There are some things you need to keep in mind when you walk into an IEP meeting. You need to know what services they get and what you think they should get. It is not uncommon for the District to make a change (usually to less) in services without specifically informing you that they are suggesting a change. If you don't know what your child currently has they may recommend a reduction in services by simply saying we recommend that Child A receive group speech therapy one time per week for 20 minutes in a small group setting. If you have forgotten that your child is currently receiving therapy twice per week in a small group setting for 30 minutes and one time per week in an individual setting for 30 minutes then you might give up two sessions and ten minutes thus resulting in a total loss of services of 80 minutes per week. If we go in unprepared we have a lot to lose. So we need to ask ourselves the following questions.
First: What are the services my child currently has?
What specific areas does my child get support in? Speech/Ot/PT/APE/ABA/other
How many hours per week/month does my child get support?
Is that support in an individual/small group/group manner?
Who is supposed to give this support? Is it the therapist or an assistant to the therapist or a specific credentialed teacher or the school psychologist or someone else?
Do they receive push-in or pull-out services?
Second: What are the services I believe my child should get that they are not currently receiving?
Do they need an increase in current services or a switch from group to individual or from individual to group?
Do they need a change to push-in or a change to pull-out services?
Third: Has my child been making progress on each goal?
Has that progress led to my child being ready to move on from the support service they have been receiving?
If they have been making progress but are not ready to move on from the support service, does this goal lead to another goal or are they ready for a new direction with help?
If they have not made progress what is the reason? Was the goal too lofty? Did the District attempt to work on the goal? Was the goal just not right for my child?
Fourth: What will I do if they District recommends reducing or eliminating a particular service?
Do I agree that the service should be reduced or discontinued? If I agree that a service should be reduced or discontinued, why do I believe that? Is my belief based on what the District is telling me? If so, have they been reasonable and trustworthy in the past? If not, do I have information from a reliable independent expert that makes me believe that the service should be reduced or eliminated? If not, I suggest asking for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) so that you can get an unbiased opinion from an expert at the district's expense.
Going in to an IEP meeting with all of your information at your fingertips will make for less mistakes. Less mistakes means a better program for our children, and despite the fact that we will likely make some mistakes along the way, reducing those mistakes will make for the best possible program for our kids. Being prepared will make those mistakes we still make less important and have a minimal negative impact on our child's education.
No comments:
Post a Comment