DSACO | Ashley Barlow Co.

We sure hope you enjoyed your IEP Toolkit and that it was helpful.

If you’ve made your way to this page, you’re likely looking for additional resources. You’ll find below several tools to help you navigate special education. More than that, though, here at Ashley Barlow Co. we work to empower parents by helping you find your confidence. We hope that by accessing these resources, as well as the others [here] on our website that you feel ready to take on this world of special education advocacy! Enjoy the ride!

Welcome, DSACO families!

Ashley Barlow graduated Magna Cum Laude from Miami University with a BS in German Education (K-12) received her JD from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 2006. In a former life, she was a German teacher in Jefferson County Public Schools and Cincinnati Public Schools, having taught nearly every grade from K to 12. She also taught Real Estate and Business Law at Miami University. Her areas of practice now include special education, family law, estate planning, and probate.

Ashley is involved in her community through her service on the State Advisory Board for Exceptional Children in Kentucky, the National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition at the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Education Advisory Board and the Government Affairs Committee at the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (past president of the Board). She participated in the Institute of Special Education at William and Mary College of Law in 2016, returning for the Alumni Track in 2017 and serving as facult in 2020. She also holds an Advanced Advocacy Certificate from the Council of Parents Attorneys and Advocates. Ashley is also involved with many other federal and state advocacy groups.

Ashley practices state wide in Kentucky and Ohio and also operates a business to empower and inspire parents and advocates in special education, which can be found at www.ashleybarlowco.com. When not working, she is normally at the pool with her husband and two sons, one of whom has Down syndrome.

Who is Ashley Barlow?

Ready, Set, Go!

IEP Playlist

I was at my first Zac Brown Band concert. A friend had warned me that I’d feel like I was getting baptized. I didn’t understand. He started playing “Remedy,” flashing still shots of children enjoying his inclusive camp, Camp Southern Ground. Kids with Down syndrome, kids utilizing wheelchairs, kids with glasses, kids with mobility devices and ipads that I suspected aided in communication- kids with kids – playing, swimming, singing, learning, loving. Love is the remedy. I’d been baptized.

A week later, as I made the 8-hour drive to Williamsburg, VA, for a special education advocacy conference, I blared that song on my radio. I cried, I got butterflies, I felt empowered, and I tapped into that inspiration. My IEP soundtrack was born.

I instantly added Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, by P!nk. I think this one is my anthem. Then, there’s You Belong, by Rachel Platten, another one that makes me cry with affirmation. And no playlist is complete with Fishin’ In the Dark. It has nothing to do with disability rights, but it has everything to do with making my heart happy, and a happy heart makes a happy advocate.

Music, my friends, has an incredible impact on us. Music helps us tap into emotions. Sometimes we don’t expect them, sometimes we need to feel them, sometimes we need distraction. Music is there for us.

So, here is my IEP playlist. Download it. Change it. Make it your own. Make your heart happy, warm, badass, mad, and loved. Ready, Set, Go! Education, Advocate, Collaborate.

Apple Music

Spotify

This is a document you share before or at the beginning of every IEP meeting. Yes, you. The parent. YOU talk before or at the beginning of the meeting. No worries. It’s planned. You’ve written it in the quiet of your study. You’ve tapped into your passion. You’ve read the documentation. You’re calm, cool, collected… and you’re at your best. So, you read it at the beginning of the meeting, immediately setting the tone of collaboration, teamwork, and parent involvement.

This is one of my most favorite advocacy tools.

And that part is coming quick, but not Now that I have your attention… here’s the guide to writing a Future Planning Statement and Parent Interest Statement (yes, even if your state doesn’t require one or even have a place for it!).