Help Needed Setting Priorities for IEP Meeting

: Our school just completed a 3 month team evaluation on our 9 y.o.
: daughter, and during the IEP meeting, as the specialists started
: rattling off the myriad of learning disabilities they discovered,
: I realized that I was out of my league and could not participate
: at setting goals when I didn’t understand all the disabilities and
: what appropriate remedies or interventions would be. We postponed
: the second half of the IEP meeting for another week…: In addition to some auditory processing problems, which we had
: suspected, we learned that she has a very serious visual
: processing problem, which apparently is having a major impact on
: her learning. I would like to be an active participant in her IEP,
: but I’m not even sure where to start. Where do I go to determine
: — based on her test scores — what she needs to remediate. And
: with children who have a host of disabilities, how does one
: prioritize? Is there anyone reading this that might have a clue
: what is most important by looking at her test scores?: Stymied, and greatful for any advice you might have! Barb

: Our school just completed a 3 month team evaluation on our 9 y.o.
: daughter, and during the IEP meeting, as the specialists started
: rattling off the myriad of learning disabilities they discovered,
: I realized that I was out of my league and could not participate
: at setting goals when I didn’t understand all the disabilities and
: what appropriate remedies or interventions would be. We postponed
: the second half of the IEP meeting for another week…: In addition to some auditory processing problems, which we had
: suspected, we learned that she has a very serious visual
: processing problem, which apparently is having a major impact on
: her learning. I would like to be an active participant in her IEP,
: but I’m not even sure where to start. Where do I go to determine
: — based on her test scores — what she needs to remediate. And
: with children who have a host of disabilities, how does one
: prioritize? Is there anyone reading this that might have a clue
: what is most important by looking at her test scores?: Stymied, and greatful for any advice you might have! Barb

: Test scores are sometimes helpful but what’s also helpful is the reality of her school day. How are her problems with auditory and visual processing manifesting themselves? What’s proving hard for her in school?One of the things an IEP can accomplish is to “level the playing field” for children with learning differences. If because of her issues with auditory processing she has trouble with oral directions for a test, then her IEP could stipulate that before tests the teacher should sit down with her and go over the test one on one or that all test directions be written on the board. If she has troble knowing what the homework is, her IEP could stipulate that all her homework be emailed home or a weekly sheet given out.Those are two suggestions among many. Sometimes when writing an IEP is not the test scores that are most important but it is rather the everyday things happening in the classroom that are going wrong and led you to do the testing.Our school just completed a 3 month team evaluation on our 9 y.o.
: daughter, and during the IEP meeting, as the specialists started
: rattling off the myriad of learning disabilities they discovered,
: I realized that I was out of my league and could not participate
: at setting goals when I didn’t understand all the disabilities and
: what appropriate remedies or interventions would be. We postponed
: the second half of the IEP meeting for another week…: In addition to some auditory processing problems, which we had
: suspected, we learned that she has a very serious visual
: processing problem, which apparently is having a major impact on
: her learning. I would like to be an active participant in her IEP,
: but I’m not even sure where to start. Where do I go to determine
: — based on her test scores — what she needs to remediate. And
: with children who have a host of disabilities, how does one
: prioritize? Is there anyone reading this that might have a clue
: what is most important by looking at her test scores?: Stymied, and greatful for any advice you might have! Barb

: Our school just completed a 3 month team evaluation on our 9 y.o.
: daughter, and during the IEP meeting, as the specialists started
: rattling off the myriad of learning disabilities they discovered,
: I realized that I was out of my league and could not participate
: at setting goals when I didn’t understand all the disabilities and
: what appropriate remedies or interventions would be. We postponed
: the second half of the IEP meeting for another week…: In addition to some auditory processing problems, which we had
: suspected, we learned that she has a very serious visual
: processing problem, which apparently is having a major impact on
: her learning. I would like to be an active participant in her IEP,
: but I’m not even sure where to start. Where do I go to determine
: — based on her test scores — what she needs to remediate. And
: with children who have a host of disabilities, how does one
: prioritize? Is there anyone reading this that might have a clue
: what is most important by looking at her test scores?: Stymied, and greatful for any advice you might have! Barb I would like to give you a few suggestions on this particular problem. I am a future teacher and as a student we have been discussing the components of an IEP meeting in one of my classes. The people in charge of the IEP meeeting such as: the special education teacher, or the school counselor should make sure all IEP team members are on the “same page.” What is the use of having an IEP meeting if participants walk away not understanding? Educators sometimes spend so much time with IEP work that they forget that the parents do not know certain terms used and or what the test scores mean. I feel that in order to be an effiecient teacher everyone needs to know their part during the IEP meeting and then actually making sure that the IEP is being worked out. Here are a few suggestions that you might want to try when getting ready for the second half of the IEP meeting: 1. Ask questions… Anything you do not know ask. You are a vital part in your child’s life and your understanding is important. 2. Do your research… Be prepared as much as possible. Look on the web for information concerning all the learning disabilities that may concern your child. There are also several books found in the library on through the web that might be able to help you understand todays terminology. 3. Be prepared, try and somewhat monitor any improvements made in your child since implementing the IEP. I know this primarily is the teachers job, but any suggestions you could give on what works and what doesn’t with your child would be helpful to the teachers. 4. Be concerned and speak up. If you do not like something voice your opinion. This could be crucial in your child’s development. **** Remember parents are their child’s biggest advocate when getting the services that they need. Free resources are provides dealing with Special Education at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.htmlI hope this helps you…

Hi! I am a student that is majoring in special education. I have taken many classes on disabilities. Please, do not get discouraged at attending your daughter’s IEP meeting. It is very important that the parents be involved in these important decisions for their children. If you don’t understand some terms, you can look up many web sites that explain disabilities. For example, this web-site of www.ldonline.org can give information on different subjects. Go to the library and look for books on the subject. Ask the other members of the IEP as many questions as you want. Make the teacher explain what the disabilities are. Knowing about these disabilities will also help you to understand your daughter more socially. Test scores are not as important as how her disability is affecting her in real life. Whatever task is the most debilitating should be focused on the most. Please, don’t judge on test scores. People take tests differently than others. Some do well, some do poorly. I hope that everything works out for the best and that you learn a lot about your daughters disabiliites. I am sure you will do fine. She needs you. Thank you for listening to my suggestions. Christy: Our school just completed a 3 month team evaluation on our 9 y.o.
: daughter, and during the IEP meeting, as the specialists started
: rattling off the myriad of learning disabilities they discovered,
: I realized that I was out of my league and could not participate
: at setting goals when I didn’t understand all the disabilities and
: what appropriate remedies or interventions would be. We postponed
: the second half of the IEP meeting for another week…: In addition to some auditory processing problems, which we had
: suspected, we learned that she has a very serious visual
: processing problem, which apparently is having a major impact on
: her learning. I would like to be an active participant in her IEP,
: but I’m not even sure where to start. Where do I go to determine
: — based on her test scores — what she needs to remediate. And
: with children who have a host of disabilities, how does one
: prioritize? Is there anyone reading this that might have a clue
: what is most important by looking at her test scores?: Stymied, and greatful for any advice you might have! Barb

PASSWORD>aaG5Q/2ab5DJkHi Barb,I agree that what you need to know is how these disabilities are affecting her most, and how they relate to a given academic area. This is “where the rubber meets the road” and is the issue most likely to be overlooked in most IEPs, in my experience. So, ask as many questions as you like along these lines, they are obligated to answer and explain as much and as many times as you need to understand it, and don’t sign anything until you do understand and agree to what they are proposing.Basically, a good IEP goal needs to have at least three components: what are the conditions under which the goal will be met, what is the behavior the student is to exhibit, and what is the “criteria” or standard by which meeting that goal will be measured — in other words, how will you know if it has been met or not. Usually this is expressed in a frequency, percentage or other form of measurement, and ideally should be measureable by a test score or other objective form of measurement, rather than “teacher observation”, which tends to be rather wishy-washy. Many schools are getting away from testing the kids every year, preferring to save themselves time by testing only at three-year periods (and sometimes not even that!), but they will do so if you insist, and if I were a parent, I would! I don’t see how else we can know whether and how much progress is being made, and what adaptations need to be made to a student’s goals/program otherwise. I say this as a special ed. teacher, so it’s my own time also that is at stake here, but I feel it is a necessary investment of my time!I hope this answers your question a little bit, and if you want to share some more specific info or get some specific goal suggestions, feel free to email me, or visit my website (linked below), which also contains some general info on this whole process you are now finding yourself in. The most important thing you can do for your daughter is to educate yourself, as you will probably be her most important supporter, advocate and cheerleader for many years to come. Good luck!