May 20, 2008 4:19 PM
Special Ed, IEPs, Wright's Law, and empowered parenting
A brief excerpt from a free newsletter for parents of kids with special needs, followed by my soapbox :)
Spring is here and the end of the school year is fast approaching. Yes, it's IEP season.
IEP meeting
Do you understand what your role is at IEP meetings? Do you know how to request that an IEP be revised? Do you know that the IEP must include measurable goals? Do you know that the school must provide you with progress reports on a regular basis?Do you know the required members of your child's IEP team? Do you know who may be excused from IEP meetings, when, how? Are there circumstances when a child's IEP may be changed without convening an IEP meeting?
Does the IEP team have to address a child's behavioral needs in the IEP? Don't miss the special tip at the end of the newsletter.
It's time to take a closer look at the legal requirements of IEPs. If you have questions about IEPs, please look at our new multi-media training program, Legal Requirements of IEPs. The program shows you exactly what the law requires.
In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate you'll find answers to your questions about IEPs,and how to use tactics and strategies to get quality services in your child's IEP. You'll even find a unique way to introduce your child to the IEP Team.
See the entire newsletter here.
This is a terrific issue of Wright's Law's free monthly newsletter - which you can sign up for at their site.
With four kids with IEPs (for those new here, we adopted three boys with Down syndrome following the birth of our son with DS), I must admit I was overwhelmed in the beginning. I trusted school personnel to plan a good program for each of my sons.
We coasted through okay. But now I thank God every day that a couple years ago a teacher came along who was not interested in investing her best to help my kids reach their potential.
That, coupled with an administration that refused to respond to my alerts finally lit a fire under me. Putting aside book projects, I turned my attention where it should have been from the beginning - educating myself to become the advocate my kids needed and deserved.
Eighteen months later I can say that it's been a lot of work, but it's been worth it to get all four of my kids into true IEPs - that is, Individualized Education Programs.
I've learned that the law is on my children's side. That's why the I in IEP - and Individualized has become a beautiful and empowering word for me in dealing with public schools, where many people who care and are doing the right thing by our kids are often thwarted by those who are stuck in the status quo.
Don't get me wrong. I know it's not an easy thing to be in special ed these days. A program designed to help children with disabilities is being stretched and pulled by more and more demands for IEPs for children without specific syndromes or diagnoses. The need for school districts to protect themselves has led to TONS of paperwork, putting an excruciating burden on teachers who were trained to and would rather be working with kids than trying to fulfill ever more ridiculous demands for documentation.
(The Virginia Alternate Assessment program has gone way beyond ridiculous and is crippling teachers with unreasonable paperwork taking months and months or preparation - way beyond the week of SOLs required for the general ed population.)
So wouldn't you think that teachers who care and are working conscientiously for the good of their students would be upheld and supported by administrators who make more money while having little if any contact with the students whose disabilities their jobs depend on?
I know that's a novel idea, but why is it that the people who work the hardest delivering the services our tax dollars fund are the lowest people on the totem pole? And why does it often seem that the whole raison d'etre of administrative types is to deny actual services and staff support in the classroom, thus adding to the burden and strain?
Ah. You begin to see the problem with becoming an educated parent dealing with a school system which would prefer parents just go along with the flow :)
But when you see your son with Down syndrome bringing home a report he did on his own on Egypt/King Tut/mummies because a teacher took the time to modify the curriculum and create a learning situation in which his imagination could soar - well, that makes it worth it.
If you're having an IEP meeting soon and don't know what you're doing, my advice is Do. Not. Sign. Take your proposed IEP home and talk to someone who knows more than you about what it all means. Call a parent who you know is a strong advocate. Look up advocacy groups in your area (in Loudoun, that would be LARC).
Then begin the work, knowing it will take you at least six months - and maybe even a year to turn your child's education around. Just remember, no one cares about your child and his future like you do. Some teachers are phonies, And some care deeply, but are bound by pressures from higher-ups, who don't even want the teacher talking to you honestly about what your child needs. Some face backlash if they are too honest with parents.
The only way to know for sure your child's education is progressing as it should is to take control. And the only way to take control is to understand the law. The law is complicated, but you just take it a step at a time. You will find that often the people administering the programs don't understand the law as well as you do. That's very empowering.
While the law is complicated, the word I'm using most these days to arrange my children's education is simple: INDIVIDUALIZED. A student doesn't have to fit into an existing program. The program must be built to meet his individual needs. That's the IDEA law - they can only ignore it when parents let them get away with it.
Wasn't meaning to do a soapbox on this. But maybe someone out there needs to hear it. If so - and if you are just beginning - Godspeed on your journey!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
for more on Wright's Law, see What about "draft" IEPs?
Posted in Autism, Disabilities, Down syndrome, Loudoun County, Public schools, Special education | Permalink
Comments
Thank you for this! My daughter is 4 years old and has Cerebral Palsy and we have an IEP scheduled for tomorrow for summer school! I just happen to come across this site. I'm marking you as one of my favorites:) Thanks!
Posted by: Trish | May 21, 2008 12:38 PM
