IEP advocacy and tutoring for autism families.
I'm Merrie Weekley. Eight years as a public-school special-ed teacher, now mom to a Level 3 autistic son. Parenting the Spectrum is IEP advocacy, tutoring, and coaching for families raising autistic and neurodivergent children.
Two services. Built for special-needs families.
Pick the side of your child's plan that needs work right now. Most of our families end up using both.
IEP Services
For parents navigating school.
Red Flag Audits of your child's current IEP, full advocacy at evaluations and meetings, and 1:1 parent coaching between cycles. Built on eight years inside Florida ESE classrooms.
Explore IEP Services →Tutoring the Spectrum
For children who learn differently.
Reading, writing, and math instruction taught using the same techniques your child's ABA team already uses. We're not ABA therapists. We're the academic piece, taught the way your child actually learns.
See how it works →I've been on both sides of the IEP table.
For eight years I taught special education in public schools. Preschool through middle school, hundreds of IEP meetings, all from the school's side of the table. Then I became Jacob's mom, adopting a Level 3 autistic boy out of foster care.
Overnight, I was the parent walking into a meeting I used to run. I noticed everything other parents wouldn't catch. The soft language, the missing services, the goals written so vaguely they couldn't be enforced.
The Red Flag Audit is the document I wish someone had handed me on day one. I built it for the families who came after me.
Read the full story →
How most families get started.
Three steps. No commitment beyond the first one.
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Pick your starting point
If you have an IEP and want help with it, start with the Red Flag Audit. Any ongoing IEP work begins there. If your questions aren't IEP-specific (newly diagnosed, daily life, scholarships, school choice), book a Coaching Session.
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Merrie reviews, you get a plan
For the audit: a written document plus a 60-minute call. For the Coaching Session: 60 minutes and a follow-up summary.
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You decide what's next
Most audit families take the document and run with it themselves. Some move to hourly advocacy for meeting representation. Some add tutoring. Many do both over time.
Real families. Real outcomes.
Merrie brought clarity in the meetings by explaining things we didn't understand and ensuring our voices were heard. Because of her guidance, our son received services thoughtfully tailored to his specific needs.
Merrie is so patient and truly takes the time to help my son learn in ways that work best for him. He was falling behind in reading, but with her support, he is now catching back up. We've also seen a huge boost in his confidence.
Merrie was so helpful through the whole process. She really took the time to explain the information, answer all of my questions, and advocate for the most successful plan for my boy. She took all of the overwhelming uncertainty out of it.
Get the IEP Prep Checklist.
The 12-question checklist Merrie hands every parent before their first IEP meeting. Free.
Ready when you are.
The first move is the hardest. After that, it's just steps.