Parents who have to attend IEP meetings want to know that they are doing right by their child with special needs. It is incredibly important to know if your child has all the necessary supports, therapies, accommodations, etc. in place so that they can make meaningful progress in their education. As advocates, it is our job to help identify and help you obtain support for those needs. As parents, we understand the emotional toil it takes to continually stay aware of a disabled child’s changing needs.
Effectively changing a student’s educational plan during IEP meetings may require a simultaneous global and micro view of their individual situation. How will the changes aid their education in the long run? How can short-term, outdated supports can be changed without upsetting the student’s entire program? Sometimes the answer is obvious—often it is not. Getting appropriate assessments and having well-understood goals are absolutely crucial in an IEP document that represents a student’s current needs. Having IEP meetings more than once a year is extremely helpful, as the team can all hear and address the ongoing challenges. It is very important to have ALL of the IEP team members present at meetings. When everyone hears the same thing at the same time, it is much easier to get a common “picture” of the student’s progress during IEP meetings.
The biggest gift an IEP team can give a student is collaboration, which results in a mutually understood—and mutually executed—plan. After the plan is established, there is hopefully no confusion on why certain supports are necessary. There is a group understanding that the team—while having individual parts to deliver to the student—has a global view of how all those smaller parts equal one cohesive plan. This is how a student with an IEP makes meaningful and appropriate progress. It is also how all team members can feel supported by knowing who to ask about any concerns or questions that may have about a student’s progress or needs.
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