Hi Everyone,
I am a Graduate Student at Fairfield University getting a Masters in Special Education. I personally do not know any parents of children with a learning disability and so have come here to try to complete one of my assignments. I hope this is okay with the moderators.
In my class we are required to interview a parent for the purpose of learning from them what has worked and not worked for you and your child, what frustrations you’ve had in dealing with the special education teacher, etc., so that we, as a special education teacher, can provide more effective supports to you and your child and be more successful in making the parent/teacher collaboration effective so the child achieves the maximum benefit from this team work.
I am supplying my email address for anyone willing to answer questions. Names are not necessary nor wanted so that your privacy is maintained. It would be helpful to know the foundational facts of your situation, such as age of your child, when he/she was first assessed by the school system, etc.
Also, if there is any information, events, story you think would be useful but is not covered by one of my questions, please include it in your email (you can always respond here if you wish, i just thought it may take up too much space).
I want to thank in advance anyone who is willing to help in this assignment, as it is difficult to locate parents locally due to their personal desire for privacy and due to the privacy laws. So, here are the questions and remember they pertain to the special education teacher in any environment - classroom, ppt/iep meetings, emails, etc - and please feel free to expand upon or add anything from your experiences, as the questions are just a guideline to get things going. You can respond to me here or email me at: [email protected]
1. What did you get the least of that you needed the most?
2. What did you get the most of that you needed the least?
3. Did educators inquire about and value your expectations for your child?
4. What educator strategies were most helpful to you in helping your child?
5. Has there been a common problematic issue with most educators?
6. How have conflicts with educators been effectively resolved?
7. What have educators done to establish an effective team relationship with you?
8. What type of communication method is best for you and how often is the most effective for you to help you with your child?
9. What has the educator (other personnel) done to establish and maintain collaboration with you during PPT/IEP meetings?
10. How has the special education teacher incorporated you as a team member?
11. What has been effectively done or could be done to help you implement IEP goals at home?
12. What’s the least effective thing an educator can do and most effective thing an educator can do in their support of you to help your child?
13. What types of conflicts have you experienced with educators regarding inclusion and placing your child in the least restrictive environment?
14. What is your perspective of the educator’s motivation in their placement decisions?
Thank you again !