Autism Educational Collaboration and Planning for Parents
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Do you SUSPECT that the strategies being used with your Autistic student are causing anxiety or frustration?
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Do you WANT to adopt neuroaffirming IEP goals and accommodations . . . but don't know where to start?
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Do you HOPE to support long-term emotional regulation and learning but know you're on the wrong path ?
Work with Dr. Lisa Marnell to design an educational and support system at school that fits your child and best supports their school participation and learning!
For your child to thrive, their IEP must be more than a collection of goals, accommodations, and service minutes. It should provide a meaningful, individualized plan for supporting their learning and participation at school.
If you are questioning your child’s support at school, wondering whether their goals are meaningful, struggling to identify appropriate accommodations, or simply feeling that school does not fully understand your child, I can help.
I offer individualized educational consultation and planning for families of Autistic students.
Together, we can carefully review what is currently in place, identify areas that may need to change, and think through the bigger question:
What does this particular child need in order to access learning, participate meaningfully, and feel understood at school?
Is This Consultation Right for Your Family?
Perhaps your child . . .
• Comes home exhausted or melts down after school every day
• Is masking throughout the school day
• Is constantly being redirected for “off-task” behavior
• Is bright but struggles to complete schoolwork
• Is expected to work in ways that don’t match how they learn
• Has goals that focus more on compliance than participation
• Is struggling socially but social skills instruction doesn’t feel right
• Is overwhelmed by noise, transitions, or unpredictability
• Is anxious about school or beginning to avoid attending
• Has accommodations on the IEP that don’t seem to be helping
Sometimes parents have a feeling that their child’s
educational experience could be much, much better.
Often, they’re right!
How Might Consultation Help Your Child?
Every child is different, but here the kinds of concerns families often bring
“My daughter has excellent grades but cries every morning before school.”
Together we might explore sensory demands, masking, social expectations, transitions, workload, predictability, recovery time, and whether her educational environment truly supports her nervous system.
“The school wants goals for eye contact, conversation, and group participation.”
We’ll think through whether those goals are meaningful, neuroaffirming, and supportive of authentic participation, and discuss alternative goals that better reflect your child’s needs.
“My son spends half the day under his desk.”
Instead of immediately asking how to stop the behavior, we’ll explore what a student's actions may be communicating. Is he overwhelmed? Is the work inaccessible? Does he need movement, predictability, communication supports, sensory accommodations, or a different instructional approach?
What We Can Work On
✔ IEP goals and accommodations
✔ Identifying teaching approaches that align with your child's learning
✔ Specialized instruction that is described on the IEP and used by all staff
✔ Classroom accommodations for your child's sensory processing, communication, social traits and comfort, and motor abilties
✔ Preparation for upcoming IEP meetings
✔ Advocacy on behalf of Dr. Marnell in virtual IEP meetings
✔ Evaluation review
✔ Collaboration with IEP teams, school administration, and school staff, using respectful, professional language that shifts thinking
Document Review
Sometimes the most valuable place to begin is with
the information you already have. . .
Dr. Marnell can review:
• Current or proposed IEPs
• Psychoeducational evaluations
• Occupational therapy evaluations
• Speech-language evaluations
• Progress reports
• Functional behavior assessments
• Behavior intervention plans
• Previous school records
Who is Dr. Lisa Marnell?
Hello! I provide specialized Autism education primarily to school districts and schools, in both the United States and Canada. Whether working with OTs or teachers and paraprofessionals, my priority is to teach strategies to support nervous system regulation, which, in turn, cultivates emotional safety, quality of life, deeper and richer engagement in learning, and self-empowerment.
My goal is to incorporate meaning, joy, and agency into the lives of Autistic children. I believe Autism is not a disorder, but rather a different neurotype with its own unique strengths and challenges.
I am an occupational therapist by training with over 20 years of experience. I completed my doctorate at Boston University (BU) where I studied executive function in autism and worked on the faculty at BU for five years. I am also a DIR Floortime Therapist, certified in Sensory Integration through USC, and trained in SOS Feeding. I am diagnosed Autistic myself.
When I am not teaching, creating courses or working with kids, you will likely find me hiking with Luna, my precious husky rescue dog. I look forward to connecting with you!
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