A Day in our Shoes + Don’t IEP Alone

Parents

Understand the IEP process better, know your rights and prepare for IEP meetings. Learn what to ask for and how to get it on your child’s IEP.

Teachers

Better, defensible IEPs in less time: use tools that support better outcomes for students and save you time and extra work.

New to IEPs? Start Here

Teachers- Start Here

They say it takes a village. You found yours.

Helping Parents and Teachers Make IEPs Work, Together.

IEP help for parents and teachers so you can write stronger IEPs, ask for the right supports, and see real progress at school.

Parent reviewing school paperwork while learning about the iep process

Advocacy Training

Online options for parents + pros

Teacher and students working together during a lesson

CECs for Teachers

Meaningful CECs that help your workload.

Preferential seating is a common 504 plan accommodation.

Free IEP Goal Bank

Meaningful progress starts with well written goals.

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Get Help from My Best Selling Toolkits

IEP Progress Monitoring for Teachers

Know exactly what to track, how to document it, and walk into meetings with data that holds up.

How to Write Fast, Compliant Present Levels

Write present levels that are defensible, aligned, and done in a fraction of the time.

Fast Easy IEP Data Collection

Collect meaningful data without it taking over your day, and finally have proof your instruction is working.

IEP Progress Monitoring for Parents

Learn how to spot when progress isn’t real—and what to do before another year slips by.

IEP Advocacy Toolkit for Parents

Show up prepared, ask better questions, and leave meetings with an IEP that actually addresses your child’s needs.

Anxiety at School Toolkit

Get your child back to school with supports that reduce overwhelm and make the day manageable again.

A woman in a white blouse and patterned skirt sits on a white bench against a red brick wall, smiling at the camera—a reminder that you don't iep alone, as a day in our shoes supports every step.

Special Education Advocate + Author

Meet Lisa Lightner

Since 2010, I’ve supported families as a Special Education Advocate, helping parents navigate the IEP and 504 process with more confidence.

The resources here also reflect the insight of advocates, teachers, attorneys, and professionals who contribute their expertise. More about me.

Special Education Advocate Assistance

Get 1:1 Personalized IEP Support

Since 2010, I’ve been helping families understand and navigate the IEP process—because the IEP process is complicated, and parents are often expected to figure it out on their own.
I started doing this professionally because I was once exactly where you are- staring at a stack of confusing paperwork, and assuming I must be missing something.

And in many cases… you are. Because you don’t know what you don’t know–and that’s ok, because the IEP process is incredibly cumbersome and complex. No one hands us a guidebook when we start this journey, either.

Over the past 16+ years I’ve worked with hundreds of families across the country, helping them organize documentation, understand their rights, and present their child’s needs in a way schools can’t ignore.

Learn More or Schedule a Consult

IEP Record Review

This is my most popular service–and here’s why. I’ll tell you what your IEP says as far as who your child is, or who the child is that is described in the IEP. From there, I’ll tell you what programs and supports I would expect to see, in an IEP for a child with this description. Then, I move on to the actual goals and supports–and point out what’s missing. Let’s get the child in front of us to match the child on paper. Click here.

IEP Record Review + 60-Minute Strategy Session

This package includes everything in the IEP Record Review, a thorough, no-nonsense analysis of your child’s records, followed up with a private 60-minute Zoom session where we walk through it together and talk strategy so you’re ready for your next meeting. Click here.

“Pick My Brain” Consult on Zoom

Need straight answers fast? This session is for parents who are in the thick of it and just need to talk things through.
No prep work or long reports. Just you, me, and 45 minutes on Zoom. Bring your questions. I’ll bring 16+ years of IEP advocacy experience and straightforward answers and suggestions. Click here.

Stressed out mom considering special education due process

Jennie B.

“I can’t thank you enough for this. My son had a behavior plan, they kept adding to it, changing it, but calling me all the time to come get him. Once the suspensions started, I knew that I had to fix this but didn’t know where to start. He had a BIP for two years and behaviors increased. After doing this for a few months, I realized the FBA data didn’t actually support the interventions, or him, really. He got a new FBA, we rewrote BIP, the phone calls and suspensions stopped, finally. And, he’s happier. This was affordable and just what we needed.“

My Signature Product

Get Help With Your Child’s IEP—Step by Step

$27

If something isn’t working, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Inside the Don’t IEP Alone Academy, you’ll get guided support to review your child’s IEP, organize your data, write effective parent letters, and respond when the school pushes back.

I walk you through exactly how to review your child’s records, identify what’s not working, and take the next right steps; whether that’s writing a parent letter, preparing for a meeting, or responding to a decision.

Join for simple, doable steps and action items that help, real examples, and ongoing support while you navigate your child’s IEP.

Get the support you need, when you need it–take a break when you don’t.

Get IEP Help

Your IEP Playbook: A Parent’s Guide to Confident Advocacy

Finally! The IEP help book you’ve been waiting for! This gives you a step-by-step way to understand what’s happening and why. You’ll know how to spot problems, ask for the right supports, and make sure your child’s plan actually works.

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