Tips for a successful Individual Education Plan (IEP) -

¨ If possible, choose to live in school districts who have the best services based on your child’s disability. There is no formal listing or comparison of such services since each child has an ‘Individualized’ plan. Use informal networks such as Jeena or PHP (Parents Helping Parents) to share information on school districts and services.

¨ Make sure there is an evaluation of the child done ahead of time, and get the school district to pay for it. Include an evaluation for 'Assistive Technology' if appropriate. For handicapped children, a good place for evaluation is the visual clinic in Berkeley.

¨ Ask for classroom visits (2 or 3 times) prior to deciding the placement and observe the class. Choose the timing well: too early in the school year might mean that the teacher as well as student mix might change by the next year. If special equipment is needed, ensure that it is available in the classroom.

¨ Teacher & the style of teaching are very important since the purpose of all services is that it should result in classroom productivity. Ratio of 'students:teacher' should be as small as possible.

¨ Get placement in a classroom that matches your child’s ability. One thumb-rule: if your child is at the top of his/her class, it is time to move on to a more challenging setup.

¨ If it's an on-going IEP, speak to the concerned professionals 1 or 2 months before the IEP date to get a feel of their thinking. Also share with them as to what you have in mind. Based on that, go into the IEP with as few surprises as possible on all sides.

¨ If there are any new reports to be presented at the IEP, ask for those reports at least 2 weeks before IEP. This will give you enough time to go through the reports; otherwise the meeting time will be spent in going through the documents instead of discussions.

¨ You can tape-record the IEP discussions. Need to give prior notice to the school district.

¨ Be very detailed and specific in the IEP. Example: The bus ride to school should be no longer than 30 minutes or that a specific lunchtime should be provided for the child. There is a provision to ask for a home tutor if needed. Home tutor can also go to the school after school hours.

¨ In an IEP first focus on the needs and goals for the child. Then put the onus on the school district to find resources giving them a deadline to find the resources for them to meet the needs. If school is unable to find resources suggest you will find a private resource and get them to pay for it.

¨ Ensure that all relevant decision-makers are present in the IEP. If a decision-maker has to leave, ensure that there is someone remaining in the meeting who has the authority to make the decisions.

¨ Participate in school / class activities and be in regular contact with school professionals. This will make them aware that you are closely watching the progress of your child, and demonstrate your keenness for your child to do well. Attend seminars/workshops that your school district might offer sometimes. Request for Parent training programs to get help from professional behavior consultants. Be a part of any Parent support initiatives in your school district (for e.g., 'Autism Task Force' in Fremont Unified)

¨ Hold the teachers accountable. Insist on a regular call or a note from the therapist or teacher. Go to the schools and check on them frequently. Use a checklist as a tool so the teachers can fill them easily and provide specific feedback

IEP Don’ts

¨ Do not sign the IEP documents at the IEP meeting itself. Bring them home and review at leisure, away from the pressures of the meeting. Note: Services will start ONLY after you have signed the IEP. If you are satisfied with most services except 1 or 2, you can conditionally sign the IEP so that the rest of the services can start immediately.

¨ Do not adopt as ‘Us-Vs-Them’ approach to the IEPs and other discussions. These professionals will spend a lot of time with your child, and is it important to consider everyone as part of a team.

¨ Do not be too emotional at the IEP meetings. It is useful to express your feelings in an effective way, but getting carried away by emotions may not help.

¨ Do not choose the wrong assessments / tests. Try and be consistent with the tests chosen from year to year, so that measurement is also consistent.

¨ Do not push your child on to an unwilling teacher.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I track progress of my child's IEP?

To ensure this, you need to break down the IEP goals to specific tasks that are measurable time units. Make the IEP comprehensive, specific, sequential and mutually developed. Communicate with each professional separately and with the teacher regularly.

How do I find out the age-appropriate skills that my child should be doing?

Age-appropriate skills should be a benchmark for the IEP. You can go into Internet search engines (suggested web site - www.ldonline.org) or get private assessments from professionals who give guidelines on where the child should be. Another way is to check out IEPs of other parents.

My child is doing a particular task at home but not doing it at school. I get frustrated when the school constantly says"...cannot do this task" when I know very well that he can do it at home. How do I handle this?

Make sure that he's doing that task to your spouse, relatives, friends (different scenarios). If he's able to do it, then it means that he's somewhat able to generalize the skill, and that he's not doing it ONLY at school. In this case, check the following:

- See if the goals are appropriate enough to include generalization skills

- Put the onus on the school as to why the problem is occurring and ask them to present the solution (as opposed to you struggling hard to explain the behavior)

- Ask for more services, 1:1 or more service time etc

- Find a different program

I feel that my child is not challenged enough. He's not showing excitement/interest or even refusing to go to school. What should I do?

See if this occurs frequently or if it's rare. Children normally show sluggishness after holidays or even Mondays. But, if you feel that this is an issue, observe the child in the classroom and ask the teacher to show you the materials. Be specific and get details. Find out if your child would feel under-challenged with the activities presented in the classroom. Sometimes, he might have been overwhelmed and could have exhibited the behavior.

How do I find out what classroom set up works for my child?

Take into account your child's personality, aptitude and check out the teacher's style and the classroom in general. A good teacher has to correctly tap into your child's strength and also provide frequent opportunities for generalization into social/community settings.

Keep in mind though that your child's teacher could change. Also, as age progresses, your own child changes too.

Mainstream Vs Special Ed - How to find the right balance?

Stay in touch with your child's program and check his progress constantly. You can request for mainstreaming opportunities (in units of time) in the IEP itself. Usually, the teacher can help you make this decision based on the child's readiness, relative strength (at what time of the day and what activity would best work out in a normal classroom etc.), availability of an aid etc. Some schools are more open to mainstreaming than others so if you're keen on this, you can make it as part of your finding the right school for your child.