Francesca Sternfeld

Hi Sheree, This sounds so frustrating, upsetting and unjust. I don't know what state you're in, but here in New York we have Advocates for Children, which specializes specifically in supporting parents to know and assert their legal rights in situations just like this. Even if you're not in NY, advocatesforchildren.org might be a good place to start for clear, accessible information on parental rights.

The Puerto Rican Family Institute in New York City offers Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for youth ages 5-21, to support with coping with trauma related stressors and the path to healing. Medicaid and most private insurances are accepted. For more information, you can email me at fsternfeld@prfi.org. We also offer individual, couples and family psychotherapy, with optional medication management, for anyone 5-65. TF-CBT Flyer.pdf

Hi everyone, I'm a Licensed Clinical Social worker at the Puerto Rican Family Institute in New York City, and I'm developing a training for psychotherapists around helping parents cope with the emotional and psychological toll of the IEP process. In order to ground the training in the lived experiences of parents who have been through it, I'm conducting interviews to learn directly about how it feels to navigate these systems, and in particular, what thoughts, feelings and emotions come up in IEP meetings themselves. I want therapists to be able to really "get" what a parent is going through, so that it's not on the parent to educate the therapist, which is often what ends up happening. I'd be delighted for any replies on this topic, or if anyone is interested in being interviewed at greater length, you can reach me at fsternfeld@prfi.org.