Leisa

"I highly recommend Kristen Heyniger. My child is twice exceptional and has always had difficulty with organization and concentration. I thought that he needed some type of support, but I didn’t know what he needed. I asked at his school about getting a 504, but I was told that he couldn’t qualify for a 504 because he was in the full IB program.

Finally, I decided to go ahead and make a referral to the local screening committee under section 504 and look for an Education Advocate and I found Kristen. As soon as we talked on the phone, I knew that she was going to be very helpful. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. She was unable to go with me to the local screening committee meeting, in June 2019, because she was going to be out of town, but she gave me a lot of information and guided me through the process, so I was prepared for the meeting.

We had a meeting, in July 2019, to create the 504 plan and Kristen attended that meeting with us. I had only a vague idea of what type of support that my child needed, but Kristen came to the meeting with a long list of suggested accommodations for my child. If she had not been there, I would have had very little idea of what type of accommodations to request and I would have had to leave it up to the school administrators and special education teachers at the meeting, who knew nothing about my child’s history.

I had communicated with Kristen through phone calls and emails and sent her information that she requested, so she had a very good understanding of my child’s history and needs. I felt very comfortable in the meeting because of having Kristen’s expertise and knowing that I had someone on my side. I also noticed that the administrators and teachers responded more positively to me, with Kristen there, than when I have been to these types of meetings alone.

Outside of the 504 meeting, Kristen has also advised me on creating emails when I have needed to communicate with school administrators. She has also helped me understand what schools are and are not required to do. I had another situation with my child’s school, in which I needed to write a letter and provide documentation. Kristen helped me organize the letter and told me how to word certain things and in some cases, told me which information to include. I feel that she was highly helpful in me receiving the desired outcome.

It’s great having Kristen as our Advocate, because I am able to ask her questions or have her come to meetings with me, if necessary. She helps me to know how to best communicate with school administrators. I feel highly supported, with Kristen as our Advocate, and I feel much more confident in dealing with school administrators. I know that I can always get advice from her about anything having to do with my child’s education. Kristen is a great support and I feel that her services are very affordable."