TPP 360: Dr. Jade Rivera on Designing Strengths-Based IEPs
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
32 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 7 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What challenges do parents of neurodivergent kids face in traditional IEP feedback?
Any opportunity from something small for your child to demonstrate what they love and what they're good at, even through just conversation, is a deposit in the bank of their well being. Anytime that you can facilitate that is time well spent.
I'm Debbie Reber, and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. If you're parenting a neurodivergent kid, you probably have a lot of experience getting feedback about your child in IEP meetings, parent-teacher conferences from therapists, neuropsyches, school counselors, and so often this feedback. Is highlighting what's hard or challenging and what needs to be improved, which honestly can leave us feeling drained, discouraged, and overwhelmed. If you relate to this experience in any way, you will appreciate today's conversation with Dr. Jade Rivera. As she is going to talk with us about a new way she and her team are providing feedback with a completely different and much more positive and optimistic.
Focus. Jade is the lab director for the new Strengths Based Assessment Lab at Bridges Graduate School, which uses the suite of tools developed by twice exceptional thought leaders Dr. Susan Baum and Dr. Robin Schader to identify what a child likes, loves, and excels at. The goal of the lab is to empower students, families, educators, and professionals in creating positive and collaborative learning experiences. Experiences for children facing challenges in their educational environments. So today, Jade talks with us about her work and the Strengths-based Assessment Lab, what a strengths-based assessment is and how it's conducted, what differentiates a strength from a talent, and how to encourage our kids to pursue their interests without putting pressure on them to live up to our idea of potential.
We also talked about how to get strength-based goals incorporated in IEPs and how to approach meetings when we are trying to shift the focus to our child strengths. I had a chance to meet Jade a few years back during an event at Bridges Academy, and she is just such a passionate professional in the gifted and twice exceptional space. She has over 15 years experience designing and leading micro schools beloved by our quirky and Sensitive kids, which uniquely positions her to provide insights into positive niche construction and talent development for neurodivergent kids. She earned her EDD at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in 2022, and she's stayed on as a professor, supporting others as they envision a strength based world for neurodivergent humans everywhere.
I, of course, love this focus on. strengths as I believe so deeply that this is what we want to put most of our energy into when it comes to helping our kids truly know themselves and create lives they love. I hope you find this an inspiring conversation too. Hey Jade, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. Yeah,
it's great to be here.
It's great to have you on the show. We met many years ago now at I think we first met at Bridges Academy, which I know is a very important place in your world and part of your work. When I first knew of you, it was your work surrounding Sunnyside Micro School. But I know that you have been expanding and growing your work and your focus over the years, and you're doing such cool work, especially in the twice exceptionality space. So just kind of introduce us to you in terms of your evolution and what you're really excited about doing right now.
Yeah, yeah, thank you so much. Gosh.
Big question.
Yeah. So I have spent most of my adult life working with twice exceptional children in an education capacity. I'm known for designing and launching and leading small learning environments, small strength-based learning environments for two E children in the Bay Area, known as micro schools. And that was work that I loved to do. I think I did it for about seventeen years. I actually graduated college as a chemist and I had a career, a long, successful career.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What challenges do parents of neurodivergent kids face in traditional IEP feedback?
0:00–4:54
2
How did Dr. Jade Rivera’s career lead to the Strength‑Based Assessment Lab?
4:54–9:15
3
What is a strengths‑based assessment and how is the Suite of Tools used?
9:15–13:21
4
How does the lab differentiate a child’s strengths from their talents?
13:21–17:03
5
What ages are ideal for a strengths‑based assessment and why?
17:03–21:32
6
How can parents and educators embed strength‑based goals into an IEP?
21:32–24:54
7
What steps should a family take to start working with the Strength‑Based Assessment Lab?
24:54–29:08
8
What final advice does Dr. Rivera give for fostering a child’s well‑being through strengths?
29:08–32:35
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids