Managing a child’s education can be daunting. That’s made even more difficult when a child needs special education services. Parents often feel overwhelmed by the volume of red tape to get their child the help they need.
Students with special needs or disabilities are eligible for an Individualized Education Program that outlines support and instructions that a team of parents, professionals and educators follow to help children thrive. The plan sets goals, strategies and performance markers to help ensure students can succeed at school.
But what happens when the IEP blueprint isn’t followed? What if there’s a failure of services or a breakdown in communication? That’s when the IEP Student Center can make a difference.
Mark Adamson is an IEP attorney with a unique perspective. As someone who has autism and ADHD, he can see the situation through the child’s eyes to help find creative solutions.
“I’d say probably as many as 60 percent of my clientele have autism, ADHD or both,” he said. “It’s fascinating for me to be able to explain to parents what’s going on in their kids’ brains and I can be a positive role model for them.”
Adamson helped establish the IEP Student Center in South Jordan (1682 W. Reunion Ave., Suite 4B), a nonprofit founded by attorneys, educators and parents to foster advocacy for children with special needs or disabilities.
The center provides representation, helps with conflict resolution, supports the rights of parents and students, and maintains accountability for schools to abide by IEP plans.
Adamson, a West Jordan resident, earned his law degree at the University of La Verne and worked with the Disability Rights Legal Center in Los Angeles. He said when a child’s education isn’t going the way it should, there are several options to advocate for students.
Most often, he is contacted when a child is expelled or suspended. If the behavior that got the student in trouble is a manifestation of their disability, Adamson starts a conversation with school officials to walk through the child’s IEP to make sure all issues are being addressed correctly. Often, he finds teachers are overworked, schools are underfunded and parents are ashamed.
“If you’re constantly getting called to the school, maybe your kid is hitting other kids, maybe your kid’s the bully, a parent ends up feeling like it’s a judgment on them,” Adamson said. “I try to strip that embarrassment away and not talk about the situation like it’s a moral judgment.”
He said IEP students are often considered less intelligent than mainstream kids, but his experience has proven that to be false. Adamson points to his own success as an attorney and to Ana Victoria Espino, who, in 2024, became the first person with Down syndrome to graduate with a law degree.
“So, guess who’s in college now?” Adamson asked. “A bunch of people that were never going to be in college before because their moms didn’t take no for an answer. They were creative about every single thing that they could come up with, and now we have those kids that are graduating from college, and they’re going to law schools, they’re going to med schools.”
Adamson said the state of Utah is required to assess every student under the age of 20 to determine if they have special needs or a disability, and they’re required to educate them. It’s his job, and the job of the IEP Student Center, to make sure that’s happening.
To further help parents, Adamson is starting a podcast called “Ask an IEP Lawyer Show,” which should be launched this spring. For more information, visit IepStudentCenter.org.