When my son Dylan was in kindergarten, he started using this big, clunky Dynavox communication device. And honestly? We got lucky. 

The Dynavox rep came to the school, trained the staff, and I was also able to attend. (Tip: Ask to attend staff training)

The school PT and SLP both took the lead at school as far as programming the device and I did some programming at home for upcoming school topics. Pretty soon the whole team felt confident helping Dylan use his new voice.
 

That was huge. But here’s the truth: most families don’t get that kind of setup unless they ask for it. 

That’s why I always remind parents staff support isn’t a bonus.
It’s something you can request in the IEP, just like any other service.

Has the topic of staff training ever come up at one of your IEP meetings?
 

If you’ve ever been told “we trained the staff” but your child’s support didn’t improve...this video is for you.

Schools often say your child will get the support they need but what about the people giving your child specially designed instruction?  

How is the staff learning and implementing new skills in the classroom?

In this video, we dig into the hidden gap that parents rarely see until it’s too late: staff training.

Too often, training for staff is left out of IEPs completely, described with vague phrases, or never backed up with evidence that it happened at all. Ugh!

Even when training is provided, strategies may fade quickly without real accountability. 

In the video I share practical ways to: 

1. Get staff support written into the IEP as a service, so that your child’s teachers and paras have the tools they need to actually help your child learn day to day.
 

2. Ask smart questions that reveal if training really happened so that you’re not left guessing, and you can be confident the strategies you fought for are truly being used.
 

3. Push for specific, ongoing coaching so that staff don’t just learn once and forget, but keep building skills that make a real difference for your child in the classroom.

Most of us have seen this before: staff go to a training, get really excited, and then a few weeks later… nothing changes. 

That’s because a one-time workshop isn’t enough.

Research by Joyce & Showers shows when staff get follow-up support, not just training, but peer-coaching alongside them the chances of them actually using those strategies with your child skyrockets. 

Without that support, maybe 1 out of 20 teachers will keep using it. With coaching, almost all of them do.
 

That’s why asking for ongoing support (not just a one-day training) in your child’s IEP can make such a difference.

Picture this: instead of “one training a year,” your child’s IEP promises ongoing coaching until staff actually feel confident. That means when your child walks into class, the teacher already knows, or will soon know, how to use their communication device, how to support their sensory needs, and how to adapt lessons so they can learn with their peers.
 

And for you? 

It’s the difference between lying awake at night worrying, “Will they even know what to do tomorrow?” and finally exhaling, knowing the strategies on paper are showing up in the classroom.
 

It’s not just words in an IEP anymore, it’s your child being seen, supported, and included every single day. Pretty sweet!

I'm here walking beside you,