Preparing for the School Aged IEP - Needs
It's just plain difficult - figuring out what your child is going to need in the public education system without ever having been there. Of course we can all find those lists of "must have's". But truly each child is unique and there are no cookie cutter needs. That is of course why they call the plans Individual Education Programs.
Early intervention for most, is a great experience. Our kids have Special Education teachers overseeing them, along with multitudes of aides. The teachers hold our hands and talk with us one on one. In most cases, there is a child to teacher/aide ratio of at least 10 to 1. Our privately hired aides are welcome and greeted with open arms. We feel safe and secure. I now refer to those days as my "spoiled years".
Enter Kindergarten or other first year experience in our Public Schools. Firstly, thanks to recent multitudes of sex offenders, kidnappings, horrendous violence in schools, and the likes, there are new rules and regulations for ALL parents and students. Our kids sometimes walk through metal detectors on the way to their kindergarten classes. Parents cannot wander into the school without prior permission, signing forms and wearing special ID. Children either are bussed or dropped off at the end of walkways no matter how apprehensive or young they are (I vaguely remember Mom walking me into my Kindergarten classroom every day). Kids as young as 5 are thrust into a full day program and are told about Zero Tolerance policies. They are made to sign anti-bullying contracts (even when they can't completely print their names). The student/teacher ratio just bumped up to a whopping 25/1. It's a Brave New World (thank you, Mr. Huxley).
Add to this a child with special needs and a specially designed individual educational program. Who decides what your child needs? How do they know? How do you know? How do you know if they really know?
The best thing you can do for your child is to sit down and make lists. Firstly, you need to make a list of your child's strengths. Now, this is harder than it sounds. You've been focused on fixing the difficulties and can probably rattle off a few without thinking. But strengths are oh so important. And strengths can be as simple as "is a good eater", "is bright", "is polite". You need these so that you can present to the IEP team a list of things they will not have from any of the many evaluations or reports. Like we all do, the school members of the IEP team need to know what makes your child who he/she is. The whole big picture. Not just the problem parts.
The second list is, of course, the problem spots. I'm sure I don't have to give examples as you've been working and dealing with them most probably since birth.
Your next step is to take these lists and think about what things help your child overcome the difficulties and what things encourage the strengths. For instance, if your child has sensory processing difficulties and chews on his shirt, does chewing candy or gum satisfy this oral craving? If your child is physically unable to write, can she type on a keyboard? Does your child naturally present his polite nature or does he need incentives or rewards to remind him?
These things are part of her educational process. Even though "child is allowed to have chewing gum or candy in class" does not seem to be an "educational need" on the surface, it is. If your child cannot pay attention, he cannot learn. If chewing candy helps him, then it is an educational need.
You know your child better than anyone ever will (besides the child himself). Your input at the IEP meeting is invaluable. The school will be looking at evaluations done in Early Intervention. In our experience, that was the worst place to evaluate our son. He did so incredibly well there. Of course, the class was only 2 1/2 hours. And he had a multitude of accommodations by the staff. And a really great teacher. So the evaluation gave the school false hope that he really didn't need much help in Kindergarten at all. It was through our own persistence that we achieved getting what he needed in place (and after some major failures without those things).
So this is your homework. Make your lists. Incidentally, you might find these help you at home as well.
Early intervention for most, is a great experience. Our kids have Special Education teachers overseeing them, along with multitudes of aides. The teachers hold our hands and talk with us one on one. In most cases, there is a child to teacher/aide ratio of at least 10 to 1. Our privately hired aides are welcome and greeted with open arms. We feel safe and secure. I now refer to those days as my "spoiled years".
Enter Kindergarten or other first year experience in our Public Schools. Firstly, thanks to recent multitudes of sex offenders, kidnappings, horrendous violence in schools, and the likes, there are new rules and regulations for ALL parents and students. Our kids sometimes walk through metal detectors on the way to their kindergarten classes. Parents cannot wander into the school without prior permission, signing forms and wearing special ID. Children either are bussed or dropped off at the end of walkways no matter how apprehensive or young they are (I vaguely remember Mom walking me into my Kindergarten classroom every day). Kids as young as 5 are thrust into a full day program and are told about Zero Tolerance policies. They are made to sign anti-bullying contracts (even when they can't completely print their names). The student/teacher ratio just bumped up to a whopping 25/1. It's a Brave New World (thank you, Mr. Huxley).
Add to this a child with special needs and a specially designed individual educational program. Who decides what your child needs? How do they know? How do you know? How do you know if they really know?
The best thing you can do for your child is to sit down and make lists. Firstly, you need to make a list of your child's strengths. Now, this is harder than it sounds. You've been focused on fixing the difficulties and can probably rattle off a few without thinking. But strengths are oh so important. And strengths can be as simple as "is a good eater", "is bright", "is polite". You need these so that you can present to the IEP team a list of things they will not have from any of the many evaluations or reports. Like we all do, the school members of the IEP team need to know what makes your child who he/she is. The whole big picture. Not just the problem parts.
The second list is, of course, the problem spots. I'm sure I don't have to give examples as you've been working and dealing with them most probably since birth.
Your next step is to take these lists and think about what things help your child overcome the difficulties and what things encourage the strengths. For instance, if your child has sensory processing difficulties and chews on his shirt, does chewing candy or gum satisfy this oral craving? If your child is physically unable to write, can she type on a keyboard? Does your child naturally present his polite nature or does he need incentives or rewards to remind him?
These things are part of her educational process. Even though "child is allowed to have chewing gum or candy in class" does not seem to be an "educational need" on the surface, it is. If your child cannot pay attention, he cannot learn. If chewing candy helps him, then it is an educational need.
You know your child better than anyone ever will (besides the child himself). Your input at the IEP meeting is invaluable. The school will be looking at evaluations done in Early Intervention. In our experience, that was the worst place to evaluate our son. He did so incredibly well there. Of course, the class was only 2 1/2 hours. And he had a multitude of accommodations by the staff. And a really great teacher. So the evaluation gave the school false hope that he really didn't need much help in Kindergarten at all. It was through our own persistence that we achieved getting what he needed in place (and after some major failures without those things).
So this is your homework. Make your lists. Incidentally, you might find these help you at home as well.
posted by AS Mom at
12/31/2005 03:55:00 PM
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