Description:
In this podcast, we’ll hear students share their experiences and insights on their Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs. We’re excited to have you join us.
Big thanks to the Milford Public Schools and their podcast team for helping us bring student voice to the forefront of education.
A “Walk in my Shoes” was developed through the Special Education Youth Advisory Council, currently in its eighth year of representing students from across Connecticut. The Special Education Youth Advisory Council creates a space for students to share their experiences and increase their capacity to make informed decisions regarding their education. The Council is funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education, bureau of Special Education, and coordinated by SERC, the State Education Resource Center.
Transcript
Please note: this transcript is machine-generated and may contain errors.
Speaker 1
Welcome to a walk in my shoes. In this podcast, we’ll hear students share their experiences and insights on education. We’re excited to have you join us. Big thanks to the Milford Public Schools and the podcast team for helping us bring student voice to the forefront of education. A walk in my shoes was developed through the Special Education Youth Advisory Council, currently in its eighth year of representing students from across Connecticut. The Special Education Youth Advisory Council creates a space for students to share their experiences and increase their capacity to make informed decisions regarding their education. We hope you enjoy our second episode as we explore the brilliance that our students have to share.
Speaker 2
Welcome to a walk in my shoes. I am Cameron Milpitas with the Milford Public Schools, joined by Nicole Vitale, a consultant at the state Education Resource Center. In today’s episode we will continue speaking with students who participate in a statewide Youth Advisory Council in Connecticut that is designed to increase student involvement in the special education process and to help students develop strong. Effective leadership skills in order to make positive changes in their school community to ensure the privacy of the students we have not included any names or the name of their high school. We have two students in the studio today. Welcome to both of you and thank you so much for joining us. With only a few days left until school’s out today, we are going to be talking about when you first learned about an IEP. What was that experience like for you as well as what supports and services have been most helpful for you. So let’s get started. So students receive an IP at various ages and some students may have an IP. Yeah, are unaware that they have one for you. When and how did you learn that you had an IP and what was your initial reaction? To it I.
Speaker 3
Actually didn’t know what an ISP was when I first. Like started getting services. I started really getting services in. 1st grade, but then I was like ohh I’m done. So the speech teacher was like oh, she’s gone done. She’s five years old. And then I got them again in middle school when I figured out I had dyslexia. And then it just kept on going on until high school where I was put into a Learning Center. My initial reaction to it was. Ohh I have dyslexia. Are you joking? Because I didn’t think that was serious because I just thought I was really bad at spelling and not the best at reading. So it was really tame. My initial reaction, but then. Turn into this OK.
Speaker 4
So how I found out that I had an ISP is kind of weird, like my mom kind of like hid it from me. I didn’t really understand why I would get taken out of the classes or I would have a pair of pair in there, which is like almost like an extra teacher. Extra help extra time I didn’t know I had. I felt like everyone had these, like, certain accommodations. I was just. A little bit special. When I found out I had ADHD, it kind of it kind of like summed up everything. I kind of found out around 6th grade. I kind of like knew that. I was had ADHD because when I went in for a doctor visit visit, when I went in for a doctor’s visit, we did. We ran like series of tests and everything and. It turned out that I did have ADHD and that kind of connected all the dots to why I was. Just kind of like this. Dropping the class wouldn’t raise my hand. Kind of like getting up and fidgeting, or like moving around. So it kind of like everything kind of connected. And I felt like that was, like, really weird how it all like, all connected. But actually my mom actually hit my AP for me. I didn’t know what it was until 7th grade. And I’m in and. Now I’m in high school that. I kind of now understand why I have these certain accommodations and that helps me with learning and, but yeah, like that’s how I kind of like I found out, like the teacher said, like, do you know what an IP is? And I was like, what is that? And that’s when they finally, like, told me, like, this is what I have. These are my accommodations like. So yeah, that’s that’s basically what happened.
Speaker 5
Great. Thank you so much for sharing that. It’s really important for people to hear directly from students about their own experiences. So our next question for you is about the services and supports that you receive. Who did you? Go to initially or who do you currently go to to receive support in school?
Speaker 3
Currently I go to my case manager every time I have a problem in school, I always CC her my e-mail. And I always have her being added to my like, really difficult classes that I know I’m going to have trouble on on Google Classroom so she can always keep up with assignments. I also go to my mom a lot, and I’m always like, hey, how should I e-mail this teacher? Because I’m kind of a chronic emailer. Half joking, but my mom and my case manager are really like my main supports in school. Also my choir teachers always like checking up on me because I’m not the best at science and he’s always like always science better for you this year and I’m like.
Speaker 4
Yeah, totally. So those are my supports of my supports are definitely like my case manager, all cooperate copy her on certain emails that I’m sending out to my teachers, especially like from the start of the year. I had to e-mail every single teacher and had to copy my case manager on from my IP accommodation. Basically it I usually go to my dad like and my stepmom. I’ll go to them and be like, hey, how would I e-mail this teacher if she’s not following my accommodations? Or I need some extra help? But I don’t know how to reach out to the teacher without it coming off. Like, hey, you need to give me this now, like I just. So it’s my dad and my case manager. I usually go to or, like another teacher.
Speaker 5
Great. Do you think there’s any additional supports that should be in place for students who have IP’s?
Speaker 4
I I feel like. If you need like the additional support like I know like some of my parents like they got removed because I didn’t really need them anymore. As I got older I kind of like everything kind of like moved around like I had some of my accommodations that were added. Some were taken off. But I’ve had my IP since I was in 4th grade so. I kind of those things like as you grow up, you kind of a little bit like, hey, I don’t really think I need this so and so or I think I don’t think I need this and this. So basically like a lot of things can be moved around and everything.
Speaker 5
So they change and shift based on your needs and how you grow and change as a student.
Speaker 3
I personally think more support should be in place for. Not just the kids that. In elementary school, they seem like they’re a little bit like special Ed or something like that. I think it should be basically required for kids to take this because I have a lot of friends that come to me saying ohh, I think I’ve dyslexia or like, oh, I think I need an IP because schools aren’t putting in place the special, not the special, but. The support that normal, normal quote UN quote kids need, so it’s making them fall behind in school more, which I think is very important for every kid to have these type of supports. Because I think it’s been very beneficial, it helps me, it helps a lot of kids. So I think that would be really helpful for almost everybody to have that option to be able to be tested and see if they do or don’t have a learning disability.
Speaker 5
Great. So you feel like all students really could benefit from services and supports across the board, right?
Speaker 3
Definitely.
Speaker 5
Great. Thank.
Speaker 2
You we know how important and what a difference a supportive environment can look like to ensure that students are feeling a sense of belonging and to ensure their success in school. So thank you for your thoughts on that. Our final question is what is something you wish you knew about having an ISP like if you were talking to a younger student, what wisdom would you share about your experience?
Speaker 3
I would say don’t think that you’re stupid because you’re not stupid. It’s just the way that your brain functions and it. Yes, it has pros and cons, but it also. Is it? Meaning that you’re stupid doesn’t mean you’re smarter than anybody else. It just affects the way that you learn. What I also would say is, don’t be afraid to like, stick up for yourself because I’ve had teachers in the past saying like ohh, you can’t really do that, but because they don’t understand how ISP’s work but you have, you have to put your foot down and be like. That I actually do need this and it’s a thing that’s put in place by like the law. So I think people should be like able to support themselves in the way that they need to.
Speaker 4
I also agree what she was saying. So it’s like it’s. How everyone learns. It’s how everyone’s brain processes and how everyone can, like, experience their education in school like differently. It’s about how like you want to learn or how you need to learn to be successful. And it doesn’t matter if, like what she was saying, like, it doesn’t mean you’re stupid or you’re behind or anything. It just. Means that you just need a little bit of a pickup and that’s I think that’s like the big. Like a problem that some people think that if you have an IEP or if you’re in a different class, you’re stupid, which is not true. You’ve been the smartest kid in the class, but have extra time or more resources, or you can be the dumbest person in the class. But. Excelling your grades it doesn’t doesn’t matter if your dumb or stupid nobody is dumb or stupid. But yeah, that’s that’s basically.
Speaker 5
So. So just to even go back to the point earlier about this idea of normal, right, is there really such a thing as normal? Probably not, right because everybody.
Speaker 4
Yeah.
Speaker 3
No, definitely not.
Speaker 5
Learns differently. They do things differently. They excel in certain things. They might not excel in something else, so everybody’s just in a different place doing.
Speaker 3
Different things. The reason why I would say quote UN quote normal normal is because of other kids perspectives and like how they see. Special Ed and thinking like ohh, that person’s stupid. So I’m not going to do that. I think it should be normalized that. Everyone should be supported in schools and in other places.
Speaker 5
I think that’s a really great point.
Speaker 4
Yeah. And I looked at on, but like people that say, quote UN quote normal means that like you’re just like everyone else, nobody is just like everyone else. And I’m the first one to say that I’m no one. I’m like no one. But yeah, it’s all how we learn. Like some people are followers. People are leaders, but we’re all leaders in our own way of how we learn and how we excel.
Speaker 5
Exactly. I think you make some really, really great points. Thank. You for that.
Speaker 4
Ohh thank you.
Speaker 2
Thank you so much. It is so helpful for people to hear directly from students about what it means to have an IP and share experiences about the powerful impact. Having an IP can have on your education. We are so thankful to have you in the studio today. You are the reason we are here, why we come to work every day. You are truly the leaders of the future. We hope you will join us again as we continue our learning with students, families and educators. From across the state, take good care. Everyone have a great summer.
Speaker 4
Thank you.
Speaker 1
The Special Education Youth Advisory Council is funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education Bureau of Special Education and coordinated by SERC, the state Education Resource Center. This podcast was created in collaboration between Milford Public Schools and Surf. Cerf provides resources, professional learning and a centralized library to educators, families and community members. To learn more, please visit circaonline@csrc.org. The views of guests are not necessarily the views of the walk in my shoes podcast, the state Education Resource Center or the Connecticut State Department of Education. This conversation has been edited. s. To learn more, please visit ctserc.org. Links to resources will be provided in the show notes. The views of guests are not necessarily the views of the Walk In My Shoes podcast, the State Education Resource Center, or the Connecticut State Department of Education. This conversation has been edited.