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Advocacy Services include: IEP assistance and planning, parent coaching, researching specific services and grants
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What to do when a school “doesn’t know what to do” with your child:
*It seems this happens most often when a child has an IQ in the average range but exhibits behavior, has a limited attention span, may have other issues that are hindering their performance in the classroom independently. If this is the case, and the school understands the child needs the Least Restrictive Environment, but does not know how to provide that without a one-on-one assistant, here are some tips that may meet the needs of the student and the school.
-Is the child in a general classroom where there is a staff member from Special Education already? There maybe an Inclusion teacher or assistant that can help many children with special needs in the classroom modify assignments, help provide visuals to keep the student on task, provide behavior reinforcement, help with an assignment book or some other home-to-school communication book.
-Is there another child with special needs that your child can be paired up with to receive support from an assistant in the general classroom? This situation would allow your child the benefit of having a staff member that is already helping one student, help your child too.
-Really look at what time of day when your child needs assistance. Do they have difficulty with transitions? Can they do their classwork independently? Is the end of the day harder for them to focus? See if there is a staff member that could support your child at certain times of the day? Could your child access a special education classroom for short periods of time for assistance?
-IEPs are written to meet the needs of the child in the Least Restrictive Environment to access the curriculum. There is plenty of wiggle room to write an individual education plan for each individual child. School’s may need to get creative in how they meet children’s needs and how they write IEPs.
-Enlist the help of someone on the IEP team, administrator, Special Education Department Staff or an advocate if needed to help with ideas.
What to do when a school “doesn’t know what to do with your child” who has multiple severe disabilities:
-Strive to get as much support from related service providers (OT, PT, Speech/Communication, Vision, Hearing, etc) as possible. When you look at a Developmental Checklist (this can be Googled), many beginning skills fall under OT, PT, Speech/Communication, Vision, Hearing, etc. Those skills have to be addressed as much as academics when you have a child with multiple severe disabilties.
-Keep academics simple. Think of the beginning skills babies are learning but we want the skills to be meaningful. Again, going back to a Developmental Checklist, you want to start with item identification, sorting, one on one correspondence, following directions, increasing attention spans, etc.
-Keep in mind the feelings of the child. How do they feel after positioning? How do they feel after working for 30 minutes? They may need extra breaks, or sensory items to help them cope with the stress of intense work or therapy. Busy-ness has it’s place. Intense intervention has it’s place. But when a student is in school 7 hours a day and is battling positioning, academics, and therapies as well as the environment in a special education/general education classroom, the needs/feelings of the student still need to be considered.
-IEP meetings need to always include all service providers. Again, the teacher plus OT, PT, Speech/Communication, Vision, etc. need to all be present to discuss all the progress and needs of your child. You need to get the whole picture of the vision of what the school is presenting at the IEP meeting. When behavior issues become a problem, questions to ask:
-Does the child have a method of communication? (verbal, AAC, sign, picture cards)
-Does the child know his daily schedule? (at home and at school)
-Does the child have a behavior plan that is being followed?
What to do if you are having problems with your child’s IEP:
-Contact their teacher or caseworker first. Whoever spends the most time with your child each day has the most control over what their day will entail. This should be your first point of contact.
-If communication with the teacher/caseworker is not effective, try to reach out to another member of the IEP team. Sometimes parents form stronger relationships with service providers or administrators. These team members can also call meetings and make or propose changes.
-If the first two options are not effective, parents can request an IEP meeting in writing. It is helpful to add what you would like to change in this document so the appropriate team members will be present.
-Another option is to contact the Special Education Supervisor in your district with your concerns.
-Lastly, you can hire an advocate to assist you through the process of your request.
Tips for the First Days of School:
-Review your child’s IEP. Be familiar with the goals they are working on, how much time they are working in what settings and who will they be working with.
-If you are in a new school/classroom, see if you can schedule a tour of the school or the classroom ahead of time. This may or may not be possible for a variety of reasons, but you can ask.
-Once you know your child’s teacher, schedule a conference to see if there are any changes in district policies, staff changes or inform them of any changes in your child over the summer.
-Get contact information for every professional working with your child and communicate regularly.
-Ask about snack procedures and lunch procedures and have a plan for making sure your child has both daily.
-If the school has a form of daily communication with you (spiral notebook, email, etc.), make sure to respond or sign daily.
-Help the teacher out by providing extra of anything your child may need throughout the day (clothing-for spills and accidents, if they go through many pencils during the day-pencils!, favorite treats-Cheetos!, etc..)
–Start out with hope for a great year! Most professionals in Special Education are there because they have a family member with a special need or they have a passion for helping people. (Speaking as an educator with 20 years experience in Special Ed). Sometimes they get overwhelmed with the needs of others in their care, but at the end of the day, they sincerely want to help you and your child meet the goals in the IEP.
Tips for more effective IEP meetings:
-Keep copies of all documents.
-Share all outside and prior evaluations with the school.
-Communicate with your child’s Case Manager your concerns before the meeting.
-Ask questions about when services are readily available and how those services are meeting the needs of your child.
-Ask for a way to know when services are happening, either by a daily note, take-home folder, etc. Check the folder weekly to see the notes that the service-providers are making.
-Ask what changes the school will be proposing before the IEP meeting.
-Have communication lines open with everyone on your child’s IEP team.