S11E17: BEING ON THE SPECTRUM PART 2( Loredana Greco)

0:00 Hello my beautiful survivors. We are back with Part 2 with our interview today with our guest Lori Dana Greco. Now we are talking about being on the spectrum of autism and she brought up something immensely important that we are gonna be talking about very briefly, but this needs to be addressed. So the floor is yours, my dear.

0:28 Go. So the important topic I want to bring up is actually how many schools don't have a great IEP program, and I'm going to tell you why. What is the IEP? So IEP, as we all mostly know, it's individualized education plan where people can have certain accommodations, a cut made for them, whether it would be extra time on an exam or having a quiet room to write the exam, whether it be for concentration purposes or just anxiety in general. I just wanna also say that many people don't learn the same way. And I felt like for many years, IEP was always tailored to getting extra time or having a quiet space to run the exam. But it's not how many, Not just that. It's not just that IEP is so

1:21 much more than that. It's about really the student and how they can flourish in a school setting to help them in the future with their careers or higher education. 'Cause I know that before we recently talked about it in Part 1 where in elementary it was hard. Yeah, the kid, you know, the kids don't understand and you know that you get picked on and bullied in a cute bully way.

1:48 But nevertheless. So I'm guessing that there's kind of like a stigma around it where not everybody understands. And I'm not talking about the kids, I'm talking about the adults here. Not everybody accepts and accepts their children have special needs and need that extra time. But at the same time I'm thinking of the other. Kids, right?

2:19 Their parents could potentially be in denial and it it blocks them from actually getting the help that they need to be able to be successful and learn the material in the right way. So I really feel like IEP, even in a university setting with student accessibility Center for example, they should really have a plan for students that works best for them rather than like a stereotyped plan of extra time or needing.

2:49 You really want to break the break the the whole system if you will. Yes, you want to individualize and and really make it normalize it at the same time. Exactly. OK, Well, I think that this is definitely something that needs to be brought up in the different school boards and I don't know, with money cuts, budget cuts and everything, I don't know if it's accessible, if it's a possibility. I don't know anything about this, to be honest. But it's definitely something that needs to be addressed and looked at and something has to be done for sure. I I get what you're talking about and the importance that you wanted to bring to it.

3:38 Yes, exactly that. So is there anything else that you thing that is worth? Well, everything is worth mentioning of course, but that needs to be put out there in in concern. Any concerns, any thoughts you've had? I really feel like teachers should work with their students, whether it's a big or smaller sized classroom, to really work with the students and be able to help them in any way that they're they need for to unlock their full potential. Like so many students can do it, they can flourish, but they're always blocked or they feel trapped because they don't feel like the teachers will hear them out or feel understood. And I think that's part of the problems with school systems today.

4:24 And now I see why before in Part 1, you were saying how you want to work closely with children because you want to show them to be comfortable and owning who they are as people in order to advocate for themselves. Exactly, I want to build the have their building blocks to be able to get to the steps that they. I, I think I think that is a a great plan that needs to be put into execution.

4:53 So with these words, with these fine words, guys, we are going to leave you. But you know that Logan Dana, I'm going to give you all her her in the description, all the ways you can get in touch with her. And if you would like, I'm guessing, to have an individualized plan, perhaps works for your child, get in touch with Laura Dana, see what she can do and how she can better the life of your little wife.

5:25 That being said, guys, we are going to let you go. We love you immensely and we will talk to you soon.