Live Sessions, On-Demand Courses, Tools & Templates

Special Education Advocacy

Learn how to advocate like a pro with Don’t IEP Alone—offering expert-led special education advocate training for parents, teachers, and aspiring professionals. Get the tools, templates, and strategies that actually work.

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100+ Modules, Tools and Online Courses

Launched in 2015, Don’t IEP Alone is now the premier, online training center for anyone who has to develop, implement or advocate for an IEP.

Expert Instructors & Attorneys

Get Live and on-demand training from advocates, attorneys, neuropsychologists, OTs and more. Attend live or watch on your own schedule.

Unlimited, Lifetime Access

All products are “pay once, access forever.” And, because we’re a boutique operation, we keep our costs down and keep the products affordable.

Trusted by Many

All content is created by experts who are on the IEP journey themselves–either as a parent, teacher or attorney/professional.

Most Popular Tools & Courses​

Don’t IEP Alone Academy: Real Skills, Real Support, Real Progress

FOR PARENT OR PRO ADVOCATES

Move your IEP Team to YES.

Offering expert-led special education advocate training for parents, teachers, and aspiring professionals. Tools, templates, and strategies that actually work and use them for a lifetime.

$497

ANXIETY AT SCHOOL TOOLKIT

From Worries to Wins: Anxiety Toolkit for Parents and Teachers

Watching your child struggle with anxiety at school is heartbreaking. This empowering toolkit helps you take action, ask the right questions, and get real support in place.

$27

POPULAR with IEP TEAMS!

IEP Data Collection & Present Levels–easy and compliant!

Finally master how to collect meaningful IEP data in a busy classroom. And then, turn it into IEP present levels that don’t take weeks to write.

$18

7800+

Students Enrolled since 2015

100+

Tools & Courses Available

25+

Expert Instructors and Attorney Sessions

Topics We Tackle

We cover every angle of the IEP process—over 100 topics that matter most to both parents and school staff. From evaluations and goal writing to behavior plans and compliance, if it’s in the IEP, we uncover it.

  • IEP Progress Monitoring
  • Efficient IEP Meeting Prep
  • Due Process (attorney-led)
  • Current Case Law (attorney led)
  • IEP Data Collection
  • Writing IEP Present Levels
  • FBAs & Behavior
  • Suspensions & Discipline
  • Parental Rights
  • Improving IEP Communication
  • Small Business Support
  • How to Manage IEP Files
  • Anxiety & IEPs
  • 8-part IEP Transition Workshop Series
  • Billing Clients
  • Entrepreneurship
  • How & When to Raise Prices
  • IEP Eligibility
  • LRE Least Restrictive Environment
  • AT & AAC
  • How/Where to Find Clients
  • Bullying
  • School Refusal/Avoidance
  • Trauma Informed IEPs
  • Understanding Evaluations
  • IEP Placement
  • ESY Extended School Year…..AND DOZENS MORE!

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Hi There, I’m Lisa Lightner.

A special education advocate, mom, and founder of A Day in Our Shoes and Don’t IEP Alone—the go-to online hub helping parents navigate the IEP maze without losing their minds. Since 2010, I’ve helped thousands of families get better IEPs, clearer answers, and fewer gaslighting emails from their school teams. My upcoming book, set to release Fall 2025, dives deeper into the system’s dysfunction—and how parents can still get to “yes.”

“We got everything we wanted, and what my son was entitled to, and didn’t ruffle any feathers of the IEP team while doing it. I have a whole life of advocating for my son ahead of me and I know how important this is. After we finally got our ask-I thought it might be nice for you to know that your “Don’t IEP alone” program is exactly that.”
Kayleigh B
Tennessee

Learn What Matters. Apply It Right Away.

You’ve said it all. And still… they don’t listen.
You’ve asked nicely. You’ve begged. You’ve cried in your car after another IEP meeting that went nowhere. It’s not you—it’s the system.
Now it’s time to learn how to play by their rules, use their language, and still win for your kid.
Let me show you how.

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