Takeaways:
The IEP team is supposed to collaborate to develop an effective, meaningful plan with annual goals, specially designed instruction, and uniquely designed special education and related services. That’s a big charge, and all too often, IEP team meetings are rote, bland, and driven by the school team with little parent participation encouraged or allowed. In this episode I’ll walk you through the following six steps I take to prepare for every IEP meeting I attend. Take a listen, and let me know what you think!
All too often I get a new client that brings me minutes from their IEP meeting that read like this: School offered Parent Rights. Parent declined. School read draft IEP. Parent shared concerns about toileting and said [child] enjoyed playing with a cousin on Sunday. The IEP was accepted. No further discussion ensued.
Here’s the problem with that (I’m going to try to break the record for number of colons in a post): The IEP team is supposed to collaborate to develop an effective, meaningful plan with annual goals, specially designed instruction, and uniquely designed special education and related services. How could that be accomplished in the meetings described above?
My opinion: it can’t. Each person at the IEP table should meaningfully contribute to the IEP meeting. The key to such participation lies in preparation (didn’t your grandpa have a quote like “Preparation is the key to success?”).
In this episode I’ll walk you through the following six steps I take to prepare for every IEP meeting I attend:
Following this plan, while a bit time consuming the week of the meeting, will ensure that you marry your subjective gut feelings with objective information; collaborate with the IEP team, and keep the child at the center of the IEP discussions. Isn’t that the goal?
Never miss out on a new episode by joining my mailing list here: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f43ff3f99f8080026e08ed7
Listen to Episode 08 here: Getting More Services Out Of An IEP here: https://ashleybarlowco.com/getting-more-services-out-of-an-iep/
Calling all parents, teachers, school staff, self advocates, disability organization staff, doctors...
Parents of child in special education are exhausted. Teachers and school staff...
How’s this all going to work? This is the great part. You don’t need to worry about how the content...
Calling all parents, teachers, school staff, self advocates, disability organization staff, doctors, therapists, coaches, tutors, grandparents, babysitters, community organization staff, volunteers, … Calling anyone that supports a student with a disability!!!
Parents of a child in special education are exhausted. Teachers and school staff are about the busiest professionals in the workforce. Nobody has time for in-person trainings, and thanks to COVID-19, few can safely access in-person trainings right now!
How’s this all going to work? This is the great part. You don’t need to worry about how the content will arrive, especially if you join my mailing list (link in bio), like me on Facebook and Youtube, follow me on Instagram, and subscribe to the podcast.
We're busy curating all the best resources and content for you and your business.