Testimonials

Courses

Making Sense of School and Private Evaluations

“I completed your 6 week course today on Making Sense of School Evaluations and Test Scores.   It was excellent!  I am so excited to have gained extra knowledge in this area!

I look forward to learning more.  Please let me know when you have more classes.

I am so impressed with the Special Education Decoder! 

Thank you so much!”

— Denise Cooke, Educator

“So glad that your offering this program again, Vaughn! It has been incredibly valuable for anyone who has a child with an IEP or 504 in the public school system! If you know how to read and interpret the data in those educational reports then you can effectively argue for what your child needs. Using the data to show needs is the best way to “encourage” your school to collaborate and to help your child!”

— Janna Ciesielski, Parent and Advocate

Navigating Special Education Regulations

Vaughn…

1. “Incorporated experiences and insight of all participants, providing an opportunity to learn in a “reality” based manner that was participatory and inclusive.

2. Used different instructional methods to address the different student learning styles, including weekly checklists, and videos.

3. Discussed practical examples/exercises that were oriented towards skill development and practical application.

4. Took our answers seriously and never dismissed an answer, even if it missed the mark.”

— Cynthia Daniels-Hall, Director of Special Education Advocacy

“Vaughn Lauer’s understanding of the federal laws that govern special education is spot on. In this course Vaughn explains the federal laws in a manner that every parent can understand.  This course will give you the understanding of the rules and regulations so you, as the parent, can get that “no” the school said into a “yes.” I would encourage every parent to take this course if they have a child in special education. Learn the rules and advocate for your child's needs.”

— Kerri Perez, Parent and Advocate

Online Program

Special Education Decoder System (SEDS)

“The Special Education Decoder System is a great tool for your advocacy toolkit!  I was able to use the graphs to show that my daughter is not the sum of her scores.  The school led me to believe that they planned to deny Dyslexia services. I scheduled a meeting with the Dyslexia department and used the graph to point out her strengths and weaknesses in a clear, concise, and easy-to-understand manner using the Special Education Decoder System. It allowed me to show that crucial scores, although not below average, were a relative weakness when compared to her cognitive ability. By the end of the meeting, they agreed that she needed Dyslexia services and thanked me for being so proactive in fighting for my child’s needs.  I highly recommend this program to ease the burden of test evaluation for both parents and advocates!”

 — D.P., Parent and Advocate

"Evaluating evaluations was always time-consuming for me, looking at scores on individual tests, trying to see where they all fitted together and what they revealed about a student.  Having to present this information clearly to teachers and parents in a way that was understandable was, at times, an additional challenge.

Using the Special Education Decoder System has simplified all of this.  It instantly provides an overall view of a student's test scores on a bell chart, facilitating comparisons quickly and easily.  

This has been highly effective, particularly in my role as an advocate, and has literally changed the course of a meeting.  Teachers immediately understood a student's challenges and issues when presented with a visual picture of strengths and needs.

This is an invaluable tool that I highly recommend."

— Anne H., Parent and Advocate

Published Book

When the School Says No… How to Get the Yes!

“I am deeply moved and touched by the stories of these families in your book. Your book is by far one of the best books I have read regarding the IEP process.”

— Johanna Burke, Parent and Attorney

“I highly recommend Vaughn's book [When the School Says No…How to Get the Yes]. It's easy to read and gives many examples of many different scenarios of things that can happen at school and how you can work effectively and collaboratively with the school personnel. I truly wish it was in publication years ago when I was struggling through the process without any knowledge of how the system works. Even though I've learned a lot over the years, I found things in the book, I can improve on in order to get us all on the same page during our meetings.”

— Maria Spremulli Milik, Parent and Advocate

“I read your book and I am very impressed … It is very professionally done, easy to follow and well organized. Well done.”

— Marc Levine, Retired Special Education Judge

“The techniques developed by Lauer might well be adapted to many other human endeavors where one group must interact with others to achieve a common goal.”

— A. Loux, Parent and Author