THE IEP PLAYBOOK
Your Child’s IEP Runs All Year.
Your Strategy Should Too.
The practical, year-round system that helps you;
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prepare for meetings,
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protect your child’s services,
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catch problems earlier, and
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know what to do next.
For parents who are ready to start
navigating the IEP process with a plan.
Includes the Playbook + Master Template Library + Quick-Reference IEP Glossary
You Don’t Need More IEP Information.
You need to know what to do...
BEFORE THE MEETING
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What should I prepare?
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What should I ask for?
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What do I need to know before I walk in?
IN THE ROOM
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What matters most?
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What should I agree to?
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When should I pause?
AFTER THE MEETING
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Are the services actually happening?
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Is my child making progress?
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What should I document?
WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG
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Do I wait?
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Ask for another meeting?
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Escalate?
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What happens next?
The IEP Playbook gives you a system for managing the IEP's biggest moments
Stop Treating the IEP Like a Once-a-Year Meeting.
Start running a year-round system
CREATE YOUR SMART IEP STRATEGY TODAY
Meet the 5 Smart Plays
Five strategies that change how you navigate the entire IEP year.
1
Build a Coalition
Build stronger relationships with the teachers, therapists, administrators, and outside professionals around your child so you’re not walking into important conversations alone — you’re working to align the team around shared outcomes.
2
Communicate Often + Document Well
Create a simple communication and documentation rhythm so you have a clear record of progress, decisions, concerns, and services instead of trying to reconstruct the year from memory.
3
Know Your District
Understand the system, data, resources, and realities around your district so you can ask stronger questions and enter important conversations better informed.
4
Get the Draft Before the Meeting
Request and review the draft IEP in advance so you have time to identify gaps, prepare questions, and think through recommendations before you’re asked to react in the room.
5
Have a Contingency Plan
Decide your priorities and next moves before the meeting so you know when to agree, when to ask for clarification, when to pause, and what to do if the conversation goes off course.
GET EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE
5 SMART PLAYS
What Changes When You Have a System?
You Walk Into Meetings Better Prepared
Know what you want to accomplish, what questions matter, what you need clarified, and which decisions deserve more time.
So you spend less of the meeting trying to catch up — and more of it actually participating.
You Know What to Do When Services Fall Short
Follow a structured resolution pathway instead of jumping immediately to conflict — or waiting indefinitely for the problem to fix itself
So you can move from concern to action with a clearer next step
You Stop Relying on Memory
Build a simple record of emails, progress reports, service changes, concerns, and decisions.
So when something doesn’t add up, you have facts to work from instead of trying to remember what happened six months ago.
You Prepare for Transitions Before They Arrive
Understand the predictable points when services, people, rules, rights, or systems change.
So your family has more time to gather information and make decisions before the window starts closing.
The IEP playbook covers major transitions from early intervention through school-age transitions, age of majority, and the post-school shift to adult systems
You Catch Problems Earlier
Use mid-year check-ins and regular review points to compare the plan to what is actually happening.
So you can course-correct while there is still school year left instead of discovering the problem at the next annual review.
You Know What Comes Next
Instead of searching from scratch every time a new issue appears, you have a framework to return to.
So the IEP process starts to feel less like a series of surprises and more like something you know how to navigate.
GET THE SYSTEM THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
Strategy Is Powerful
And So Are The Tools That Change How You Advocate For Your Child
MASTER TEMPLATE LIBRARY
Worksheets, checklists, trackers, calendars, and decision tools so you don’t have to build everything yourself.
EMAILS + SCRIPTS
Know what to say when the conversation matters.
GET THE TOOLS - ALL INCLUDED IN THE IEP PLAYBOOK
Everything Included for $27...
THE IEP PLAYBOOK
A complete year-round strategy for navigating your child’s IEP — from your legal foundation through meeting preparation, monitoring, problem resolution, transitions, and the 12-month operating system.
THE 5 SMART PLAYS FRAMEWORK
A repeatable approach for coalition-building, communication, district intelligence, meeting preparation, and contingency planning.
EMAILS + SCRIPTS
Practical language for the moments when you know you need to speak up — but aren’t sure exactly what to say.
BONUS: MASTER TEMPLATE LIBRARY
Worksheets, checklists, calendars, tracking tools, decision guides, email templates, and reference cards designed to help you put the strategy into practice.
BONUS: QUICK-REFERENCE IEP GLOSSARY
Plain-language help for understanding the terms and acronyms you’ll encounter throughout the process.
Everything for $27
One resource. One system. A full year of strategy.
YES, GIVE ME THE IEP PLAYBOOK
I Created a System I Wish Had Years Ago...
I'm Joanne Sullivan and more than 30 years ago, and like most of you, I entered special needs parenting without a playbook.
I learned the IEP process the way many parents do — one meeting, one problem, one hard lesson at a time.
At one point, when my son needed a full-time aide to successfully participate in the school day, we were told privately that the support was needed — but that we would have to build the case ourselves.
So we learned.
We documented.
We asked better questions.
We kept going.
And eventually, we secured the support he needed — and kept that support in place through the years that followed.
I created The IEP Playbook because families shouldn’t have to learn every lesson that way.
You already know your child.
My goal is to give you the strategy, frameworks, language, and tools to bring what you know into the system with a plan.
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The IEP Playbook is for You If...
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Your child already has an IEP and you want a better way to manage the year.
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You’re preparing for your first IEP and don’t want to learn everything the hard way.
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You leave meetings thinking of questions you wish you had asked.
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You’re worried that services or progress may not match what the IEP says.
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You want to communicate effectively without feeling like every issue has to become a battle.
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Your child is approaching an important transition.
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You simply want to feel more prepared for whatever comes next.
Your Child Already Has an IEP
Now build a better system around it
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Prepare earlier.
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Ask better questions.
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Document what matters.
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Catch problems sooner.
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Know your next move.
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Stay ahead of the transitions that are coming.
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And stop starting over every time another meeting appears on the calendar.
Get the Complete IEP Playbook
Includes:
IEP Playbook
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Master Template Library
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Quick-Reference IEP Glossary
Helping Special Needs Families Find a Path Forward - every single day