Here is your
Guide to becoming an advocate *ON The Inside*
The tips, scripts and strategies to level up your IEP advocacy are waiting for you inside this 22-page downloadable PDF guide.
Imagine your last tough IEP meeting.
You knew your student well.
You came ready with data and recommendations
You knew there needed to be some significant changes to the IEP.
And still, you hesitated—choosing your words carefully, wondering how much to say, how hard to push, and what it might cost if you did.
This guide is for moments like that.
It’s for therapists and educators who want to walk into IEP meetings with greater confidence in how they advocate. This guide invites you to reframe old mindsets around parent participation, center student needs, make clear, data-driven recommendations you can stand behind, even when the conversation gets complicated.
You are already advocating.
But with the tips and scripts inside this guide, you’ll advocate more strategically from inside the public school system with the steadfast commitment to the promise of IDEA, despite the challenges you face.
I HAVE BEEN THERE.
I spent half my career in public schools. I know therapists and educators inside the system are doing the heavy lifting, upholding IDEA and balancing administrative demands with student needs and parent requests. I know what that pressure feels like, and it can be crushing especially when you care deeply about your students.
Then you walk into yet another IEP meeting and you tell yourself you want to speak up more this time. But you’re navigating:
You were trained to write IEPs and serve students.
You were not trained to navigate power dynamics, bad-faith arguments, or systemic resistance.
So you second-guess yourself.
You soften your language.
You carry the weight quietly.
After developing inside-advocacy skills, things start to feel different.
You walk into meetings knowing:
How to facilitate meaningful participation from parents that can build trust
How to ground your recommendations in data and IDEA without overstepping your role
How to speak up calmly, confidently, and professionally—even when it’s uncomfortable
And you walk away from IEP meetings knowing you did all you could for your students without internalizing systemic barriers as personal failure.
LET ME TELL YOU why I made this guide:
You probably know by now that I used to be a school SLP and now I work for myself, advocating from outside the system. But you may not know why I started my podcast, Unfiltered IEPs. Seeing things from both “sides” I could see that parents didn’t really know all the responsibilities or pressures of their school service providers. And the more time I spent on social media the more I saw a growing divide between parents and school staff—with very little meaningful conversation in between.
When I consult with parents now, I spend a lot of time explaining what it was really like to sit in your seat: the caseloads, the pressure, the competing demands, and the constraints no one talks about.
This guide came from my own experience at the IEP table and from countless conversations with educators who want to advocate more effectively—but were never taught how to do that from inside the system.
There is so much i want to tell you…
And this is just the beginning:
THe first edition
A practical, values-driven guide for SLPs and educators who want to advocate ethically, confidently, and strategically.
It’s not about being louder.
It’s about being clearer, more grounded, and more effective.
HEre's what I know to be true
When educators intentionally elevate parent voice, clarify rights, and provide information in advance, they shift from gatekeepers of the system —to guides within it.
I’m going to be honest, this guide will challenge you; but it is designed to walk you through tried-and-true strategies in small, bite-sized steps.
INside you will find:
The 3 Mindset shifts that will change the whole tone of your meetings
The 10 Topics I wish I could go over with every school team I work with as an advocate
Over 30 specific scripts you can use at your next IEP meeting
7 Logical Fallacies that colleagues present and how you can respond
10 Powerful Phrases anyone can use at the IEP table
22 Total Pages designed to be as printer-friendly as possible!
Here's the thing
I know how cautious educators have to be about where they invest their time and money. And I wouldn't ask you to waste yours.
This guide was written by someone who sat at the IEP table with you—not from the outside looking in.
If something doesn’t resonate or support your work in meaningful ways, I want to hear that too. Your perspective matters to me.
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THe REVIEWS ARE IN
YOUR REVIEW HERE!
Dr. Angelyn Franks, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Former Public School SLP & Burnout Coach
Advocate on the Inside is a resource I wish I had during my public school years and one I will be sharing with all of my school SLP friends. It creates a clear bridge between information and action in a realistic, sustainable way. This guide offers practical tools, shared language, and grounded strategies that keep students at the center while helping clinicians navigate the realities of the complex public school special education system."
Alexia Bassin AAC SLP
As a school-based SLP of 16 years and an AT Evaluator, I’ve seen how easy it is for the IEP process to feel like 'us vs. them.' This guide is the antidote to that mindset. I wish I had this when I first started out working in the schools! I particularly loved the 'lead with curiosity' questions, they provide the exact language SLPs or other school team members need when they’re struggling to articulate advocacy in the moment. Working in a high school setting, I know how crucial it is to center the student in the process, and this guide provides a universal roadmap for making that happen. It’s not just a PDF; it’s a manual for more ethical, collaborative practice.
You are already advocating for your students.
This guide helps you do it with intention, skill, and sustainability.
If you’re ready to:
Speak up with more confidence
Navigate hard conversations more strategically
Advocate in ways that align with your values and your role
Then The Guide to Becoming an Advocate On the Inside is here for you.
FAQs:
Is this legal advice?
No. This guide does not provide legal advice or replace legal counsel. I am not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.
Is this guide state-specific?
No, this guide has very general advice and only references federal law.
Will this be helpful if I’m new to schools?
Yes. These are things I WISH I knew in my first years in the schools.
Will there be future editions?
Yes. A second edition will focus more on collective and systemic advocacy.
Are you ready
to level up your advocacy?