Instagram story viewer> @thecollaborativeiep> Posts

SPED Attorney • Advocate | Ashley Barlow

@thecollaborativeiep

5.1K

followers

4816

following

💪 Empowering Parents + Educators
🎧 The Collaborative IEP Podcast
🔤 DM "MEMBER " to Join The Collaborative IEP Membership

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

The 6th Annual Special Education & Advocacy Conference is happening
February 18–19, 2026
Virtual (hosted inside our Circle app)

Join the waitlist to:
✔️ be the first to register
✔️ get conference details as they’re released
✔️ choose the pass that fits your needs

Registration opens today!

Join the waitlist now, link in bio! by @thecollaborativeiep

25

1

8 months ago

🚨 Inclusion isn’t optional—it’s a legal right! 🚨

Yet, too often, students with disabilities are placed in restrictive settings because of outdated thinking. Behaviors get used as excuses for segregation, and parents hear the same tired line: “Inclusion just isn’t possible.”

It’s time to push back. 💪 The Inclusion Series from The IEP Guru Academy gives you the knowledge and strategies to break through these barriers and advocate for meaningful inclusion.

Inside, you’ll get three powerful videos covering:
✅ Placement isn’t about diagnosis—decisions should be based on the child, not a label.
✅ Behavior ≠ exclusion—why schools must support, not remove students.
✅ Overcoming pushback—how to respond when schools claim inclusion isn’t possible.

If you’re ready to advocate with confidence, comment “Guru” below ⬇️ and I’ll send you the link!

#IEPAdvocacy #InclusionMatters #SpecialEducation #DisabilityRights by @thecollaborativeiep

64

4

2 years ago

Join us Monday Oct 12th for this month’s Parent Support Group with guest speaker Ashley Barlow of the @thecollaborativeiep podcast!

Parents it’s the start of the school year and IEP season is upon us. So you’re not gonna want to miss this one! Ashley Barlow will be speaking on “The Collaborative IEP Framework”.

Ashley Barlow, JD, is a special education attorney, advocate, educator, author, and host of The Collaborative IEP Podcast. Now in her 21st year practicing law and 30th year working in education, Ashley helps families and school teams better understand special education law while developing practical, collaborative strategies to improve student outcomes. Her work focuses heavily on effective IEP development, inclusion, communication, and helping teams create educational programs in which students with disabilities can meaningfully participate and belong.

TAP the LINK to REGISTER and we’ll see you this Monday Oct 12th 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom! by @thecollaborativeiep

8

2

16 hours ago

A single webinar can be incredibly helpful.
But IEP questions do not happen once a year.
They happen when the teacher sends an email.
When progress reports come home.
When behavior changes.
When a meeting gets scheduled.
When a new draft lands in your inbox.
When your child suddenly stops making progress.
That is why I built The Collaborative IEP Membership as year-round support.
This month alone, members have access to an Ask Me Almost Anything session, a new ABC Course module, an expert training, our live Inclusion Workshop, and the entire searchable Membership library.
You do not need to learn everything at once.
You just need a trusted place to go when the next question comes up. by @thecollaborativeiep

1

0

4 days ago

Sometimes the hardest part of IEP advocacy is not finding information.It’s figuring out which information actually matters for your child. You can Google special education law all day long and still be left wondering:
What do I ask next?
Is this actually a problem?
What data should I request?
Do I need another meeting?
Am I focusing on the right thing?
That is why I love our Ask Me Almost Anything sessions inside The Collaborative IEP Membership.
Bring the question you keep Googling.
We’ll talk through it together.
Our next AAMA is October 6 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Join the Membership in a free trial at the link in bio.

*
*
*
*
*
#Neurodiversity #AutismAcceptance #AutismAdvocate #ADHAawareness #SpecialEducation #SPEDAdvocacy by @thecollaborativeiep

4

1

5 days ago

“We don’t do that here.”
Parents hear this all the time.
And sometimes what the school really means is:
“We have not historically provided that.”
“We use a different model.”
“We do not have that person/program/service readily available.”
Those may be important practical considerations.
But the IEP conversation still has to come back to the individual student.
What does the child need?
What does the data show?
How will the team address that need?
The goal is not to demand a particular solution just because another child has it.
The goal is to make sure the team does not substitute habit, staffing, or tradition for individualized decision-making.
Save this one for your next IEP meeting. by @thecollaborativeiep

15

1

8 days ago

Manifesting all of it. 💙 what would you add to the list? #SpecialEducation #SpecialEducationAdvocate #IEP #IEPAdvocacy #InclusiveEducation by @thecollaborativeiep

10

0

10 days ago

If you need permission to take care of yourself, here it is.

A half day for a massage. Lunch with your best friend. A walk every morning. It’s easy to feel like those things come last when you’re caring for a child with a disability. But helping yourself is helping your child.

Our children regulate based on us. When we’re stressed and dysregulated, they feel it too. So taking care of your own body and mind isn’t taking something away from your child. It’s one of the ways you support them.

In episode 276 of The Collaborative IEP Podcast, I share what has finally started working for me after years of trying to manage my own stress: mantras, meditation, yoga, breathwork, and a real mindset shift about slowing down and enjoying the process. I’m not a doctor or a psychologist, just a caregiver who has read a lot and lived a lot.

Listen now to Caring for the Caregiver to Promote Co-Regulation. Link in bio.

#CollaborativeIEP #IEPParent #SpecialNeedsParenting #CaringForTheCaregiver #CoRegulation #SpecialEducation #DisabilityParenting #CaregiverWellness by @thecollaborativeiep

15

1

11 days ago

The Membership has always focused heavily on IEPs, advocacy, inclusion, and school support.

But families raising children with disabilities are often carrying more than the next IEP meeting. They are also thinking about benefits, guardianship, decision-making, long-term support, and what happens when they are not there to manage every detail.

That is why I’m adding a 4-part Special Needs Estate Planning video series inside the Membership this year.

It is not meant to scare anyone. It is meant to make the basics feel more understandable and less impossible.

IEPs matter now. Planning matters long-term. Families deserve support with both. by @thecollaborativeiep

3

1

13 days ago

One thing a disability organization leader said to me recently has really stuck with me.

Sometimes families need to hear it from someone else.

That is not a failure of the organization. In fact, it often happens because families trust the organization so deeply. But when the issue is complicated, emotional, or school-related, staff can end up in the hot seat.

The Collaborative IEP Organizational Membership is designed to support both families and organizations. Families get trusted IEP education and resources.
Organizations get a reliable place to point families when school questions come up.
The goal is not to replace the relationship families have with their organization. The goal is to support it. by @thecollaborativeiep

6

2

16 days ago

There are a lot of us here. 💙💪🪄
Parents who believe in high expectations and appropriate support. Who want to work collaboratively with the school team but also want to understand their rights. Who know that specialized instruction and inclusion are not mutually exclusive.
If that sounds like you, welcome. You’re in the right place.
#IEP #SpecialEducation #SpecialEducationParent #IEPAdvocacy #InclusiveEducation by @thecollaborativeiep

17

1

17 days ago

Do you think inclusion just means more time in the general education classroom?

Here’s the thing: inclusion isn’t a place, and it isn’t a number of minutes either. Special education itself isn’t a place. It’s a service.

In this week’s episode, I talk about why truly inclusive education has to be deliberate and meaningful, not just physical proximity to peers. For a lot of kids, that means real accommodations and modifications, in general education, in special education, and in every other environment across the school. What we’re actually working toward is the least restrictive environment for that specific student.

I also get into why asking for fewer minutes of specially designed instruction isn’t automatically the right move if your goal is more inclusion, and what to focus on instead.

Listen to episode 275, “More IEP Minutes or More Inclusion? How a Well-Written IEP Leads to Better Decisions,” link in bio. by @thecollaborativeiep

25

0

18 days ago