RESOURCES FOR

ADVOCATES

Welcome.
ROI works shoulder-to-shoulder with partners to build shared language, tools, and practices that embed disability inclusion into broader equity work. Our work strengthens cross-sector advocacy and policy development by grounding systems change in lived experience, amplifying stories and voices that can clarify harmful impacts and point to innovative solutions. We help bridge the gap between community experience and policy outcomes, amplifying the insights of disabled students and families directly affected by education decisions. 

These resources are for advocates, organizers, and community partners working to advance equity and inclusion for students with disabilities. Whether you’re pushing for policy change, supporting families, or building awareness in your community, you will find tools here to help you center lived experience, deepen your understanding, and lead with impact.
Picture
A picture of people creating a heart shape with outstretched arms

Understanding Disability, Inclusion, and Educational Equity

These resources offer foundational knowledge about special education and the intersection of disability with racism, ableism, and other systems of oppression. Use them to inform your advocacy and push for systems that reflect the needs and strengths of all learners.
INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) FOR TODDLERS
READ MORE
STARTING KINDERGARTEN - WHAT FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES NEED TO KNOW
READ MORE
SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATIONS - TOWARDS STRENGTHS-BASED, WHOLE-STUDENT EVALUATIONS
READ MORE
IEPS AND 504 PLANS - TWO PATHS TOWARD INCLUSION
READ MORE
SUPPORTING DISABLED CAREGIVERS IN YOUR SCHOOL
READ MORE
AS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
READ MORE
EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES FACED BY BLACK STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND POTENTIALLY PROMISING PRACTICES
READ MORE
UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY JUSTICE AS A GUIDING FRAMEWORK FOR INCLUSIONARY PRACTICE IN K-12 EDUCATION
This resource available in multiple languages
READ MORE
THE INTERSECTION OF RACE AND DISABILITY IN EDUCATION
This resource available in multiple languages
READ MORE

Centering Community Voice and Lived Experience

These storytelling and engagement tools are designed to support advocacy that begins with listening. Learn how to elevate the experiences of disabled students and families to inform decisions and shift systems with authenticity and respect.

Roots of Inclusion Community Conversation Toolkit

A Tool to Elevate Community Voice and Drive Change.
Our Community Conversation Toolkit helps advocates and community leaders bring people together to talk about inclusion, access, and equity for children in our schools. Whether you're working with a coalition or organizing within your community, this toolkit offers structure and guidance for creating safe, respectful spaces to listen, learn, and build shared understanding. It’s designed to center lived experience and turn conversation into collective action.
EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT

Family Engagement Through Storytelling and

​Podcasting

A Toolkit for Washington State's K-12 Schools
​Storytelling can open doors to deeper connection and understanding between families and schools. This toolkit, created by Roots of Inclusion and inspired by the Rooted in Washington podcast series, offers strategies for using storytelling—including podcasting—as a powerful tool for building trust, honoring lived experience, and strengthening family engagement in K–12 schools across Washington State.

EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT

Frameworks for Equity-Centered Decision Making

These resources help educators navigate decision-making and conflict with clarity, compassion, and a commitment to inclusive school transformation.

Leading with Disability for Inclusive Decision-Making and Dispute Resolution
As part of the Washington Statewide Family Engagement Center, Roots of Inclusion partnered with CoDesign Works to co-create frameworks that help school communities make more inclusive decisions and resolve conflicts in ways that center student success, dignity, and joy. Grounded in disability justice and equity, these frameworks support educators, families, and advocates in transforming school culture through practices that recognize and respond to every student’s lived experience.
READ THE FULL DOCUMENT

Training and Learning Resources for Advocates

On-demand learning, videos, and recorded webinars created to support your growth as an advocate. Learn about disability justice, inclusive education, culturally responsive engagement, and more—on your own time.

ON-DEMAND LEARNING SERIES 

FEATURING ROBYN GOBBEL, MSW

ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Supporting children who have experienced trauma, struggle with regulation, or have otherwise vulnerable nervous systems is overwhelming and confusing. Behaviors that result from vulnerable nervous systems are often big and baffling. 

Children with vulnerable nervous systems need support with co-regulation, connection, and felt-safety. This on-demand learning series will help participants to:
·      Build an understanding of behavior through a neurobiological approach
·      Develop tools for examining behavior and identifying how best to respond
·      Identify strategies to address behavior based in dysregulation
·      Decrease the likelihood of baffling behaviors

Learn from this easy-to-understand model of addressing baffling behaviors based on Robyn Gobbel’s owl, watchdog, and possum brain, and fill your behavior toolbox with tools that really work so you can stop playing behavior whack-a-mole.
ACCESS THE ONLINE LEARNING SERIES
CRAFTING AND IMPLEMENTING AN INCLUSIVE IEP

Featured Speakers: Jaimee Kidder, OSPI and Gail Ghere and Jennifer Sommerness from TIES Center
Recorded April 22, 2025
ACCESS THE RECORDING
"THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME" PANEL DISCUSSION 

Featured Speakers: Jordyn Zimmerman, Grant Blasko, and Cynthia Blasko
Recorded May 24, 2023
ACCESS THE RECORDING
USING A STRENGTHS-BASED, WHOLE-STUDENT EVALUATION APPROACH

Featured Speakers: Taina Karru-Olsen and Kelly Marth
Recorded March 12, 2025
ACCESS THE RECORDING
SHIFTING PRACTICE TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS WHOSE BEHAVIORS ARE MISUNDERSTOOD

Featured Speaker: Guy Stephens, E.D. of Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint
ACCESS THE RECORDING

Quick Tools: Videos & Infographics to Support Your Advocacy

These short, accessible resources break down key concepts about disability, equity, and inclusive education. Perfect for sharing with others or using in meetings, presentations, and trainings, they’re designed to help turn complex systems into clear, actionable understanding.
Roots of Inclusion
​P.O. Box 6784
​Bellevue, WA.  98008
ABOUT US
EVENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAIL
Copyright 2021 
Disclaimer:  Our website contains links to external websites, documents and publications.  These links are provided in an effort to share access to research and materials that are related to the work of Roots of Inclusion and are provided for informational purposes only.  Links to other websites and publications do not imply a recommendation for all of the content found on these sites but rather an opportunity to learn about the complexities of issues.