Practical Special Education for Parents

Hello, I'm David Poeschl, a retired school district special education director and Cal State University lecturer.  For the past 10 years I have been providing individual advocacy services to parents of students with disabilities.  Currently, I speak to 300-400 families per year and work closely with 40-50 of those.I see every day the  difficulty parents have trying to access the system initially, and the struggles to get and maintain a good special education program for their children over time.I also know that knowledge is power, particularly  when one is facing a complex and sometimes incredibly frustrating system.  Studies consistently show that parents who are better informed are more satisfied with their children's IEP programs.The podcasts in this series are designed to provide you with both the facts and, more importantly, the context and meaning that my experiences bring to the facts.  In my professional career, I chaired thousands of IEP meetings, set-up school and district programs, both special and general education, and provided training to hundreds of teachers and paraprofessional staff.At a Cal State campus, I taught the one special education course required for general education credential and masters candidates.  I taught thousands of students about the field and how to work with students with disabilities. This podcast is sponsored by Matrix Parents, which is part of the Marin Center for Independent Living a non-profit organization.I work for Matrix Parents as a Senior Parent Advisor.