Special Needs

Articles

...[student] will identify their learning difference by name and describe one way it affects their schoolwork in three separate settings (classroom, IEP meeting, conversation with a trusted adult)." This isn't about the student delivering a polished explanation. It's about beginning...

You walk into an IEP meeting prepared to advocate for your child....use them. Your Legal Rights at IEP Meetings. IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities...have the right to: Request an IEP meeting at any time, not just during the annual...evaluation data and reports before the meeting Request an independent educational...

The night before an IEP meeting has a particular weight...Here is what careful IEP meeting preparation looks like,...what careful IEP meeting preparation looks like, from the...to Gather Before the Meeting. Pull your materials...least two days before the meeting. Scrambling the night...number of days before the meeting if you request them....

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

...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 his/her...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...

...parents sitting in IEP meetings don't realize their 14-year-old...They're the result of preparation that starts at home,...home, long before the meeting. This isn't about teaching...point, not just for that meeting, but for how they see...be invited to any IEP meeting where post-secondary...teen isn't receiving meeting invitations by age 14,...

...their student and to the learning of the complex system involved in the preparation of IEP documents, the individualized special education plan for their...partner at the IEP table means understanding how to be prepared for these meetings and how to participate at them. It means having a calm and professional...

You've been told your child needs "a plan" to succeed in school. An IEP. A 504. Maybe both have been mentioned in passing during a meeting, or you've heard other parents reference them. But no one has explained which one your child qualifies for, what the difference is, or why it matters....

...to help you succeed. Teachers, counselors, and case managers initiated meetings and monitored your progress. Your parents attended every IEP meeting and...initiated meetings and monitored your progress. Your parents attended every IEP meeting and signed off on your accommodations. The entire process was driven by...

When you're three hours into an IEP meeting arguing over whether your child needs a full-time...real-time support. What U.S. parents fight for at IEP meetings (smaller class sizes, co-teaching models, sensory-friendly...already exists. The result: fewer adversarial meetings. When the system assumes variability, individual...

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 it looks like when it works, and what it looks like when it doesn't. Co-teaching isn't one...

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...