Help! I Have an IEP Meeting Tomorrow!

Has he already been screened? If not, they will do a screening by giving him a series of tests, and asking him and you a bunch of questions.

If that process is already finished, the meeting will basically be to discuss his goals. The therapists set a timeline for therapy and there are goals for each phase of the timeline.

Best wishes!

We went thru this with my son and to be honest, I had no clue what I was doing at first. My husband was the one that got the ball rolling and then I had to take over mid-stream and I felt like a fool!!! My only advice is to ask lots of questions if there is anything you don't understand. For us, the school was fantastic and kept communication open. They were VERY informative and helpful; made sure we were comfortable with everything and really listened to our concerns. If we didn't agree with something (or vice versa) it was discussed and resolved until everyone was on the same page.

Good luck!!!

In my district, the first meeting was to go over results of testing and to indicate that my child would be placed on an IEP. Then a second meeting was set to discuss the details of the IEP. So what goes on at the meeting could depend on where you are in the process. My advice would be to take a deep breath and ask lots of questions if you don't understand something that is being discussed. An IEP is supposed to be a collaborative effort between the school and the parents. You have the right to add things to the IEP or ask for things to be changed if you don't agree.

Although the process can be intimidating, it really is meant to benefit your child. If you can bring someone else with you (spouse, parent, close friend etc), please do. If nothing else, it is someone to talk to after the meeting to make sure you understood everything. If something takes you off guard say you need some time to go over everything and process what has been said. If there are things you think would be especially helpful to your child in a classroom environment, bring it up! My daughter is very anxious, so her IEP indicates that whenever possible she should be warned in advance when the daily schedule is going to change. The OT said that movement helped her calm down, so as she gets older (she is in pre-k now), her IEP might say she can have a special seat.

You have to sign an IEP before it goes into effect. If you don't feel comfortable signing it on the spot, say you need to review it. However, make sure you know how much time you have before it needs to be returned to the school. Hopefully the people you are meeting with will be helpful in explaining the process.

Good luck!

Bring someone with you for support. I used to bring an advocate, but now I am so used to these meetings, I just go alone.

Don't sign anything if you don't agree or don't understand. You have a right to request a second meeting. You also have a right to bring along anyone that you want for support - just let them know ahead of time that an additional person is going to attend

I went to an IEP for my son at his new middle school a few years ago and I will never forget how disrespectful the assistant principal and psycologist behaved.

The psycologist and assistant principal were wispering to each other and rolling their eyes while I was talking. I was so offended (I am not usually confrontational) I had to call them out on it and right in front of everyone at the table, I told them that we were discussing my son's education and I would appreciate some respect. I told them that I did not appreciate their eye rolling and whispering during the meeting. From then on end, the principal instead of the assistant principal and a new psycologist attended my IEPs. And all the meetings with the new team went great - we worked together to help my son become successful in school.

So, stand up and advocate for your child - don't be intimidated by the group of teachers. Most of them are there to work with you. If you feel that they are wrong - respectfully state your point and if needed ask to reschedule a meeting and call your states learning disability association and ask if an advocate can help you out. Just bringing an advocate one time lets the team know that you are serious.

Just keep focus and remember that everyone at the meeting is there to solve the same issues. (But, keep in mind that special education is costly to the school, and the team is aware of this and will not extend themselves over the budget if they think that your child's disability is not "severe" enough. Just remember that even kids with mild disabilities can suffer if they don't receive the appropriate services.

Good LUck

Take notes-and take your time developing questions-don't you have an advocate to represent your child? Maybe that's a Maryland thing? They may try to rush you through this-but guess what, you're paying their salaries-take all the time you need and schedule as many meetings as it takes-and if they refuse to cooperate with you-document this-document everything yourself-do not rely on them -they will make omissions, as necessary for their benefit-your son is the child they have to SERVE and educate-don't let them whine-make them do their job-and hold their feet to the fire! Go get 'em!

In my case our first IEP meeting was to establish 1) what services were needed 2) what diagnoses my child had 3) what our rights are as parents to a disabled child and 4) what is expected of the IEP team - this includes parents as well. Make sure to take notes, take another person with you, a second set of ears is helpful. Do not be afraid to ask questions and to have things explained to you multiple times if needed for clarification. Good luck.

Oh wow, the first thing that jumps into my mind when thinking of the IEP meeting is boring. I think last year I told the principal I know you have to read all that stuff by law but god this feels like mass!

They will read to you about 20 pages of goals and expectations and you will understand about 50% of it. They will from time to time ask you questions, they will discuss what they see, that is when you have to pay attention. That is when you need to explain your perspective. I would say 85% of the IEPs for my kids had to be modified because of the discussion.

If he has already been assessed by school psychologist, then you should expect results presented to you by team (made up of classroom teacher, school psychologist, and possibly school district IEP coordinator, if different than school site) Goals to assist in your son in his school experience will be made. You should also have been given a booklet explaining the EIP process and your rights. If he has not yet been assessed, then this should be a formality to begin the process. Good luck.

For my daughter who is dyslexic we were told at the first meeting that she had an "anxiety disorder" per their testing. We totally disagreed (an unsupported learning disability can certainly make you anxious) so we had her tested outside of school and came to the 2nd IEP meeting with those results and they flat out stated they disagreed with the diagnosis of dyslexia. We then hired an advocate who got her on an IEP. Be prepared that everything may be "just fine" with your child, since in my experience the schools do not want to spend any money. There are very strict time lines that there has to be a meeting within xx days if you request it, also within xx days if you submit new test results, etc. I would take lots of notes, do not be intimidated by what they say even if there are 9 people on their side of the table and only you (and perhaps your husband) on your side. We pushed for 2 years to get our daughter some accommodations and an IEP, and then when they did finally write an IEP for her they did not follow it. Hopefully your experience will be better than ours. I would ask around and get a recommendation for a good special Ed advocate. Our pediatrician recommended ours. Good luck.

I am a former school Guidance Counselor. No one likes these meetings, Parents feel like they have to defend thier misunderstood child. Teachers feel like they will be blamed for not doing enough interventions. To make it work, as this is the first of many to come, be really friendly and be on time. After the meeting adjourns (and parents leave) we all would stay to discuss the parents' attitude. And don't think that they all leave the room when you leave, we go down the hall, to the lounge, but return to discuss. Make sure you leave with a good impression so that the after talk will be positive, R