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Ask the Author: Laurie Levy

“So glad your IEP team meeting was successful & thanks for your good wishes. I really appreciate your interest in my book. ” Laurie Levy

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Congratulations on the publication of your first book! That's very inspirational to me. I'm also retired from the field of education- Early Childhood teacher, K & 2nd. I know the ropes, but as a parent of a teenaged twice-exceptional son, I find it difficult to advocate at school, wearing both my mom hat and teacher hat. His disabilities are recent, but he's in 11th gr. Any advice on getting staff to listen?
Laurie Levy Hi Christine! I totally understand your reluctance to push too hard. Former/current teachers have empathy for their colleagues and hate to make waves. All, parents want their children's teachers to like them and avoid any blow back for being *that* parent. But I do think you need to approach this solely as your son's advocate. Ask for meetings that include support staff and if there is anyone working with your son outside of school, bring that person along to be part of your team. Sometimes, getting schools to listen means being persistent, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. When it comes to getting the school to meet your son's needs, wear only your mom hat.
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Laurie Levy For me, it's the joy of expressing all of my ideas. While I hope to advocate about important issues, I also love to create that smile of recognition when something I wrote hits home with the reader.
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What are you currently working on?
Laurie Levy Right now, I'm continuing to write blog posts for Huffington Post, ChicagoNow, and AlterNet. I have recently started posting on Midcentury Modern, which gives me a chance to be a bit humorous and to write from a boomer perspective.
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How do you get inspired to write?
Laurie Levy My eight grandkids are a huge inspiration. Their experiences with school, issues about children with special needs for two of them, and the way they experience life are often the focus of my writing. I am also inspired by things happening in the news and in my community. Once I have a cause or the spark of an idea, I'm good to go.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
Laurie Levy After I retired as an early childhood educator in 2013, I began to blog. I've always loved to write and enjoyed advocating for causes that mattered to me and sharing my generation's perspective on life. As my 70th birthday approached, I felt a need to create something that lasted longer than a blog post. Then my mother, who had always nagged me to write a book, died. At that point, I was determined to become an author, no matter how late a start I was getting.
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Laurie Levy
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