Welcome to Unlimited Parenting, where we discuss everything related to having children with
disabilities or special health care needs.
My name is Allison, and with me today is me.
That's right, it's just me today.
You're welcome, me, myself, and I, and today you and I, we will be going over what IPUL
plans to do and be for 2024.
So I don't know about you, but I make a New Year's resolution every single year, and every
single year I play a little game with myself.
How long until I pretend like I didn't make a New Year's resolution?
Well, not this year.
This year, my New Year's resolution is to do everything that I am about to read out
loud to you right now.
We're going to do it.
Not just me, the whole I Pull team, every single one of us, every event and goal and
plan on this list, we're going to do.
And that is my New Year's resolution.
We could take it to the bank.
That's right.
Okay, so the first thing that we have really solidified just very recently, and it's not
something that we did last year, is what we're referring to as regional tours, or if you
have been a big supporter and fan of I Pull in the past, you might have heard it as I
Pull on a Roll.
And what that looks like is I Pull going to each of the seven regions and presenting some
of our biggest and best trainings, those that have been most requested, and those that are
quite honestly the most well attended.
And what that looks like will be all day training.
Now does that mean that you, dear listener, have to stay all day?
No, much like a buffet.
Come and get what you want extra if you need it, and then just leave what you don't.
So so far, what we're anticipating is the morning, so roughly 10 to 2, or wow, that
would be way long.
Strike that, reverse it.
10 to noon, as in 1, 2, the big 12, we're going to be talking about IEPs, sprinkling
in a little bit of knowledge bursts on 504s.
And we mean talking about IEPs.
We don't mean that 30, 45-minute training.
We don't mean an hour.
We mean two.
We mean two full hours of intensive IEP training.
Hey, you know what?
Bring your IEP if you want.
If you feel comfortable, bring your kid's IEP.
We'll go over it with you.
We intend to break the group up as necessary.
So anybody in the audience with an early childhood IEP gets to break up into a little subgroup
with yours truly.
You have a child using the traditional standard IEP because they're school age.
You can hang out with Melissa.
You have a child in transition to adulthood getting that secondary IEP.
He gets to go hang out with Sarah.
And bonus, if there isn't all three groups represented in one of our trainings, you get
two of us.
You heard me right.
So if that wasn't an incentive enough to come, we're going to take a little lunch break.
And then we're coming back from one to three, baby.
And we're going to be talking about PBIS.
And if you didn't know, that stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
And it is the hill I will die on.
So I have volunteered as tribute to take the lead on that training.
And Melissa and Sarah will be there as well to help out.
And we're going to do two full hours of PBIS.
So what does that look like at school?
What can that look like in the home?
What does ABC mean in terms of PBIS?
And what is it?
What is MTSS?
What is this tiered interventions and supports?
And how can I just be more knowledgeable to be more active on the team?
So that is something that I am really excited about and really looking forward to.
Again, another little break.
Go get us, go get yourself a soda pop, get some lunch, some snacks, come back and meet
us for Medicaid.
That's right.
I said it.
We're going to do a Medicaid training.
And boy, it will it for sure take the full two hours because Medicaid is nothing if not
a convoluted antiquated process.
And there's a lot of cogs and wheels and that bit of machinery.
So I pull has always lovingly referred to it as the buckets of Medicaid.
And there are several.
So bring your questions.
Hopefully we have some good representation of those families who may have children supported
by children's developmental disability, who have chosen to go family direct and some families
who have chosen to go traditional.
And we can talk about what that looks like in each in each region.
Because I don't have to tell you that services in Boise look different than they do in Idaho
Falls look different than they do in Lewiston look different than they do in boundary.
Right.
You don't need me to tell you that.
And we're also going to talk about what we know about parents as paid caregivers, what
we've been doing on these are care can't wait coalition calls and all of the new information
that we have about legislation opt moving to Magellan and you name it.
What we know we're going to give to you.
And then from there, you know what you do with that what you will.
Right.
So the first of our regional tours is happening on March 6.
So that's looking looking at you Eastern Idaho.
So that's going to be following a little event called Tools for Life.
So Tools for Life will be the two preceding days and then we're going to stick around
to give some really good training.
So I'm hoping that since people will already be there for tools, they might hang around
for an extra day to hear a little bit about IPP's PBIS.
Well I should say a little bit more about because that'll be a good chunk of it.
Right.
So we have a lot of different regions.
We have PBIS and Medicaid.
And then from there, the plan is to pop up and hit regions one and two in April.
Different days for different regions.
And then three and four in September and five and six in October.
You might be thinking to yourself, I barely know what city I'm in.
How do I know what region I'm in?
And what I'm going to say to you is have no fear because in the description of the podcast
link I will put in a little map that will tell you what region you're in.
And you know what?
Watch out on Idaho Parents Unlimited's Facebook page on our website and you will find a lot
more information, more flyers and ways to register.
So very, very excited about that.
Bring your questions.
Bring your stories.
And if you want to bring your IEP, hopefully there'll be a ton of people and we'll get
to have a really constructive conversation with a wealth of information.
And like I said, I could talk for 30 more minutes about this because I am jazzed because
even though I've lived in Idaho for, oh my God, I don't want to date myself, but a hot
minute decades, I have not seen a good portion of it.
And that's bad on me.
I recently went to Soda Springs.
Beautiful.
The whole drive.
Beautiful.
Windy as all get out.
But you didn't come here for me to tell you about the weather.
So let's move on.
Another really big event that we're looking forward to that is coming up is Fred Rigger's
Disability Awareness Day.
If you caught our last podcast where we did our Year in Review, then you know that we
also did this last year and just a little sneak peek, we did it the year before and
the year before and the year before.
And every year it's been done and we will continue because it's so important for everyone
in the disability community to get together on that day, the first of February down at
the State House and talk about all of those really huge pieces of legislation or things
that are impacting the disability community.
Because guess what, that's where the lawmakers are.
And last year we got to shnag a few and tell them all about what we're working on and what
we hope to see.
We're going to do that again this year.
So if you want to come and join us, come and talk to some legislators, hear about what
the hot takes are in the disability community.
Another thing that we are doing is our monthly articulates.
So I say that and then you might be thinking I have no idea what that means.
So our self-paced monthly webinars, they're not webinars anymore so I probably shouldn't
say that.
They're our monthly self-paced trainings and we do them on a platform called Articulate.
And it's a really unique platform and we're getting used to it and learning how to pepper
in engagement every which way.
And it has been so fun, really honestly.
I've really enjoyed making every single one that I've been a part of.
And it's really unique versus a monthly webinar where you can see our faces, which is wonderful,
but there's only so much information and engagement I can give you in one hour.
And let's be honest, how long would you want to sit there and want to listen to me talk
to you about that, right?
Because if it's a self-paced, I can put so much more information into it.
I can put quizzes.
I can put videos.
I can put mock scenarios.
I can do so much.
And then you take it at your pace.
So when you feel your brain start to turn to mush and you start to drift off and you
need a break, you can take it and you can come back and you can view it as many times
as you want.
Just like every other training that iPoEL offers or webinar, we will include our evaluation
at the end.
And that's really all we ask for is that you give us your honest feedback at the end of
that training.
Did you like it?
Did you get something out of it?
Does it make you feel more supported and knowledgeable and able to help your child?
And if not, what would you have changed?
What would you have made different?
That's another thing we always like to hear.
And then I'm going to spend some time talking about the podcast.
So thank you, honestly, genuinely to all of you who have listened to this, who have replied
to the survey in the description box to tell me what you liked, what you want to see more
of.
Huge thank you to all of the parents who have already given their time to share their stories
on here.
My iPoEL's wonderful executive director, Angela, for letting me have this idea and run with
it and support it.
All of my amazing coworkers who have given up their time to be here and let me be a little
goofball on this podcast.
I am hugely appreciative of all of it.
And because having said all of that, I am excited to let you know that it's not going
to stop.
It's not.
You're just going to keep hearing it.
You're going to keep hearing more about all of the topics I see in Facebook groups.
I'd love to bring some of that in here.
I would love to get more parents.
Heck, I'm even lining up some dads to come in here and share their stories.
So we get that other piece of the perspective.
We're going to get some youth on here, those youth in transition.
We're going to talk more about iPoEL programs.
And I am so excited to say that I have got an advanced reader's copy of a book that I'm
going to read and review.
And then if all of the stars out there align, I am going to be able to have that author
of that book on this podcast to talk about their work and their story and their child's
disability journey.
And I am just so beyond pumped to bring that to all of you guys out there.
In addition to that, I would like to try a new little podcast series, which you don't
know and you're after you hear the story, you're going to be glad you never heard it
was we tried our little new series here at Idaho Parents Unlimited.
And you know what?
It just didn't get off the ground.
It was a good idea.
It had great heart.
It had great intention.
But no matter how I tried to make it work, it just wasn't going to happen.
And that's part of learning.
You just move on, you tweak it, and you try something new.
So I'm very excited that we are going to try something new.
So I'm going to get a wrangle, a couple of coworkers in here, and we're each going to
pick a topic.
And we're going to talk about that topic.
And I know what you're thinking.
That sounds exactly like what you're already doing, ma'am.
How is that any different?
But the difference is it may not be disability related.
It might be me talking about the silliest thing.
It might be me talking about Roma tomatoes.
And then we're just going to see where that conversation takes us.
Just as a reminder that we're all people outside of taking care of our children, outside of
all of the other responsibilities.
There's something funny to see where the conversation takes us.
So we'll try that out.
We'll see how it goes.
And then maybe you'll hear it.
Maybe you will.
I guess you'll just have to wait.
I'm going to leave you on the edge of your seat.
Another thing that we started recently this year that we are so genuinely excited for,
genuinely excited to continue, is our monthly check-in with the Idaho Department of Education.
She's really given her time to us once a month.
Every month she makes time for us.
And she tells us all of the hot topics at the Idaho Department of Education.
We tell her what we're doing here at EIPL.
And we make a plan to work together.
And that's really unique because not a lot of other states have that relationship with
their State Department of Education.
So we want to just keep watering that plant, watering that flower, let it grow.
And we're just going to keep nurturing it because we're all better when we work together
to support our children.
So we're just going to keep on keeping on.
We hope to be present at that North Idaho Autism Walk.
In fact, it's going to come along really nicely with one of our regional tours.
So we're trying to be purposeful in how we plan these things.
So all the people are going to be in one place.
Why not see if they want to come hang out with us for a little while?
Again, East Idaho Preschool Fair, we did that before.
It was huge.
It was wonderful.
It had a great turnout.
We really want to be there again.
Transition Institute, same situation.
Our girl Sarah, she has been working so hard and tirelessly on all things related to transition
to adulthood and how that affects our youth and not only how it affects the youth, but
how it affects their families and how families can support youth in this transition, whether
that's health care, whether that's education, independent living, getting a job, you name
it, we're in it, and we want to hear more about it.
Sarah is a part of all of those groups and she's making good waves and we love that for
her.
And of course, there's this little thing called Parent Leadership Development Institute.
Yes, it's really called all of that.
So from here on out, I'm just going to refer to it as Parent Leadership.
So this has been something that's been done for over a decade.
And it has in the past always looked like several individuals in a region getting together
in an Airbnb or in a cabin and just being fed a whole bunch of information, even more
information that you can get on iPoll's regional tour.
And then working on their goals, improving and learning strategies for effective advocacy
and learning how to be great community leaders and how to be a support for other parents
in their region because who knows the region better than those people who live there, right?
You know, once someone from Boise coming in to northern Idaho telling you all the things
that we have and how wonderful everything's working, and then you saying, well, it's actually
really hard to find services up here.
So great.
Thanks.
So we want to empower people and get them talking about how they can bring what they
need to their region and what they can do to just level their systems, level it up one.
So we're really, really excited about that.
It's always looked like people in a house.
And you know what?
Over the last couple of years, iPoll has been talking about what if that's just not the
way to go anymore, right?
What if it's easier to do it virtually?
Everything that we've tried previously virtually, whether that's our monthly webinars, whether
that's the articulates, whether that's this podcast, it gets much more reach.
It gets more buy in.
It gets more people when it's virtual than when it's in person.
So now we're entertaining the idea of what would parent leadership look like if it was
virtual?
Because one of the whole pivotal points of parent leadership was that, you know, you
were kind of trapped in this house and you bonded with the people that were there and
you learned so much and you got a little bit of a break from that day to day grind.
And how do we take one of those foundational pieces of parent leadership and still give
it to parents in a virtual setting?
And we're trying to iron out more of the details.
And so right now, and you can find this even when you're listening to this, it's live right
now on our Facebook page, but even at the time that this goes live and you listen to
this recording, it will still be there.
It's an interest form.
And that's where you can go to tell me, you know, what city are you in?
What region are you in?
Do you have a young child with a disability?
Are they zero to three?
Are they 10?
Are they 18?
Tell me how old your child is.
Can you commit to a Monday and a Thursday virtual Zoom training from potentially 6 p.m.
to 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time and potentially one in-person virtual gathering?
Would you want that?
We've never, since its inception, parent leadership has never not been done.
And we really want to keep it going.
But we want to meet parents where they are and using what modality they like.
If you'd prefer it to be virtual, we are trying our best to figure out how we can take the
concept and its intention and replicate it with fidelity on an online platform.
We want so badly to do it.
But first, we got to hear from you and see if that's something that you'd want.
So let me back up because I realized I said Monday and Thursday from 6 to 8.
And you may be wondering, well, is that for the rest of my life?
Do I commit to it forever?
It would be roughly three weeks.
And bonus, you get a little stipend at the end.
One of the ways, though, that we really want to try to replicate that bond and working
together is individuals will go through an application process for parent leadership.
And when they do that, we want to hear about your tangible goals for your region.
And that might also look like you working together with someone else in your region
on a joint goal.
And that's how we really want to try to replicate that bond that you got from being in that
house for a week with all of us.
We're still trying to iron out those details.
Does that look like one joint Idaho?
No parent leadership with all of the regions?
Or does that look like just regions five, six, and seven, which is where we would be
this year?
And so that's Eastern Idaho.
And the only way we'll really be able to iron out those details is, again, if we hear from
you, if you fill out that interest form and you tell us, hey, I don't think I could commit
to that.
Even if you're telling us that you can't commit to that, it's any feedback is good feedback.
Right?
So we want to hear from you.
Let us know.
You can find that interest form on our website and we hope you do.
And we hope you tell us all about it.
Another thing that we're really excited about, and we mentioned it in our year in recap in
the last podcast, is that continued professional development.
We're going to meet, Idaho Parents Unlimited is, let me back up, Idaho Parents Unlimited
is our state's parent training and information center, as well as our state's family to family
health and information center.
So we fulfill both of those roles for the state of Idaho.
And doing that means that we get two sets of professional development.
One from the technical assistance for family to family health and information center, and
one from OSEP, the Office of Special Education Programs for parent training and information
centers.
And we are jazzed to get to go to those.
I hate to repeat myself because I know I said it in the last podcast, but in case you missed
it, we get to meet with all of the other parent training information centers across the state.
Not just our region, not just region D as in Delta, we get to meet with all of the other
states.
We get to hear their barriers.
We get to hear their successes.
And we really get to hear a lot of what's implemented in their state that works, and
then come back as a team and say, how do we get it on that?
How do we bring that little piece to Idaho?
And then what's so fantastic is sometimes states will say, oh, Idaho, we love that.
How do we bring that little piece of Idaho back to whatever state they are?
I can't give it away.
I can't give too much away.
I'm just born to secrecy.
But it's really fun and really unique.
And it's such a good experience.
And it's such great professional development because we get to hear from the leaders of
the Office of Special Education Programs at the federal level.
And it's just a fantastic experience.
I wish everyone could get to go.
But I think that's really just a good chunk of all of the things that we are really excited
about next year.
And there's no way that I can remember all of them.
And I tried to pull everybody's ideas together and get them all out here on this podcast.
But there is so much more.
Before I let before I end it, I got to remember that we have recently hired two new individuals
and they are so great.
And they are such hard workers.
And they're not parent education coordinators.
So they're not someone that you are going to speak to on the phone.
That's still myself, Allison, Sarah and Melissa.
But they are some more of those behind the scenes individuals that are helping with Idaho
Parents Unlimited, IPOL's Work of Art program.
So providing those work experiences to youth in transition in partnership with Vocational
Rehab as well as another individual that the staff of IPOL can lean on to help support
in more of the administrative assistant role.
And thank you.
Shout out to all of those individuals who picked up the phone and answered our survey
calls.
I know Katie really, really appreciates that.
And we love hearing all of this feedback that we can then provide to help us do better and
be better and help serve better.
So again, just as a recap, there's an interest forum out on our Facebook page right now if
you want to tell us more about parent leadership, about if you think it's a viable option to
be held online.
Would you want it?
Would you do it?
Please tell us yes or no.
Hope to see you all at Fred Rigger's Disability Awareness Day.
Hope to see you all, all of you.
I'm calling, I'm sending out the bat signal.
All of you when we are in your region.
So look more on our Facebook to figure out when we're going to be with you.
Look to see we're in your email on our weekly e-newsletters.
All of that information will be there.
Thank you so much, everyone out there for listening in.
And if you are in Idaho or planning on moving to Idaho and have any questions on systems
or services for children with disabilities, please reach out to us.
You can reach us on our website at ipulidaho.org.
That's I-P-U-L-I-D-A-HO.org.
Be sure to come back next time.
Until then, this has been Unlimited Parenting.
Thanks for listening.