A parent and child laughing together at a sunlit kitchen table

For parents in special education

You already love them fiercely. Let's help you advocate just as fiercely.

Plain-language guides, printable checklists, and honest conversations about what really happens in an IEP meeting — so you walk in prepared and leave knowing exactly what comes next.

Start With the BasicsWatch & Listen
Free to start Written by parents, for parents

Plain language, always

Every acronym unpacked the first time you meet it.

Built on trusted sources

Grounded in federal law, state guidance, and respected special ed voices.

Yours to keep

Download, print, and bring anything here to your next meeting.

Start here

What's going on right now?

Pick whichever one is truest today. No account, no email — we'll just point you at the right page.

A parent walking their child into school on a sunny morning

Why we're here

Nobody hands you a map on the day everything changes.

You get a phone call, a stack of paperwork, and a meeting date. Then a room full of people who speak in acronyms. Firm Footing exists because that first year shouldn't feel like a test you didn't study for.

We translate the process into plain English — what the law actually promises your child, what to ask when a goal sounds vague, and what to do when the answer is “we don't do that here.” No fear-mongering, no jargon, no pretending this is simple.

Our guides draw on federal IDEA guidance, state resources, and trusted books in the field — including The Epic IEP by Karen Mayer Cunningham, which we recommend independently. We are not affiliated with the author or her publisher.

Your path

Four steady stages, one at a time

You don't have to learn all of this at once. Find where you are today and start there.

  1. 01

    Before the Meeting

    Gather records, write your parent input statement, and know exactly what you're asking for before you walk in.

  2. 02

    During the Meeting

    Stay grounded when the room moves fast. Questions to ask, phrases that matter, and how to pause when you need to.

  3. 03

    After the Meeting

    Read the draft with fresh eyes, put your concerns in writing, and understand what you're signing — and what you aren't.

  4. 04

    Ongoing

    Track progress reports, watch the dates that matter, and know when it's time to ask for a new meeting.

Resource library

Start with the basics. Keep them forever.

Six free downloads that cover the ground most parents wish someone had walked them through first. Tick them off as you go.

Your progress

0 of 6 reviewed

Sign in to save your progress across devices.

IEP Meeting Checklist

Everything to bring, ask, and confirm — printed on one page you can hold in your hand.

Plain-English Glossary

FAPE, LRE, PLAAFP, and the rest — translated into sentences a human actually says.

Sample Letters

Request an evaluation, ask for a meeting, or put a concern in writing. Copy, edit, send.

Know Your Rights

What IDEA guarantees your child, in the order you'll actually need to know it.

Is This Goal Measurable?

A short worksheet to test any proposed goal before you agree to it.

Meeting Prep Worksheet

Turn a week of worries into three clear priorities you can say out loud.

Watch & listen

Voices we trust, from people who do this every day

A short shelf of podcasts, webinars, and video libraries from organizations we reference throughout this site. We don't make these — we just think they're worth your time.

  • Podcast

    Understood

    The Opportunity Gap & Parenting Behavior

    Understood's podcast network. The Opportunity Gap walks families through special education and the systems that make it harder; Parenting Behavior with Dr. Andy Kahn gets practical about the hard stuff at home.

    Visit Understood
  • Webinars

    CHADD

    Ask the Expert Webinars

    Free expert webinars on ADHD across the lifespan — diagnosis, school supports, transitions, and co-occurring conditions. Recordings stay in the archive.

    Visit CHADD
  • Videos

    Autism Speaks

    Autism Speaks on YouTube

    A video library of first-person stories, expert explainers, and toolkits for autistic individuals and their families — from early signs through adulthood.

    Visit Autism Speaks
  • Videos

    ASHA

    Public Speech & Language Resources

    The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's family-facing guides and videos on speech and language milestones, hearing, and when to seek an evaluation.

    Visit ASHA
  • Webinars

    National Down Syndrome Society

    NDSS Webinars

    Recorded webinars on education, advocacy, health, and caregiving for people with Down syndrome — including IEP and inclusive-education topics.

    Visit National Down Syndrome Society
  • Webinars

    National Down Syndrome Congress

    Ages & Stages Webinar Series

    NDSC's ongoing webinar series on development, education, and planning across the lifespan, plus their video archive — built for families.

    Visit National Down Syndrome Congress

These links open on each organization's own site. Firm Footing is independent and not affiliated with any of them — we're simply pointing you to resources we've found useful.

Pricing

Free where it counts. Plus when you want more.

The guides and checklists stay free — advocacy shouldn't be behind a paywall. Plus is for parents who want the deeper tools and unlimited help.

MonthlyAnnualSave $51 a year
Founding Member — Limited

The first 2,000 parents to subscribe get Plus at $9 a month or $89 a year — and that price stays yours for as long as you stay subscribed, even after standard pricing ($15 / $129) takes over.

Limited-time founding pricing.

How it fits in

A complement to a real advocate — not a replacement.

Most of what you need day-to-day — understanding the paperwork, knowing what to ask for, prepping for a routine meeting — doesn't require hiring anyone. That's the work Firm Footing is built for. A professional advocate or attorney earns their fee for the harder cases: due process, mediation, a real dispute. We're not a substitute for that when it's genuinely needed.

A professional advocate or attorney

Cost
Commonly $100–$300+ per hour, or flat fees of $1,500–$5,000+ per case. Ranges vary widely by region and complexity.
When
Typically by appointment, during business hours.
Right for
Due process hearings, mediation, and formal disputes — when the stakes call for someone in the room with you.

Firm Footing

Cost
$15 a month or $129 a year. Free covers the guides, date tracking, and a daily chat allowance.
When
Any time — including the night before a meeting, when no one answers the phone.
Right for
Understanding your child's needs, meeting prep, decoding documents, day-to-day advocacy — every year, for every meeting.

If you ever do need to bring in a professional for something bigger, you'll walk in already informed — which tends to make their time, and their bill, go a lot further. And to be clear: Firm Footing is an educational resource, not legal, medical, or educational advice. Nothing here replaces a qualified advocate or attorney when one is genuinely needed.

Free

Everything you need to prepare for your next meeting.

$0 / forever

  • The full resource library, free forever
  • Unlimited IEP date tracking
  • 40 chat messages a day with the assistant
  • Community access
  • Exclusive Plus resources
Founding Member — Limited

Firm Footing Plus

For the stretch when there's a lot riding on getting it right.

$15$9 / month

Locked in for as long as you stay subscribed.

Founding price locked in for life — as long as you stay continuously subscribed.

  • Everything in Free
  • Unlimited chat with the assistant
  • Exclusive: Progress Monitoring Log
  • Exclusive: The Complete IEP Binder
  • Priority support when you're up against a deadline

If money is the reason you're hesitating, we set aside free Plus memberships for families who need them. Apply for a scholarship.

The Epic IEP

Karen Mayer Cunningham

Worth reading

One book we keep recommending

If you want a single book to read before your next meeting, we point parents to The Epic IEP by Karen Mayer Cunningham. It's warm, direct, and written for the parent sitting on the other side of the table — the same posture we try to hold here.

Firm Footing is an independent resource. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or compensated by Karen Mayer Cunningham, her publisher, or any organization she is part of. We recommend the book because we think it helps.

Community

You are not the first parent to feel this

Three ways to take part — all of them optional, none of them loud.

Parent Discussion Group

A moderated space to ask the question you don't want to ask out loud yet. No advice-giving pile-ons.

Ask an Advocate

Twice-monthly open office hours with a special education advocate. Bring one question or just listen.

Share Your Story

Something you wish you'd known? Send it in. Every story is read by a person before it's published — no invented quotes here.

Get one steady step in your inbox every week

A single, doable thing — a question to ask, a date to note, a sentence to borrow. No spam, unsubscribe whenever.