10 School Supports to Request Before an IEP

10 School Supports to Request Before an IEP

It's a weekday morning and you're doing the parenting triathlon: socks, shoes, water bottle, lunch, "where is your other shoe," and your kid suddenly remembers they need a poster board due today. Then your phone buzzes: a school email with a subject line like "Reading block concerns" or "Just checking in." You open it and your stomach drops: they're falling behind, visiting the nurse during reading block, and you're seeing more avoidance or behavior. In this episode, Dr. Amy Patenaude hands you a simple "Costco map" of school supports to try on purpose before special education: one barrier, one support, one review date. You'll get the Top 10 supports parents often forget to request, plus clean, collaborative language you can copy and paste without writing a 12-paragraph novel.

In this episode you'll learn

• Why school stuff feels impossible to keep up with (mental load is real, and you're not failing)
• The brain-based reframe for avoidance: avoidance is protection, not laziness
• The three anchor questions that make supports measurable: what are we doing, how often, and how will we measure it
• The Timer Rule: try a support for a set window, then review data (no support limbo)
• The Top 10 supports to try before an IEP conversation (from MTSS plans to nurse plans to trial accommodations)
• Exactly what to say: simple scripts for MTSS, trial accommodations, Tier 2 supports, and evaluation requests

Tiny Wins to try this week

• Pick one barrier and write one sentence: "The barrier is ___ (reading stamina, decoding, avoidance, anxiety, fatigue)."
• Send one email using the 3 anchor questions: What are we doing? How often? How will we measure it?
• Choose two trial accommodations to "taste test" for 2–3 weeks (yes, two. Not ten).
• Ask for the review date in the same email and put it on your calendar.
• Start a tiny dot log: two sentences per week about what you're seeing at home.

Pick one. One is enough.

Free resources

• Boredom Buster Guide
• Big Feeling Decoder
• 50 AI Prompts for Tired Parents
• School Psych in Your Back Pocket: The School Testing Toolkit (K–12)

Disclaimer

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or legal advice. Listening to this podcast does not create a provider-client relationship. If you're concerned about your child's mental health, safety, or development, please consult a qualified professional in your area.