Matrix Parents Presents: Expanding Parents' Power in Special Education and Beyond

Matrix Parent Network and the Marin Center for Independent Living funded and supported the production of this podcast. If you are the parent of a child with a disability you have very likely experienced a feeling that you missed something when you walk out of an IEP meeting.  Many parents report that schools seem to go through the steps of the IEP but what comes out is a muddled mix of goals, accommodations and services.Parents also report that they don't feel like they are true members of their IEP team, that the IEP document they are asked to sign was developed by school staff with little or no input from those who know the child the best.This episode explores what parent participation really means, that the definition goes beyond school to encompass the child's entire life, in and out of school. Research indicates that parents of children with disabilities have strong desires for their children to work on skills at home and in the community versus in school. Other parents report focusing on involvement outside of school as a strategy to escape the anxiety and confines of school expectations and potential feelings of judgement from their special education teams. article referred to in the episode:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12356156/Thanks to  soundimage.org for the free access to the AI generated music used in this podcast (https://soundimage.org/)