Your Child Belongs in Their
General Education Classroom.
They need an IEP that's built to take them there.
Not by arguing at the end of the meeting. By building your case from the very first page.
Connect the Dots: Build an Inclusive IEP
Free advocacy training for parents
May 4 - May 10
Not a one-and-done webinar.
Three live sessions, space to think between them, and real conversation during the week.
What You're Up Against And Why You May Be So Tired
You talk about your child's strengths.
You explain what works.
You describe what school could look like for your child.
And then the IEP arrives, and it doesn't say any of that.
You've been told you're an equal member of the team… but it doesn't feel that way.
You know something isn't working, but you can't quite tell what needs to change.
You're tired of advocating year after year, only to see the same patterns repeat.
You're carrying the emotional weight of this, and…
Here's what changes when the dots connect:
See exactly where the IEP breaks down, and what to do about it
Spot exactly where your child's IEP breaks down, so the supports your child needs stop falling through the cracks.
Walk into the next meeting with language that's hard to ignore
Replace vague IEP language with written commitments, so your child's supports actually follow them into the classroom, every day.
Make inclusion the plan, not the debate
Build the case for your child's inclusion from page one, so by the time placement comes up, the answer is already written into the plan.
I've sat in those meetings.
On both sides of the table.
30 years in education. Special educator. General education teacher. IEP writer. Advocate. And parent of a son with Down syndrome.
That combination means you're learning from someone who has been in those rooms, as the teacher writing the IEP, as the advocate reading it, and as the parent sitting across the table wondering if anyone is actually listening.
What changes is this: your child stops being described by what they can't do yet. And starts being planned for based on who they already are.
What I know is this: your child doesn't have to prove they're ready for the general education classroom.
They belong there.
And the IEP is where that belonging either gets built in or gets quietly left out.
My mission is to make sure your child is safe, happy, and learning beside their classmates every day.
Charmaine Thaner, M.A.
Author of the Amazon #1 bestselling book
The Art of Advocacy: A Parent's Guide to a Collaborative IEP Process
Charmaine's been featured on national podcasts and a speaker at national conferences.
FAQs
I've been to IEP trainings before and nothing changed. Why would this be different?
Most IEP trainings teach you your rights. This one teaches you how to read the document. Those are two different things. Knowing your rights doesn't tell you why your child's goals aren't connected to their strengths, or why supports disappear the moment a substitute walks in. This training gives you a framework you can use on any IEP, at any meeting, from here forward. When you leave, your child's IEP won't look the same to you again.
My child isn't in a general education classroom right now. Is this still for me?
Yes. Especially for you. This training is built on one belief: your child belongs in general education, and the IEP is where that belonging either gets built in or gets quietly left out. If your child isn't there yet, this week will show you how to start building the case from page one of the next IEP. Placement follows the plan. We start with the plan.
My child's IEP meeting is months away. Is this still worth joining?
Yes. The further out your meeting is, the better positioned you are. You'll have time to read your child's current IEP differently, identify what's missing, and know what to ask for before anyone sits down. Your child deserves a parent who walks in prepared. What you find in your child's IEP this week may be exactly what needs to change.
I don't have time to be in a Facebook group all week. Do I have to show up for everything?
Each live session runs about an hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on Zoom. If you can't make it live, the replay is posted in the Facebook group right after. The handouts stay there too. That said, if you can join live, that's where the real conversation happens, you can ask questions in the moment and get answers while the topic is right in front of us. What matters most is that your child gets a parent who has read the IEP differently, and that can happen even if you catch the replay at midnight.
Will this training tell me everything I need to do for my child's IEP?
It gives you a clear framework for IEPs, seeing where the thread breaks, and knowing what to ask for. What it doesn't do is go through your child's specific IEP. That's a different level of work. Many parents finish this week clearer than they've ever been and ready to have someone sit with them and look at certain sections of their child's. That's what the Inclusive IEP Audit™ is for.
I'm not very tech savvy. Can I still participate?
If you can watch a Facebook video and join a Zoom call, you have everything you need. The sessions are on Zoom and the replays and handouts go straight into the Facebook group. Nothing complicated. And if you hit a snag, drop a message in the group and someone will help you figure it out. Your child needs you in that room. We'll make sure you can get there.
Your child belongs in their general education classroom.
And they need an IEP that's built to take them there.
This week teaches you what to look for.
What you find in your child's IEP might surprise you.
My mission is to make sure your child is safe, happy, and learning beside their classmates every day. ~ Charmaine
Monday, May 4 - Sunday, May 10
