(((An I.E.P is an Individualized Education Plan set into action by the parents and school district to determine things like goals, classroom placement, and what extra services are given to your child. Services range from personal aids in the classroom to physical and occupational therapy sessions. )))
It's that time of year again. Time to have my annual IEP meeting with the school district. I never look forward to these meetings. In my experience if you go in there and sit and agree to everything they propose then they go quite quickly and smoothly. Fortunately for my son, that only happened once.
During my first IEP meeting I was so uneducated about the process that I did go in there and agree to everything, I thought that they knew best where to put him and I trusted them to help me navigate the system. This ended up in a placement for my son that really was not quite right. I never felt good about the class he was in but I didn't know what I could do about it or even where to start. Having just moved here I didn't know anyone else who was going through the process that I could turn to. With the regional Center you have a case worker that can answer your questions but many times (not always) parents can be on their own when it comes to navigating things like IEP plans and our local school districts. When I went to my first IEP meeting I didn't even know what it was about or how important it was. I just got a notice to show up for a screening. Anyway, my point is that unaided by someone who knows the law or has been through it before it can sometimes feel like you have no control with the school district. That's how I felt until I met a wonderfully supportive lady who works at Rowell Family Empowerment in Redding, CA. I heard of Rowell through a playgroup and checked out their website. They offer many different types of services to families in our area who have children with special needs. I learned that they offer IEP training courses for free so I signed right up. The first thing they handed me at the meeting was a big green book containing all federal and state special education laws with layperson translations in the margin
s. The class was so amazing that it inspired me to take charge of my son's education and become a much better advocate for him. I highly recommend attending one of their many IEP training classes. The training will empower you greatly in your adventures navigating the school district. I will be forever grateful to the help that Rowell Family Empowerment gave me and my family. Please check out their site and see how they can help you or vice versa :). http://www.rfenc.org/
Flash forward a few years from my first IEP meeting to this year and our current IEP meeting for next school year. This is an important meeting too. I was surprised to hear from the board of 6 members of the school system that they believed he would do better starting out in the Special Education class for 1/2 of the day. My son was doing so well in preschool and I had a hard time understanding right off why they wanted him in the special class for 1/2 of the day. From my trainings with Rowell and other research on the Internet I knew that they could not put him in that class without my consent. If they wanted him in there they were going to have to convince me that he belonged in there. So I began to ask questions. Direct to the point questions. I soon learned that although they were supposed to actually visit my son in the classroom to evaluate him they never did so they were making placement recommendations without ever having met him. When a representative from his current school was consulted she could not really give a concrete answer when I asked her why she believed he needed to be in the special education class. In fact when I pressed further for examples of a situation that would demonstrate his need for closer supervision she could not give one. I came to find out that she recommended his placement based on him not really knowing what to do with himself in the "down times" as she put it.
That was it! That was all I needed to hear. So basically they were recommending to me that he be placed in the special education class based on the fact that he does exceedingly well at his academics, is friendly, outgoing, and social but like most other preschoolers needs direction in the "down times" and sometimes "has trouble sitting still without a prompt". As far as I was concerned after hearing all they had to say, I was more convinced than ever that my boy needed to be in the regular class the majority of the day. I believe that appropriate social models are very important for my son at this stage in his development and I was not going to let them start him off with one hand tied behind his back. It took some restating of my case and wishes many times but eventually they came around to my side of things. They agreed to start him in the regular class the whole day with the exception of 30 minutes a day he will be pulled out for speech, OT, and to work on his IEP goals. The school will meet with me 30 days after school starts to see how everything is going. I am very happy with this outcome. I would not have felt right letting them put him where they were suggesting. I know he needs more of a challenge. I've been to his school and I've seen him working that "aid" for all she'
s worth and I'm confidant that he will rise to the occasion when we raise the bar a little bit higher for him in August.
The thing with IEP meetings is that you can't loose your cool. You still have to work with these people and maintain good working relationships with them so no matter what never ever lose your temper. You'll be surprised how soon people fold when you just keep repeating what you want for your child and you spit out a few lega-eese terms like "least restrictive environment" and "appropriate social models".. Bone up on some negotiating skills, watch a few episodes of Pawn Stars, and take the class from Rowell Family Empowerment in Redding Ca. Be prepared to hear many times "we just want what is best for your child".....but remember that you are the Mother / Father and you KNOW what's best for your child. A parent that knows that and trusts their gut and can speak up for their child is the best advocate a kid can get. Good luck everyone!
It's that time of year again. Time to have my annual IEP meeting with the school district. I never look forward to these meetings. In my experience if you go in there and sit and agree to everything they propose then they go quite quickly and smoothly. Fortunately for my son, that only happened once.
During my first IEP meeting I was so uneducated about the process that I did go in there and agree to everything, I thought that they knew best where to put him and I trusted them to help me navigate the system. This ended up in a placement for my son that really was not quite right. I never felt good about the class he was in but I didn't know what I could do about it or even where to start. Having just moved here I didn't know anyone else who was going through the process that I could turn to. With the regional Center you have a case worker that can answer your questions but many times (not always) parents can be on their own when it comes to navigating things like IEP plans and our local school districts. When I went to my first IEP meeting I didn't even know what it was about or how important it was. I just got a notice to show up for a screening. Anyway, my point is that unaided by someone who knows the law or has been through it before it can sometimes feel like you have no control with the school district. That's how I felt until I met a wonderfully supportive lady who works at Rowell Family Empowerment in Redding, CA. I heard of Rowell through a playgroup and checked out their website. They offer many different types of services to families in our area who have children with special needs. I learned that they offer IEP training courses for free so I signed right up. The first thing they handed me at the meeting was a big green book containing all federal and state special education laws with layperson translations in the margin
s. The class was so amazing that it inspired me to take charge of my son's education and become a much better advocate for him. I highly recommend attending one of their many IEP training classes. The training will empower you greatly in your adventures navigating the school district. I will be forever grateful to the help that Rowell Family Empowerment gave me and my family. Please check out their site and see how they can help you or vice versa :). http://www.rfenc.org/Flash forward a few years from my first IEP meeting to this year and our current IEP meeting for next school year. This is an important meeting too. I was surprised to hear from the board of 6 members of the school system that they believed he would do better starting out in the Special Education class for 1/2 of the day. My son was doing so well in preschool and I had a hard time understanding right off why they wanted him in the special class for 1/2 of the day. From my trainings with Rowell and other research on the Internet I knew that they could not put him in that class without my consent. If they wanted him in there they were going to have to convince me that he belonged in there. So I began to ask questions. Direct to the point questions. I soon learned that although they were supposed to actually visit my son in the classroom to evaluate him they never did so they were making placement recommendations without ever having met him. When a representative from his current school was consulted she could not really give a concrete answer when I asked her why she believed he needed to be in the special education class. In fact when I pressed further for examples of a situation that would demonstrate his need for closer supervision she could not give one. I came to find out that she recommended his placement based on him not really knowing what to do with himself in the "down times" as she put it.
That was it! That was all I needed to hear. So basically they were recommending to me that he be placed in the special education class based on the fact that he does exceedingly well at his academics, is friendly, outgoing, and social but like most other preschoolers needs direction in the "down times" and sometimes "has trouble sitting still without a prompt". As far as I was concerned after hearing all they had to say, I was more convinced than ever that my boy needed to be in the regular class the majority of the day. I believe that appropriate social models are very important for my son at this stage in his development and I was not going to let them start him off with one hand tied behind his back. It took some restating of my case and wishes many times but eventually they came around to my side of things. They agreed to start him in the regular class the whole day with the exception of 30 minutes a day he will be pulled out for speech, OT, and to work on his IEP goals. The school will meet with me 30 days after school starts to see how everything is going. I am very happy with this outcome. I would not have felt right letting them put him where they were suggesting. I know he needs more of a challenge. I've been to his school and I've seen him working that "aid" for all she'
s worth and I'm confidant that he will rise to the occasion when we raise the bar a little bit higher for him in August.The thing with IEP meetings is that you can't loose your cool. You still have to work with these people and maintain good working relationships with them so no matter what never ever lose your temper. You'll be surprised how soon people fold when you just keep repeating what you want for your child and you spit out a few lega-eese terms like "least restrictive environment" and "appropriate social models".. Bone up on some negotiating skills, watch a few episodes of Pawn Stars, and take the class from Rowell Family Empowerment in Redding Ca. Be prepared to hear many times "we just want what is best for your child".....but remember that you are the Mother / Father and you KNOW what's best for your child. A parent that knows that and trusts their gut and can speak up for their child is the best advocate a kid can get. Good luck everyone!
Did you know:
*As a parent you have the right at any time to notify the school district that you want an additional IEP meeting to take place. Even if you had one two months ago but want to take another crack at it or something isn't sitting well with you about the goals.
*As a parent you have the right to bring anyone with you to your IEP meeting as a family advocate? I had someone from Rowell Family Empowerment come with me last year and she was a great support for me. The school board typically has 5-8 staff members present. It gets hard negotiating with just you against that many professionals. Everyone is bound to second guess themselves when they are outnumbered like that. Follow your gut and bring a friend.
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