Savage Advocates

Grateful to meet with parents and unpack both the Neuroscience and practical strategies for students who struggle with executive functioning deficits to improve their school experience. Interventions help students by age and stage to build resilience, self advocacy skills and the stamina to thrive in K-12 and college.

As we enter Spring, energy rises. And unfortunately, IEP teams tend to focus on the behaviors the student demonstrates vs the quality and program of intervention being provided. Consider it your child has a BIP (behavior intervention plan). What is happening in the moment? Who is trained? What meaningful plan does the staff follow from antecedent to consequence? What direct oversight is in your IEP delivered by a board certified BCBA? And consider. Will that “fix all” - 1-2x a week, small group counseling session meet your child’s needs? In my practice, it is often data proven that many students cannot generalize skills in the general ed classroom. Without advocating for direct push in services, trained staff and independent data collection by a board certified behavioral specialist.

Keep this in mind. When schools recommend waiting for comprehensive literacy evaluations for struggling readers. myth busting tropes used by admins to deflect and delay specialized instruction. Warrior Moms don’t back down.

School Psychologist: “Well He can read the directions” - 10th grade student. One year later of intensive advocacy. Reading specialist: dyslexic, dysgraphic, SLD of written expression. “We won’t measure comprehension, only rate and accuracy in the fluency goal” - 2nd Grade Student. Now in 4th grade. Still waiting for a comprehension goal. From a Special Ed Teacher “our data shows progress.” 3rd grade student who had received 3+ years of daily reading instruction. The gap proven to be widening not closing in an independent reading evaluation. Admins love to claim it’s a question of parents not trusting them. They’re right. We don’t. And this is why. Do your job. Get the PD required to teach with fidelity. Admins and staff are not serving students that’s for sure. Parents intuit when their child’s team is off. They feel the evading, hiding and defending of their child’s IEP program when it is not effective. But parents shouldn’t have to become experts. I did. As my children were not going to be left behind. None of our kids have any time to waste. Proud to stand with parents committed to addressing the white elephant and when necessary - pushing back to advocate for their child’s needs. Good intentions + low competence in implementing the IEP instruction is not a benign issue. It harms kids for the rest of their education. On my watch — you claim it, you better be able to prove it.

Last work of 2025…. Looking forward to what is yet to unfold in 2026. Wishing us all peace on earth, light and love. “May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.” ( - John O’Donohue)

Tell me you’re destroying meaningful access to early intervention and special education for vulnerable children without saying it.

Loan limits matter.

Already passed: The new lifetime cap for students with the parents plus loans of $60K. = effectively eliminates access to higher education.
Less education = easier to control and subjugate people

Limiting loans for professionals listed. Severely reduced access = elimination of higher education programs.

— Anyone noticed that these professions includes a majority that are mandated reporters of child abuse? Not a coincidence.

This speaks volumes. Often I see how I approach my practice as holding space for parents. To express their deepest hopes and, often, the depth of their grief. This grief is vastly misconstrued by the media (and sometimes family) as wishing their child did not have a disability. You love your child and can want life to be more inclusive and easier to navigate for them. And with them. Parents deserve schools that meet their child’s needs and communities that include neurodiverse children.

High school goals here. Often, the students transition and communication goals are all about. Them! The IEP often have no metacognitive, metalinguistic or emotional attunement goals. Those are the skills all teens must develop to thrive in HS, college and the workplace. Teens require instruction to master it. If you see your teen’s IEP says “will identify their strengths and weaknesses” without all the “soft” skills. Push back and level it up.