It was late at night.

The house was finally quiet. You were not sleeping. You had not been, not since that meeting.
 

So you got up, went downstairs, and looked through the IEP. There were some strengths listed. Something about a great personality. Kids love their sense of humor. There were goals. Some of them looked exactly like the goals from last year. There was a service table, some accommodations. A lot of words.
 

But something felt off. You could not name it exactly. You just knew.
 

You had spent two hours in that meeting sharing everything you know about your child. What lights them up. How they actually learn. What works when someone finally gets it right. You watched everyone nod politely.
 

And none of that made it into the IEP.
 

If that has ever been your experience, I want you to know: it is not because you did not say enough. It is not because what you shared did not matter.
 

It is because most IEPs are built as a collection of disconnected sections. The speech therapist writes what she sees, the classroom teacher writes what she sees, the special ed teacher writes what she sees, and your voice? It ends up in a box called “parent concerns,” separate from everything else.
 

Nothing connects.
 

A good IEP should tell one connected story about your child, from strengths, to present levels, to goals, to supports, to services.
 

Each section should connect to the next, instead of leaving you staring at the IEP late at night, knowing something is wrong but not being able to explain why.
 

That is exactly what Connect the Dots is designed to change.
 

Connect the Dots: Build an Inclusive IEP is a free week-long training happening May 3 through May 9 inside a private Facebook group with parents who know exactly what that late-night IEP moment feels like.

Yes, I want to join the free training.  Click here.
 

We’ll have three live sessions: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Here’s a glimpse of what we’ll be covering.
 

Tuesday, May 5: Your Child’s North Star and Strengths
We’ll begin where many IEP meetings do not: with your child’s future. What do you want life to look like after high school? That North Star should guide the IEP, so each year’s plan moves your child one step closer to the life you want them to have.
 

Then I’ll show you how to name your child’s strengths in language the IEP team can actually use, so those strengths shape the goals, supports, and services your child receives.
 

Wednesday, May 6: Present Levels and Goals
These two sections either build the case for your child or quietly work against them. We’ll look at what belongs in Present Levels, what language to question, and how a reframed needs statement can build inclusion in from page one. Then we’ll turn to goals: how to make them meaningful, strength-based, and connected to real learning in your child’s school day.
 

Because by the time the discussion turns to placement, inclusion needs to have been built into the IEP.  And that can mean the difference between your child learning alongside classmates or spending another year pulled from the classroom.
 

Thursday, May 7: Accommodations, Services, and Placement
This is where many of the biggest disconnects live. Services that do not match the goals. Accommodations that stay generic because the Present Levels were generic. Placement decisions that can feel like they were made before you even entered the room.
 

By Thursday, you’ll have a stronger understanding of how the IEP is supposed to work. But knowing the framework and using it with your own child’s document are not the same thing.
 

Because when it is your child, your emotions, and your child's meeting, it can be hard to know where to start or what to focus on first.
 

Thursday helps you pull the full picture together, so you can begin looking at your child’s IEP with more confidence and less overwhelm.
 

Three sessions. All free. All inside a private group for one week only.
 

The group opens Sunday, May 3. It closes Saturday, May 9.
 

You have already been doing the hard part. Showing up, staying at the table, learning everything you can, for a child who deserves so much more than a document that could have been written for anyone.
 

Come join us.
Yes, I want to join the free training! Sign up.

Here with you,

P.S. If something in your child’s IEP is not sitting right with you, come join us.