IEP meetings can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even isolating — especially when you're sitting across from a team of professionals who speak a language you haven't been taught. I'm here to change that. With 40 years of experience working alongside educators, school OTs, and families, I can help you build genuine, informed, and productive relationships with every member of your child's school team — the people who show up every single day to support your child. When parents and school teams truly understand each other, children thrive.
My approach to school consultation
The school professionals on your child's IEP team — the OT, the teachers, the specialists — are dedicated to your child's success. My role is to help you understand their language, appreciate their expertise, and step into that team as an equal, informed partner. Together, you and your child's school team can accomplish far more than either could do alone.
Understanding the IEP
OT evaluation reports are dense and clinical. I'll help you decode them so you can understand exactly what was found about your child and why it matters.
Decode standardized testing scores and what they mean in real life
Understand what each area of assessment is measuring
Identify key findings and their connection to your child's daily challenges
Know what questions to ask if something is unclear or missing
OT goals on an IEP should be specific, measurable, and directly tied to your child's educational needs. I'll help you evaluate whether they are — and advocate for better ones if they're not.
Understand what makes an OT goal meaningful vs. generic
Learn how goals connect to your child's academic performance
Know how to ask for goals to be revised or clarified
Understand benchmarks and how progress is measured
Request and interpret goal data from the school
Accommodations should bridge the gap between your child's challenges and their academic participation. I'll help you understand which ones make sense — and how to ask for them with confidence.
Understand the difference between accommodations and modifications
Learn which accommodations are most relevant to OT needs
Participate in generating accommodations that are practical and specific
Connect behavioral support needs to OT goals on the IEP
Navigating IEP Meetings
Walk into your next IEP meeting knowing what to expect, what to ask, and how to advocate clearly for your child — without conflict or confusion.
Know your rights under IDEA before you walk in
Understand each person's role at the table
Prepare your questions in advance with confidence
Push back constructively when something doesn't sit right
Understand what you're signing — and what it means
The best outcomes happen when parents and school OTs work as genuine partners. Here's how to build that relationship — even when the system makes it hard.
How to initiate productive communication with the school OT
What to do if your concerns aren't being heard
How to request observation of your child's OT sessions
Building a collaborative rather than adversarial dynamic
When and how to escalate concerns through proper channels
Understanding What School OT Does
Do you know what your child's school OT is actually doing with them — and why? You should. And you have every right to ask.
Understand the types of OT interventions used in school settings
Learn why specific approaches are chosen for specific profiles
Know the difference between skill-building and compensation strategies
Ask for treatment rationale to be explained in plain language
School OT happens once or twice a week. What happens the other 165 hours? Learn how to get home strategies from the school OT — and how to actually use them.
Request specific home carryover activities from the school OT
Understand how to implement school strategies at home
Build a consistent home routine that reinforces school progress
Use your OT-FamilyCollab coaching to bridge school and home seamlessly
Questions Every Parent Should Feel Confident Asking
These are questions you have every right to raise — and that I'll help you feel prepared to ask.
About the OT Evaluation
"Can you walk me through what each test measured and what my child's scores mean in everyday terms?"
"How does the evaluation connect to the specific challenges we see at home and at school?"
About IEP Goals
"How does this OT goal connect to my child's academic performance and classroom participation?"
"Can you show me the progress data you're collecting on this goal?"
About OT Sessions
"What specific methods are you using with my child — and what's the evidence behind them for their profile?"
"Can I observe a session? I want to understand what you're doing so I can support it at home."
About Home Carryover
"What are the two or three most important things I can do at home to support what you're working on in school?"
"Can you give me a written home program I can follow between sessions?"
"You have every right to understand every word of your child's IEP — and every right to ask questions, request changes, and participate fully in the decisions being made about your child's education."
— Julie Elizabeth Driscoll, MA, OTR/L
Ready to walk into your next IEP meeting prepared?
Julie will help you understand every word of your child's OT plan — and show up at that table as the informed, confident parent your child deserves.
