122: 5 (Surprising) Things Parents Want Special Ed. Professionals to Know w/ Tiffany Goodchild

Parenting a child with medical complexity or disability often means learning a ton of new skills—and new systems—often in a very short period. Making that process more difficult is the fact that many of the individuals working in those systems, like special education professionals and therapists, aren’t actually parents of disabled children if they even have children at all. And because of this, communication between both sides can be... let’s just say difficult at times. Here to help bridge the gap is a former Sp. Ed. professional and mom to a disabled son, Tiffany Goodchild.   In today’s episode, Tiffany shares all the things she wishes she had known as a Sp. Ed. professional before she had her son. She shares difficult experiences that she’s had navigating the Sp. Ed. system, even after having worked in it for years, and it’s her goal to help educate other special education professionals to make the special education system better for both professionals and kids.  To this end, we’ve made digital and printable flyers that you can send to the Sp. Ed. Professionals in your life. We’d love for you to send this episode to anyone who works in special education so we can make the system work better for everyone. Get a copy of the flyers here.  Finally, an extra special thanks to Trexo for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website and Instagram to see their amazing robotic devices in action!  Links:  Visit Trexo’s website to get more information about their assistive devices.  Follow Trexo on Instagram to see their products in action.  Send this flyer to your Sp. Ed. professionals! Printable version or digital.   Get a copy of No Such Thing as Normal by Megan DeJarnett.  Get a copy of Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau.   Listen to Ep. 59 about IEPs with Catherine Whitcher, M. Ed.  Listen to Ep. 68: Dipping My Toes into Educational Advocacy.  Check out the Kourageous Karter Foundation.  Follow Tiffany on Instagram!  Follow me on Instagram!  Donate to the podcast via Buy Me a Coffee.   Contact me about sponsoring the podcast.  Follow the Facebook page.   Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.   Access the transcript on the website here.   And if you love this podcast, please leave us a rating or review in your favorite podcast app!