Get More Done With Your Child’s Special Education By Focusing On Your Circle Of Control & Influence!

Knowing how to effectively advocate and navigate the special education system has always been challenging for families.  With COVID 19 crisis being added to the mix you may feel even more defeated with your child’s lack of progress, overwhelmed with the neglect of supports and services for 5 months and stressed as you see a regression of skills your child had once mastered.    

I get it!  As a special needs mom myself, I have experienced these feelings and as a Master IEP Coach® I have seen these struggles with other families as well. 

GUESS WHAT… You have the power to break your cycle of worry, stress and anxiety by using my 3-step Special Education Circle of Control approach.

Step 1:  What I can control:  When it comes to your child’s special education, begin focusing your time and energy on things that you can do something about and are within your ‘control’.  Valuable things that are within your control is:

• Create a parent input statement
• Communicate your top 2 or 3 prioritizes for this school year
• Create documentation paper trails, e.g. meeting notes, advocacy letters, ensure PWN’s are created, etc.
• Collect data

Step 2:  How I can influence:  How you interact with the IEP team members will directly impact the level of influence you have as you advocate for your child.  Some ways you can strengthen your relationship with the IEP team members is:

• Display the desire to collaborate
• Stay open-minded to new ideas
• Provide constructive feedback
• Respectfully listen to everyone’s opinion
• Treat everyone with kindness and dignity

Step 3:  What Concerns Me:  The constant concerns that you may have, as a parent, is your child’s placement, therapy schedule, assigned teachers or classrooms and modifications (how, when, who), etc.  All of these components are important for a student to receive a meaningful education.  Unfortunately, the final decisions of these components are out of the parents control.  BUT…If you focus your time and energy on ‘what you can control’ and ‘how you can influence’ you will begin to experience positive results on ‘what concerns you’. 

By using this approach you will begin to experience more wins.  The more wins you get, the more confident you will become, and the more influential you will appear to people sitting around the IEP table.

Let’s work together to get more done with your child’s special education by focusing on your circle of control & influence!

Wishing you the best school year ever!

Lisa Shaw

Mosaic Haven Founder and Master IEP Coach®