Special Needs

Articles

...their learning difference in low-stakes contexts. Add self-advocacy to the IEP as a transition goal. Federal law requires IEPs to include transition planning...one way it affects their schoolwork in three separate settings (classroom, IEP meeting, conversation with a trusted adult)." This isn't about the student...

You walk into an IEP meeting prepared to advocate...parents lose their footing. IEP advocacy isn't about being combative....use them. Your Legal Rights at IEP Meetings. IDEA, the Individuals...participate as equal members of the IEP team. That means more than sitting...have the right to: Request an IEP meeting at any time, not just...

The night before an IEP meeting has a particular weight to it. You are...and placement rationales. Here is what careful IEP meeting preparation looks like, from the week before...placement rationales. Here is what careful IEP meeting preparation looks like, from the week before to the moment...

If you've ever sat across the table at an IEP meeting wondering whether the services on that document will show up in...services get delivered and enforced. Part D of IDEA, which funds teacher preparation programs, technical assistance to schools, and research dissemination, would...

...team to prepare their child for real life. The parents promise, at the IEP meeting, they will have their son or daughter start doing chores, prepare...doing chores, prepare his/her lunch, help out in the kitchen during meal preparation or clean up or begin learning all key grooming skills. I have witnessed...

...members of their son's or daughter's IEP team. They are often anxious weeks...the complex system involved in the preparation of IEP documents, the individualized...system involved in the preparation of IEP documents, the individualized special...Being a knowledgeable partner at the IEP table means understanding how to be...

Most parents sitting in IEP meetings don't realize their 14-year-old...side. Under IDEA, students become full IEP team members starting at age 14, and...by accident. They're the result of preparation that starts at home, long before the...state), your child must be invited to any IEP meeting where post-secondary goals...

You've heard the term dozens of times. It's in your child's IEP. It's on the therapy center's website. Your pediatrician mentions it when...recommendation, choosing between treatment options, or reviewing your child's IEP, understanding what kind of evidence you're looking at changes the questions...

When you're three hours into an IEP meeting arguing over whether your child needs a full-time...Negotiations. Finland, Sweden, and Norway don't have IEP equivalents in the way U.S. parents recognize them....real-time support. What U.S. parents fight for at IEP meetings (smaller class sizes, co-teaching models,...

Your child's IEP says "general education classroom with co-teaching support." You agreed to it at the meeting. Now you're wondering what that means in practice: what...

You learn "person-first language" at your first IEP meeting. A child with autism. A person with Down syndrome. A student with a learning disability. The logic is clear: the person comes first, the disability...

The acronyms arrive early in your special education journey: FAPE and LRE. You'll see them in IEP documents, hear them in meetings, watch attorneys reference them when disputes arise. They sound bureaucratic, but they're the foundation of your child's...