SuccessFULL With ADHD

What Schools Don’t Tell You About ADHD Support — and What to Do About It with Christine Levy

• Brooke Schnittman MA, PCC, BCC • Season 1 • Episode 95

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On today’s episode, I sit down with a long-time friend and powerhouse in the world of educational advocacy, Christine Levy. Christine and I go way back—we met during our grad school days at NYU, and since then, she's become a fierce advocate for children with disabilities and their families. With over 20 years of experience in education, Christine has sat on every side of the IEP table—as a teacher, admin, RTI coordinator, and now as a passionate parent advocate.

In this conversation, Christine and I dive into what parents really need to know about navigating the special education system when their child is diagnosed with ADHD or other learning differences. From decoding neuropsych evaluations to tackling 504 plans and IEPs, we unpack what services and support are actually available—and how to get them. Whether you're just starting your journey or you're deep in the trenches of school meetings and documentation, this episode is filled with clarity, strategy, and heart. Christine’s calm, connected approach brings hope and real tools to families feeling overwhelmed by the process.

Christine Levy, M.Ed., is a leading expert in Educational Advocacy with over two decades of experience in special education as a teacher, administrator, and MTSS coordinator. She holds advanced degrees from NYU and Bank Street College of Education and is the founder of Levy Educational Advocacy. Christine empowers families by guiding them through the complexities of special education, ensuring their children receive the support, services, and placements they need to thrive. A passionate advocate and parent herself, she brings both expertise and empathy to every case she supports.

 

Episode Highlights:

[0:57] - Meet Christine Levy: educator turned advocate with a mission to empower families
[3:26] - Our shared journey from grad school to special ed leadership
[5:50] - When ADHD is diagnosed: What happens next?
[6:52] - Misconceptions around diagnosis and eligibility for services
[8:43] - Why RTI/MTSS documentation is critical before special ed referrals
[10:02] - The importance of parent-provided data: binders are more than paper—they’re your child’s story
[12:49] - “Behavior” is often misinterpreted ADHD—how advocacy can change the narrative
[14:30] - Supporting emotionally dysregulated parents through the process
[16:58] - Do ADHD and anxiety automatically qualify for a 504? The nuance explained
[19:50] - Advice for parents on the verge of burnout or considering school changes
[23:46] - Understanding the types of advocates and what support really looks like
[27:02] - Breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma through calm, effective advocacy
[28:46] - Executive functioning at home: how parents can build consistency with the school
[30:54] - When a child “looks fine” at school but struggles at home—how to present the full picture
[33:23] - Twice-exceptional students: the challenge of advocating for kids who mask their needs
[34:17] - Final words of empowerment: “You are not alone, and we see you.”

 

Connect with Christine Levy:

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Christine Levy:

Every behavior, I think is a form of communication, so ADHD can look like a behavior if it's not addressed in the right way. And I think probably with your work and your coaching, a lot of parents right now are finding out their diagnosis through their children's so it's almost like that journey that you're on, you're also trying to guide your child and you want to do better. Because when we were in school, it was sit down at your table, like, Why do you keep tapping your pencil? You're distracting others. And they left feeling like we were bad. So at Lea we are either starting from the onset where that will never happen, or, sadly, sometimes we have to peel back the onion and try to get that child to the right placement because they have been labeled as a behavior.

Brooke Schnittman:

Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke Schmidt, let's get started. Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of successful with ADHD. Today. I have a treat for you. My friend from grad school. We both got our masters at NYU and students with disabilities, and we were fast friends, as they say, with ADHD, an esteemed expert in the field of educational advocacy, and she's known for unwavering dedication to empowering parents and their children to achieve their full educational potential, both academically, socially and emotionally. So Christine relieves the stress of that complicated process of navigating special education. So for those of you listening out there who have navigated special education, it can be stressful for your children, for the household. So she helps this process by advocating on behalf of the families for the support services and placement, which is crucial to children's success. Christine started her journey by impacting the lives of individuals with disabilities. She earned her Bachelor's in elementary education from University of Rhode Island, and has a master's degree from NYU and that's where I met her, specializing in students with disabilities, which helped push her further as a leader. With a master's degree from Bing Street College of Education in educational leadership. So she has literally all the certifications, and now she also has over two decades of experience as a teacher and an educational coordinator for an upper elementary school at the Aaron school in New York City, Multi Tiered System of Support Coordinator for a K through 12 school district, as well as assistant director of special education in South Kingston, Rhode Island. So she's worked closely with teachers, students, families, utilizing her knowledge. And now is here to tell us about how she helps families with her company, Levy, educational advocacy, Academy and toolkit, because it's not only having the education as a teacher right to try to support families and students and administration, unfortunately, the way the system is designed, very often we need advocates. So thank you, Christine for being here today.

Christine Levy:

Thank you Brooke for having me. It's so nice to see you.

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah, so it's nice because we have a similar journey, right? We both had elementary education backgrounds, then we got our masters and students with disabilities. You went further for administration, same with me, and then you worked in the school system on both ends, admin, teaching, RTI, but you noticed there was a problem that you needed to solve exactly,

Christine Levy:

big problems, lots of barriers. And like you said, I think it takes sitting at different seats at the table to really recognize that advocacy is so important to really empower families, because their voices are often silenced. And as an administrator, I know even through the best mentorships, budget was always hanging over my head in terms of services for kids. As a teacher, you're told sometimes not to speak up at the table, because that could affect the budget. And it really took me to sit as a parent for my own son to step back and say, if this process was so hard for me because it was tricky during COVID, then how are other families navigating this? And that's really what led me to finding la vie en to teach my advocacy.

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah. Yeah, so you would think, right, that everything is kind of like there for our special education students, right? They go to school, they get what they need, they get their accommodations, they get their services, if needed. There's been a lot of talk about my child has ADHD. I know my child has ADHD. They need accommodations, they need services, or what do they need? What do ADHD ers typically need? Like a lot of people have asked me that before, and I know it's not a one size fits all approach, so I'm wondering first, from your perspective, like, how you would educate the parents who come to you with those types of concerns, it's

Christine Levy:

a great question. When families reach out to us, I definitely try to meet them where they're at in the process, because a lot of families will call us at that onset, which is great. They may have just received a diagnosis, and then they want to know, how can this neuro psych be translated into the school setting? What are the next steps we need to take to provide services for our child? On the other end, families will call me because they've already went through that process, and things aren't being followed with fidelity, and they're facing a lot of barriers. So when we do get that call, we really want to talk about like, what are your goals as a family for your child? And we start there.

Brooke Schnittman:

Okay, so you meet the child where they're at and find out the goal. So what do you notice? Trend wise, for the people who are coming to you at the beginning of their journey, a

Christine Levy:

lot of families have mixed messages that if they have a diagnosis of ADHD, that they automatically would qualify for services. And I think either that narrative is out there or families are talking to other families. But that's simply not true. It is a process, and families need to understand that you can get the neuropsych, which is a very comprehensive document, as you know, that would list out series of testing to determine that type of disability area. A lot of times, they give recommendations that the educational team in a school setting only has to consider it. So that's where it gets tricky. I also have cases where pediatricians may provide rating scales to a parent, and say, you fill these out, you send them to the school, and then they will provide the diagnosis of ADHD. Again, schools only have to consider that. So where we are at with families is we try to educate them and empower them to know exactly what they have to ask for, whether they want to do it on their own, and we provide that like action plan, or we sit with them at the table and do it. Yeah.

Brooke Schnittman:

Where do you find obviously, it depends on whichever school you're working with, case by case. But have you noticed any variations in how quickly a child will receive accommodations or services based on if they get tested through the school or tested outside of the school,

Christine Levy:

a mix of both. I think when you talked about my role as RTI coordinator, Response to Intervention, now it's shifted to MTSS in schools, multi tiered systems of support, regardless of that diagnosis. I always tell families, start there, make sure in some capacity, the classroom teacher or team that's working with your child is documenting what they're doing, because more times than none, this isn't the first time you're hearing that your child may have some attentional deficits or executive functioning challenges. So you need to get ahead of it and have them start documenting even prior to getting that diagnosis. Because regardless, when you do sit down at the table to refer your child for special education or a 504 plan, they need to have documentation that they've already tried to intervene?

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah, I've seen parents come in with binders and notebooks filled with reports and emails and documentations going years back to the table. It's. Really powerful.

Christine Levy:

It is powerful. And if you look at the binders, and it's funny, you say that because I work from home, so I walk up and down my house with binders, and my kids will be like, What are you carrying? And I'm like, so ancient, seriously, but they're really like, kids futures. Like these binders are their futures. This is their story. This is the barriers that have been put in front of these families so that they can't have access to services and so yes, a parent will we like it when they scan it to us. But of course, we'll take the hard copy, that's where we start. We have to have a record review. We have to say what has been put in place, what hasn't What is this email correspondence that went back and forth for first grade and it looked like a behavior, and then he landed in second grade and he was suspended. Why didn't they intervene between first and second? And when we find those barriers and we can go into a meeting proactively and point those things out, it's a lot easier to then get the solution. So I think families get caught up in that emotion of it like they have all this information. What? What do I do with it? So it's really important that we always start with that record review, so that we can have a clear understanding of almost like an FBA, like, what's the onset? When did this start? What were the environmental factors? And if you did receive that diagnosis, then why have hasn't the team been proactive to put some natural structures in place? Because every behavior, I think, is a form of communication. So ADHD, as you and I both know, and you're the expert, can look like a behavior if it's not addressed in the right way. And I think probably with your work and your coaching, a lot of parents right now are finding out their diagnosis through their children's Of course, and so it's almost like that journey that you're on, you're also trying to guide your child and you want to do better, because when we were in school, it was like, sit down at your table. I said your name three times. Why aren't you listening? Like, why do you keep tapping your pencil? You're distracting others, and they left feeling like we were bad, like we weren't good inside,

Brooke Schnittman:

or we get put into a special class because of behavior Exactly,

Christine Levy:

exactly. So at Lea, we are either starting from the onset where that will never happen, or, sadly, sometimes we have to peel back the onion and try to get that child to the right placement because they have been labeled as a behavior. Yeah,

Brooke Schnittman:

you mentioned a really important point that so many adults are seeing themselves in their children with an ADHD diagnosis because it is so genetic, and yes, there is that emotional component as a parent like, Oh my God, I want to give my child everything that I didn't receive. I don't want them to have to go through all the negative messages and the punishments and the shaming of living with ADHD that's unmanaged or undiagnosed, but also as an adult, if you do have ADHD and it's unmanaged, that's even harder right To put that portfolio together to separate your emotions from your executive functions, because when you're remote, overly emotional or emotionally dysregulated, your executive function shut down and you can't think clearly, and you need a lot of executive functions to put a story together or a timeline together. So I think that's even more important for why you guys step in. So you can be very straightforward and say, I need this, like, let's work as a team for that accountability purpose as well, which we need so much as ADHD ers

Christine Levy:

Exactly, exactly. And I think to your point, when we do sit down with families and they have just received that diagnosis. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and I think that to have families be able to navigate it with resources like your resources, the neuropsychologist recommendations, we just have to see how. Does that look in an educational setting? And sometimes that takes the educational team to do more testing, and I hate to do more. More isn't always better, but it's very powerful for experts to do observations of the child in multiple settings, it's very powerful for classroom teams and parents to do rating scales, and with that information, then you can determine really structured goals that match the areas of need.

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah, I like how you say matching the areas of need. Going back to what we were talking about before, more is not always better, right? So more is not always better for testing, more is not always better for accommodations and services. Either we're not always giving our children a fair chance by over accommodating and over delivering in services,

Christine Levy:

especially if they're not the right services or the right accommodations. And that's where I think if families come to the table and say, This isn't working, school teams, first response is, well, let's just increase the time. Let's see if Sally can pick him up, you know, after lunch. But that's not really the issue. One is, Does your child have a connection to ms Sally? Does your child feel heard with MS Sally? Is that the right person, the expert, to do these interventions? And I think once you peel those layers back, you know that it really takes targeted support versus piece mailing things together. Definitely.

Brooke Schnittman:

Now in some states, ADHD and anxiety, if you have a diagnosis, you automatically qualify for a 504 What are you seeing with that? So what I see

Christine Levy:

with that is that in the educational setting, you definitely are considered for the 504 in the educational setting, but the team has to go through a series of questions with the family, and if appropriate, the child to see the impact on learning and concentrating. So if the team does not see that impact, which, to me, can be very big objective. Yeah, so at that point, it takes, like I said, even at a 504 eligibility, to answer that question, you need to have a lot of data points, so we empower the family to go in with those points so that they're not leaving feeling frustrated. Yeah, and what that might look like is, this is what I notice at home. This is what I noticed in the community. This is what I noticed on sports teams. What do you notice at school? Then we can marry it to there are certain type times of the day that are really hard for the child, structured versus unstructured times, and that way, the accommodations, again, really reflect what the child requires versus so many times it's like a drop down menu.

Brooke Schnittman:

I know it's the worst question. When someone's like, Okay, tell me the list of accommodations that you can give my child or with ADHD. And I'm like, I'm not going to tell you, like you tell me what the needs are, and then we can go from there. This is not just, you know, a free for all, because it could hurt your child. It's such a consuming process,

Christine Levy:

it is, and I think, like you said, we don't want it to be more restrictive for the child. We want them to build independence at the same time, we don't want them to write, rely on teacher prompting and rely on like visual supports all the time, like, what does it look like with the support? And then gradually reduce that support so that the child can do it independently,

Brooke Schnittman:

talk to the parents out there listening, who are at that point where they have tried so hard to get their child what they need, and they haven't been listened to or heard in the right way, right but now they're so emotionally dysregulated and frustrated with the system that they want to throw everything At the child or move the school to a more restrictive environment. What do you say to those parents listening out there?

Christine Levy:

I see you, that's the first thing I say, because that validation is so important for families to know. They're not alone. It can almost feel like with the advocates I work with on my team, we all have special education degrees. We all have administrative experience. We're not just parents that are overly involved in school, but to that, we are also parents of kids with neuro diverse needs. So when we can have that me too moment with the parent, regardless of the disability area, I think it automatically brings that parent down to I'm feeling heard, and we're going to be on this journey together. Let me take the emotional piece out of this for you so that you can focus on, you know, putting these routines in place at home. Well, I address the team with the types of emails that need to go out saying, you know, referencing regulations, reference referencing idea and your rights as a family with a child with a disability automatically, just that process, you can tell the family just feels that sense of relief, of feeling heard and seen. The next step, though, if they do have an advocate with them or not, you need to go to the team with clear, clear agendas, because what happens is the time is very short, as you and I both know people are running these meetings on like one day, you're in, you're out, you don't even know what way the wind just blew, and you're signing something. And I always tell families, never sign anything at that time. Always take the time to reflect. You have a window of time, and if we're with you, we may say, Okay, this is great to sign now because we've done that legwork, but do not agree to things or disagree with things until you are fully educated. Because just like you said, that placement is so crucial for your child, and if your family has gone through years of feeling gaslit because nobody's hearing you, then that might not be the right placement for your child, and those are hard conversations, but at the end of the day, ultimately, we need to get your child to a place where they're successful and where they are also seen and heard. It's a journey. It takes time, but I do feel like going back to that question is like, it's that initial relief that families feel

Brooke Schnittman:

it's such a job too sometimes for those parents, because they don't feel heard, so they have to gather all this information. It becomes a full time job in going back and forth and keeping track. So I appreciate so much your role in this. Because I know when we were administrators in the school system, I remember parents actually becoming advocates in school systems so other parents didn't have to go through the journey that they did because it literally was a full time job and it was exhausting. So can you describe the difference between most schools, I think, are required to have a list of advocates, right, that the school that have signed up for advocacy in the school, right? And those are free of charge, correct?

Christine Levy:

So in certain states, there are parent network groups, and so yes, like in Rhode Island, it's called ripan, which is a parent group that is just like you said, they either took they've had personal experience. They may not have like, special ed degrees or backgrounds, right? But they taking their experience to empower other families. That's usually a lot of the times, first places people go, yeah, and I think it's wonderful to have those resources. I also think that as it gets more complicated, we as advocates, at Lea, we're not attorneys, but we can pretty much do everything up until it gets to a due process, hearing, and sometimes we can get the kids to the placement they need without an attorney. And I think to demystify that is really important, because a lot of people and

Brooke Schnittman:

you think if they say attorney, then the school is going to stop and give you the kitchen sink, which we said. Is not always the right thing for the child,

Christine Levy:

exactly, and the team feels like, Well, what did I do wrong with Johnny? And ultimately, it affects, I believe, how the team almost treats the child, if it is a type of negative meeting. I've had meetings where I was a teacher and advocates come in. They're pointing fingers at people. Teachers are leaving crying. That is not what levy educational advocacy does, like we are built on connection that is the first priority. Like just with the family. It's the same with the team. Yeah. So my goal is that even if we're at one table at a time, that one team member from that table can say, hey, that was a really good idea for Sally to have a stand up desk, or for Sally to have those access to those fidget tools. Let's go bring that back to Bob, and you know that would then help another child, like paying it forward, because I know that all families don't have access to advocates, and one family did say to us, I wish every family could have somebody like us by their side, and that has opened my window to look at like nonprofits and how we could sit with families that may would never have had the opportunity, and typically we're sitting with grandparents raising their grandchildren who their families have already gone through This system, and their own children have dropped out because they've been labeled as behavior or suspended or incarcerated, and that's where it has to stop, is at the line of sitting and doing the hard things with The grandparent, because it's intergenerational trauma at that point,

Brooke Schnittman:

100% and I know you personally, and you are so organized and take things from like a logical approach with emotions, like leaving emotions here, like you thrive on that, and all of your previous previous roles as well. So I can only imagine how helpful you are with your families, because they have that inter generational trauma, they have that stress, the anxiety, the emotional dysregulation. They're at their wits ends. They don't they're not an expert on how to handle this, nor should they have to be. And that's where you come in with a non biased approach, where you're like, Okay, let's separate the facts from the story. This is what's available. This is what your child needs based on all the data. Right?

Unknown:

Exactly.

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah, yeah. So it's not only on the school right to provide education to the kids, right? We have a job at home as parents to make sure our children are doing the homework, right. They're bringing their materials to school, right? Like the teacher can't come to the house and make sure that your child is bringing materials to school, right? They can do a check list at the end of the day to make sure they're packed up, but little control on getting back to school. So what would you say to those parents like in this process on how they can help,

Christine Levy:

that's a huge piece of this. And I agree, as parents of two children with ADHD, it's definitely a journey. I think sometimes one things work and one thing works, and then the next day it doesn't. So my first step is always to say if something is working at school that is successful, and it's an unpacking checklist, or it's a task initiation checklist or a visual I love Sarah ward. She does some great executive functioning strategies of like, get ready do done. What does it look like to be ready for homework? What does it look like to do the homework, and what should it look like when it's completed and in your folder? Having those systems at home is really important too, and so if they match, it's even better if you find something through your own research as a parent or through your own professional development, share it with the team. There's so many times that. At even my role at the table, when I say hey to the school team, the parent and I have thought a lot about X, Y and Z. That seems to be working at home, like a social story. Could you do a social story for the bus ride home? Because that's a really hard time for Johnny at the end of the day, he's dysregulated. He's anxious about the ride, and that's all it takes sometimes. Is that ask pictures are really helpful for kids. I think having pictures of the student in the process of doing the things what it looks like to be finished, what it looks like to start and, you know, depending on the age, that could go over well or not, but I think for the elementary level, it's a great tool to have. Yeah,

Brooke Schnittman:

and what about the opposite extreme, like the parent is doing so much for the child at home, they're hired a lot of help so the child doesn't look like they have a disability and they're not qualifying for accommodations or services because of the hours of help that's being put in at home. What would you say to those parents?

Christine Levy:

So that can be a tricky situation, because that doesn't mean that the child's internalized it, depending on what that support looks like, right? So I think to meet the school and say like, this is where some of their areas of strength are, this is really where they do well, and here are still things they don't have yet. And if the child is doing it at home, independently and not at school, what are the barriers that are at school? Typically, if a child's doing something at home, they don't have 24 other kids at home, like, you know, doing their things, or they don't have that over stimulation that might happen at their locker. So I think that there's room to still find things that we can improve on. It just takes sometimes, having honest and open conversations, even for the families that make in their mind think that they have everything in place or at school, everything looks like it's a place. It's definitely a collaborative and connected conversation that needs to happen. Yeah, because the hardest thing Brooke is when families tell me on the end of I went to the school, I showed them, you know, pictures of work samples, and I showed them how organization is so tricky, and the team says we don't see that here. That's a lot to digest, because it almost makes the family feel like, what am I doing wrong? Or

Brooke Schnittman:

they're not believing me 100% going back to feeling gas lit. And I find that, especially for the twice exceptional students, the gifted ones who have a disability, that is the hardest to really is get accommodations and services.

Christine Levy:

It is, I say, like the educational advocacy. We're like BYOD, bring your own data, and we help families with that, because it's not gonna capture that on like a universal screening tool at school or a curriculum based measure, they might look great on those, especially if it is a twice exceptional child, where they're in the green on all screeners, but yet they're melting down at home because they're not regulated. Those are harder conversations, but we have to find a space to meet in the middle. And I always when the noise gets not about the child, we have to pause and bring it back to the child, because that's where I think, with all settings, adult egos can get in the way of things. Yeah,

Brooke Schnittman:

this is so helpful. You come from such a calm, connected and collaborative approach, and I can see how calming that is for parents, how calming it is for the school. And there is no one size fits all approach, right? So this is why it is a multiple team approach. So for the parents listening, try to keep track of the data. If you feel like you're not getting your questions addressed or you need more at the table, call Christine and her team. I'm sure you do complimentary consultations too to see if it's a good fit. Yes.

Christine Levy:

So on our website, levy advocacy.com there's an inquiry form that families can fill out, and then that automatically goes to our onboarding coordinator who does a 15 minute reconsultation. So any questions about the process, about pricing, about what it looks like goes over that in that time, right? We also have testimonials too, and I always share that family is that it's important to follow your gut. I think that when you know something's wrong, it's probably because it is. And this stage in the game where we're at like, we know better, so we have to do better in schools.

Brooke Schnittman:

Yeah, so powerful. Where can people find you if they want more information?

Christine Levy:

So like I said, the website's a great place to start. Levy advocacy.com, I'm also on Facebook, Christine Levy, as well as Instagram Levy, educational advocacy,

Brooke Schnittman:

awesome. Christine, it's so amazing having you here, and I can't believe we've known each other for about 20 years. Literally, we both started our journeys together. So this is pretty wild that I've seen your journey now, your children's journey, your parenting journey. You know, it's Yeah, it feels, it feels good to connect. It

Christine Levy:

does. It feels really good. And you've inspired so many people through your work, a big part of why I started Lea was knowing that there is a need, and honestly watching you create something that has been so impactful. So thank you

Brooke Schnittman:

absolutely. Again. You guys have Christine's links. We'll be putting it in the chat as well. And I know that parents who are listening right now, I hope you get that validation that we see you. You're heard. There is hope. You're not alone, and there are people out there that you can connect with who might be able to help you. Thanks again. Thanks, Brooke, thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey, and if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us@coachingwithbrooke.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke. And remember, it's Brooke with an E. Thanks again for listening. See you next time you.

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Brooke Schnittman MA, PCC, BCC

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