Coffee and Cocktails.
It all begins with an idea. I am an education attorney and have been practicing in education, primarily special education, for over 20 years. My weeks are often filled with consults with parents (as well as advocates and attorneys) who simply want to learn how to advocate for children and what is available. Many of these individuals didn’t necessarily want or need legal assistance but they wanted to learn what laws are out there and what rights children have within the public school system. When I would send parents to other resources online - they were overwhelmed and would often rather sit down with me for an hour or two. The problem? It’s expensive and I only have so much time and there are many families with needs, many of whom don’t have the resources to hire attorneys or advocates.
Over the years I have presented hundreds of times, on radio shows, podcasts, tv news shows, at legal conferences, and during my periodic coffee or evening gatherings throughout the midwest trying to educate parents, advocates, and attorneys.
If you want to come to one of my live conferences, and you have a child with disabilities, it may be hard to leave the house - and expensive. If you want to attend one of the seminars where I am speaking virtually for another organization - it’s likely going to be expensive and focused on training attorneys or social workers.
For most parents the travel, the costs, the babysitters, and the seminars proved overwhelming. For many of the advocates and attorneys, they needed far more than one or two days of training to successfully move into special education practice where they could truly help families. As for all the radio shows, podcasts, and television shows, well, you have to be able to find them and the 2-minute soundbites or 30-minute shows are not likely to get you what you truly need to know to help navigate the complexities of the school system, advocacy, negotiation, and raising a special needs child.
The Issue? How to provide education to parents (as well as advocates and attorneys) in a way that is affordable and provides what is needed to successfully navigate the world of special education, advocacy, and raising children, in a way that they can truly access. I wanted to create something that was not overwhelming, where I could be there virtually, sitting with my coffee cup and saying, “let’s do this friend. Here is what you need to know.”
The solution. In 2017 this website was born but not quite published. Experienced parent advocate and two-decade-long friend Pat Howey began making her drives to Michigan, where I resided at the time, as I developed hundreds of pages of materials and mapped out a way to provide information to parents in a way that wasn’t overwhelming and could be used for easy guidance. She sat beside me, had phone calls (many of them ranting) as I drafted hundreds of pages of material, discussed ideas, and what I wanted to achieve. However, in 2017 I didn’t know how to use Zoom (was it even around?) and the site was to be entirely a resource-based site with recordings. Pat also went to work on her special education book, “Special Education Plain and Simple” which I highly recommend.
Between 2017 and 2020, my focus was simply on developing materials and mapping out what could be done and what I wanted to do. During that time my life also changed dramatically. I took time to finally form my own law firm with my law partners, the famous and sensational special education attorney Sonja Kerr, and the extraordinary family law attorney Erin Connell. So for a time, this website sat with hundreds of developed pages, thousands of dollars out, and unpublished. My coffee and live teaching sessions were still provided live at libraries, homes, parks, and churches. I continued to do a lot of media all over and presented at a number of national conferences. I did multiple due process hearings, some lasting multiple weeks. I moved. I got two kids off to college. The website and the materials sat.
In March 2020, the world changed for every single one of us. It went virtual. Instead of doing live events with families, I started hosting morning coffees by Zoom every Saturday morning for my clients, friends, and parent advocates. It took a while to figure it out but Zoom was being used for our mediations, and court hearings, and for an attorney, it became a necessity. I realized this was it. Parents loved it. We could have guests discuss finding a good therapist for a child with ADHD, discuss LRE and take general questions with a moderator, explain private school reimbursement issues, and this was what was needed to truly help parents navigate the system.
Instead of a parent paying me $350 for an hour, or simply accessing a website with multiple pages that were hard to understand and even harder to know how to apply, this was the way to provide education in an affordable way. To take what I had acquired over 20 plus years in practice and share it - for an entire year at less than what one hour of my time individually would cost. For less than the plane ticket to one of my conferences. For less than the gas for a two-hour drive for one of my live coffee events.
My high-level intensive classes are just that as well. Intensive. While they are more expensive, the majority are designed for professionals - whether you what to become a professional advocate or are an attorney who wants to practice in this area. The parent-focused intensives are to give parents a true foothold up in understanding the law, negotiation, and strategy. They are not simply a day-long course - they are a way to truly help you learn what you need to know.
So here it is and here I am. My hope is that just as this site and the classes changed and motivated me. It will change and motivate you. It will give you as a parent, grandparent, teacher, advocate, or attorney, the skills you need to ensure that your child or a child you advocate for, can gain the resources and support they need to live an independent and happy a life as possible. This month we open it up to all of you.
I look forward to seeing you soon.