking that through. And like you said, then from there, asking those questions, we've now we've painted a picture of this student.

Right? We've got a lot. Now, not all categories are going to fit for every kid, but at least it kind of hopefully gets some juices flowing for parents and providers to think about these things that really make this whole approach and support for a student. And then asking those questions of, okay, from this information, we have our strengths and our pockets of vulnerability. From those pockets of vulnerability, you know, I've even had parents take sticky notes and write on

like what, you know, each sticky note would have one item that they wouldn't want to work on and then have kind of that sticky note party concept of like, all right, I'm going to make a vision board and I'm going to kind of again, prioritize of like, if this is my area of communication, this is what I would like as a parent, I really want to work on, you know, X, Y, and Z. If this is education, academics, this is what I want to work on. And then

again, then you can prioritize. then you're really empowered when you come to that table as a parent. You can say, here's all the areas. This is what we see at home. This is what I'm seeing when this child comes home. This is what I'm seeing in the community. This is what I'm seeing at homework time. we need to, how do we better support this? And then kind of come up with some out of the box ways so that I'm always thinking of trying to support families in the sense that they don't have,

Wendy Taylor (26:51.278)

educators would love something that they're not recreating the wheel, right, or providers. And so as a parent, what can we do to support a kid with free and appropriate education in a way that is not an extra added task on that provider's plate? And so how can we really support this kiddo and the provider at the same sense of understanding and grace?

That was a lot of information I just threw out.

Marisha (27:22.376)

Yeah, no, this is a great list of like areas to look at and questions to ask. and I love the ideas of different types of data that parents can share. like as an SLP, I would love to see a video of, cause I request that for some evaluations, especially for younger kiddos, like for language sampling purposes. But it would be, I feel like it would be helpful for any age just to get to see like.

Wendy Taylor (27:50.828)

Yeah.

Marisha (27:52.094)

what does it look like at home? just to get some, like that's a beautiful data point. And the same thing with the photo journal and.

Wendy Taylor (27:59.63)

And I would say as a parent, I would recommend you do it when the kid's not knowing that they're being recorded because your response is going to be more authentic, right? And then if they're not, you know, if you're like, hey, I'm going to start to record you reading, then their response is very different. You know, it could be an anxiety producing or whatever that may be. But I think if you can kind of put it on the slide. And so then you really see the true environment at home and what the kiddo is trying to navigate.

Marisha (28:05.672)

Okay.

Marisha (28:13.738)

Thank

Marisha (28:29.694)

Yeah, no, that's great. And then I think this will be my last question, but just as a parent, kind of, because you've gone through the process as a parent, like did anything stand out to you that anyone did during the process that like was particularly helpful in like including your feedback or just anything that stood out to you?

Wendy Taylor (28:57.164)

Yeah, I think it's important. I really appreciate the providers that got us I got a sense that they understood my kid, right. And I got a sense that they were on my kiddos side, right. And so, you know, when you're asking kids to do hard things, they may not feel as warm and fuzzy with their energy towards you.

And that can be complicated, but I would, I think it's really important to highlight that communication piece from a parent of communicating again to whether it's the provider, the SLP, the OT, the PT, or the school, the IEP coordinator, the classroom teacher of what is going on so that there is an ongoing dialogue.

And so that that parent input statement is really having a conversation and a growth of an organic process throughout the time. So it's not just like, I haven't heard from, you know, so and so's mom, but here's the IEP or parent, here's the IEP time and let's get all this information. So I think having that flow of communication and that check-in of, you know, not even, you know,

before the quarterly progress notes are gonna go home, right? And so that way you can have like, hey, know, checking in, whether it's monthly, you know, but I do recognize SLP, you guys have a ginormous caseload and it really is not always the easiest to be able to check in with a parent. But I think if you can kind of set up some sort of organized system to check in with that parent and have a little bit of a conversation.

whether it's before the IEP, before you see their parent input statement, and just even looking at before progress notes go home of like, hey, this is what we said we wanted to work on. We've highlighted this, we're making progress. Hey, can we add another objective or goal to broaden what we're doing? Or, hey, we have this goal set and I'm not seeing that we're getting much progress. Can we kind of have a conversation and maybe break that goal down a little bit?

Marisha (31:20.968)

Yeah, no, I love that. And I keep saying that. You have so many good pieces of information. But yeah, I...

Wendy Taylor (31:28.014)

I feel like I'm going on a contingent. I know we're talking about one thing, but I'm like, and then this thought, this thought, but yes.

Marisha (31:33.554)

Yeah, so good. And I think that some of the takeaways that I had here were just that, like, and there's different ways that we can accomplish this. But I think it really is important that parents feel like we understand their kiddo and that we're on their kiddo side. And I think asking these questions and listening and incorporating their feedback are all ways that we can do that.

And yeah, I really appreciated you kind of sharing that experience. And I think it makes a lot of sense to check in. Like another way that we can accomplish that is checking in not just right before the IEP when we need to have this, just like fill in this slot on the IEP. But if we're able to check in with parents throughout the year. And we actually have an episode.

or we have some episodes where we've talked about communicating with parents. So I can add those in the show notes. And Wendy, if you have any other resources, I can link those as well. Yeah, this episode, go ahead.

Wendy Taylor (32:42.914)

Yeah, because I've done some solo episodes of a parent input statement and talking about the quarterly progress as well, that that may be of help.

Marisha (32:55.36)

Okay, yeah, yeah, so I'll link to those episodes for sure. And then, yeah, this episode has been full of so many great tips and resources. Is there anything that you wanted to share before we close out?

Wendy Taylor (33:12.658)

I think just trying to make those connections with the family and just thinking about that parent heart as well. again, I know when we're head down and trying to get all the paperwork done and, you know, collecting all your data as an SLP and a professional, it then can sometimes seem like one more added thing. But there's a lot of cool technology that we can also utilize that I'm sure you talk about in terms of having those conversations with parents, whether it's

an app or electronic folder or something of that nature to kind of really keep and then your programs that you offer so that SLPs can then communicate with other SLPs so they don't feel like they're recreating the wheel is empowering.

Marisha (33:58.846)

Yeah, and I think we can definitely build systems to make this process a lot easier. And then it does take some time, but it is required. So it's something we have to do. We have to incorporate the parent feedback. So we might as well do a good job. I think it can really, by having all of this data right off the bat, I think it can really help.

make the IEP process much easier if the parent is feeling hurt, if they're at ease, it'll be just like an easier, more collaborative process. We'll be able to like help the student make faster progress and just come up with a better plan together. So I think it really is a very valuable use of our time. And it's.

Like it's a really meaningful activity. It's not just like, let's check this out. Like we can really use this to our advantage and have it make a really meaningful impact. So.

Wendy Taylor (35:02.446)

And we need more folks that think that way at an IEP table just to kind of, again, as a parent, just kind of, you know, lower the anxiety and feel like, yeah, they get my kiddo and they're ready to, let's work together on this, that we're a team.

Marisha (35:21.15)

Yeah, yeah, and these, this whole episode has been full of strategies to accomplish that. And then, yeah, like I said, I think that can really make our IEP meetings more effective and it just makes it a better process for everyone involved. Yeah, Wendy, thank you so much for your time today. This was really helpful and I'll link to your, like,

to your podcast and your website. You have a great Instagram account as well. So I'll share all of those resources in the show notes. And yeah, thank you again for your time and thank you to everyone who listened.

Wendy Taylor (36:04.095)

Thank you for having me, but my pleasure. Thank you.