I work side by side with you to help you advocate for your child in the IEP meeting! You can rest easily knowing that your concerns will be heard and addressed. I will make SURE that you understand every step in this process so you can move forward with confidence.
We will work together at your comfort level. I can coach you behind the scenes, or I can be in the meeting with you to advocate for your child.
Coaching session with Kim Kizito (The IEP Strategist) to review all your documentation and your concerns, then we’ll create strategies for approaching your next meeting, asking for more specific goals, new accommodations and/or modifications.
The IEP Strategist will attend IEP or 504 meetings with you.
Ask me anything! I will provide you with a detailed video answer along with any links to help you understand what I am explaining. Typically, you will receive your answer within 72 hours.
I pride myself on knowing how to navigate the process. I can teach you how. Or I can do it for you. You decide.
You want to learn how to advocate for your child without having an advocate at your meeting.
You want an advocate beside you because you’re not sure you can do this alone.
You'd like to have your child evaluated for special education services but the school disagrees.
Your child isn't making progress on their IEP and you need an advocate to help.
You've got a stack of documents that you need help understanding.
Helping you is my passion! Allow me to serve you!
I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of parents, teachers, service providers and administrators. This is some of my favorite feedback.
If ever I needed anyone to advocate for one of my children, Kim Kizito would be my first choice. I have seen her in action at IEP meetings over the years and she presents a wealth of knowledge on resources, laws, diagnoses, services, and kids in general.
We were referred to Kim based on her many years of experience successfully guiding families through the IEP and/or 504 Process. Kim was like a compass who expertly and lovingly guided us throughout every step of the process!
Kim had an answer and guidance for me in what seemed to be mere moments (and navigated state-specific protocol with a natural ease or possibly magic), and now the family and their lovely child are on their way to a supportive learning environment.
"If ever I needed anyone to advocate for one of my children, Kim Kizito would be my first choice. I have known Kim for 11 years and can speak to her abilities from both a personal and professional level. Personally, I have seen Kim in action as a mother of a little girl with Autism. That little girl happened to be in my kindergarten class and there was not a single day that went by that both her daughter and I did not feel supported by Kim. Fast forward 10 years and I was struggling with some issues with my own son. I’ll never forget the day that she simply put her hand on my shoulder in the middle of the parking lot and prayed out loud for my boy. Professionally I have seen her in action at IEP meetings over the years and she presents a wealth of knowledge on resources, laws, diagnoses, services, and kids in general. Her wealth of knowledge comes from her heart for truly wanting the best life for all children. Again, there would be no better advocate that I could recommend to you than Kim Kizito."
"We were very stressed about engaging in the IEP eligibility process since our school had a reputation for being difficult and we were new to the world of special education. Several friends suggested that we engage the services of a parent advocate who would hold our hand throughout the process and be a strong advocate for our daughter. We were referred to Kim Kizito based on her many years of experience successfully guiding families through the IEP and/or 504 Process. Kim was like a compass who expertly and lovingly guided us throughout every step of the process! She was very attentive to our needs and extremely knowledgeable and made us feel that we had a strong advocate in our corner. We especially loved that whenever the school’s special education team engaged in inappropriate conduct that she didn’t back down one bit and challenged their actions and gave us the confidence we needed to stand toe-to-toe to negotiate with the team to get our daughter the support she so desperately needs. We don’t know what we would have done without Kim’s guidance and highly recommend her to every parent of a child with special needs!!!"
“I’m a Speech-Language Pathologist and I was working with a family with a child who was struggling in school. I provided a list of recommendations for the family but discovered that they had tried to begin the process for a 504/IEP evaluation and had encountered resistance from the school. I reached out to Kim. I had been digging through state and federal guidelines trying to determine what next-steps should look like for the family but was finding myself exploring dead-end paths and legal-language barriers. Kim had an answer and guidance for me in what seemed to be mere moments (and navigated state-specific protocol with a natural ease or possibly magic), and now the family and their lovely child are on their way to a supportive learning environment. It likely would have taken me a significant amount of time to unearth the information we needed on my own and I am incredibly grateful for the insights Kim was able to provide. “
"As a general education teacher and a special educator, I am glad that there are advocates and parents like Ms. Kizito. She is always ready to help any adult or student understand those around them with autism. She is positive and sure in her dealings to make sure that students receive what they need to be successful as well as so that every stakeholder understands the true reasoning based on the needs of the student with autism."
"Sitting here substitute teaching (watching and keeping order) for Biology I Honors class thinking bout my 2 grandsons (Kel is 5 and DJ is 15). Both have been with me since birth and labeled professionally with learning disabilities. One they both have in common is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I started noticing Kim Kizito talking/blogging about her daughter’s adventures with Autism. I realized it was similar to my adventures with my 2 grandkids. Number one I learned that I am not alone and kids can live a fulfilling life even not fitting into the mold that society has for them. We all have to find what works and expand from there. Concerning my grandkids, it was up to me and my family to put a plan in place (IEP, 504) whatever is needed to give them the best in life. Listen to yourself, you know what they need. You may need someone like Kim to help get a plan in place. The help/opportunities are out there. Let’s use our resources like I’ve learned from Kim.. Thank you Kim Kizito for all you do!"
"Kim Kizito is an amazing advocate for students with disabilities in Special Education. She was instrumental in helping me navigate through the process of having my high school age daughter retested, as she felt that she may have been struggling with more than ADHD. Kim’s knowledge, persistence and understanding of IEPs and Special Education was key to helping me discover that my child not only has ADHD, but she also has a Learning Disability. I will be forever grateful for helping me to help my daughter and make sure her educational needs were met."
You've got questions, I've got answers.
People always ask me how to request an evaluation for their child. Now you can take this sample letter for FREE and use it to serve as an example to write your own. I hope this helps!
I’m Kim Kizito. I became an IEP Strategist in 2008 when I realized that no one was giving me any concrete information about how the school was going to help my autistic daughter.
Why was I being told that I was an equal part of an IEP team, yet I felt like there was some secret in the room that everyone knew BUT me? I decided that I needed to figure this entire process out or someone else would be making decisions for me. From that point on, I took the bull by the horns and learned the process in Virginia. Then, I moved to South Carolina and learned the process there.
I also worked for a nonprofit (South Carolina Autism Society) to help families and schools. I took advantage of all the resources I could. I began helping other families who didn’t have time, or didn’t understand the process. I have attended countless IEP, 504, eligibility, and regular school meetings with parents who were just like me and wanted someone on their side. But because of the way I work with the parents AND the schools, I have been hugged by school principals for making the process painless. I have been asked to speak on the district level, at teacher workday meetings and the like to talk about various topics.
I have a Masters Degree in Education. Prior to working in this field, I spent years in Corporate America as a Corporate Trainer where I designed, developed and delivered customized training for the companies I worked for. I DO THIS. Believe me…NO ONE knows your child like you do. And NO ONE will advocate for them harder than you will. Let's work together AND get the results you want, AND the peace that comes when you realize you can get what you want AND work WITH the school to be on your side.
