From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Justifiably, many parents complain that school personnel make them defensive, especially at program planning meetings, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Some school personnel make similar complaints about parents. No matter who’s at fault, defensiveness can destroy the possibility of developing programs that meet children’s needs. It stymies progress by fostering misunderstanding, distrust, secrecy, resentment, and contempt. Cooperation is one of its first victims. Read more...
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Here are 15 guidelines that can strengthen the effectiveness of your advocacy.
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Have your child evaluated by experts who can identify your child’s needs.
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Make sure you understand his needs before you meet with school personnel to discuss his needs and possible interventions.
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Make specific requests (in writing) for meeting his needs; support your requests with reports from well-credentialed experts, experts whom the school respects.
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Treat people with respect, even if you disagree with them, even if they reject your requests. Read more...
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In Part 1 of 2, we discussed five ways to minimize feelings of intimidation. We recommend that you take all or some of these steps well before the IEP meeting: Read more...
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Study the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004), especially the sections that explain the requirements for IEPs and IEP meetings.
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Send the IEP Team any new information you have that identifies your child’s needs.
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Examine your child’s school records.
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Meet with a private expert to review all reports about your child and a copy of his school records.
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Part 1 of 2
Even if the members of your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team are extraordinarily kind, caring, and courteous, you might find them intimidating. After all, they know the rules, the language, and the system far better than you. This is their umpteenth IEP meeting, only your second. And even if they simplify their language, you may still find it mysterious, complex, and fast-paced. What’s a WISC-IV and a Woodcock-Johnson? What do they look like? How does memory for digits relate to word identification? What’s the difference between a norm-referenced test and an informal reading inventory? Why is this even important? Read more...
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As Wendell Berry said, “Once precision is abandoned as a linguistic or literary virtue, vague generalization is one of the two remaining possibilities, gibberish being the second.” Such language is open to guessing, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. Look at these examples from a composite of IEPs.
Present Levels. “Juan has trouble with reading. He needs to improve his comprehension.” Ask yourself: How far below grade level is he reading? In addition to comprehension problems, does he have trouble with sight vocabulary, decoding, and fluency? Does he have trouble with listening vocabulary and listening comprehension? Without this information, teachers (and parents) don’t know what to teach him, how to measure his progress, and, because his instructional levels are not listed, at what levels to start instruction.
Read more...
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Nothing can ensure that your child’s IEP meeting will be productive. However, you can increase the odds that it will be. Here’s one way. Before the meeting, meet with your child’s case manager and agree on how the meeting should be organized. You have a right to do this as you’re an important member of the IEP Team.
Fortunately, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004) and the format of the IEP offer an excellent sequence for developing the IEP. Unfortunately, the sequence is often ignored and critical parts of the IEP are given the short shrift. Read more...
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Unfortunately, many children with reading disabilities feel hopeless and helpless about learning to read; they believe it’s better to give up than to try and to fail. Fortunately, schools and parents can do many things to change your child’s belief that he’s incompetent and that he’ll never learn to read. Only by getting your child to believe he can learn if he makes a moderate effort will he begin to work at becoming a competent reader. Read more...
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The federal law governing special education is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. Its regulations make clear that the IEP Team must seriously consider your concerns. The regulations say:
In developing each child’s IEP, the IEP Team must consider … the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child.
One way to ensure that the IEP Team seriously considers your concerns is to send it a list of your concerns — before your child’s IEP meeting. Below is an example.
EXAMPLE
March 1, 2009 Read more...
Mrs. Estella McComick, MSW
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I’m often asked, how do you prepare for IEP meetings? One way is to write down the questions that need answers in order to develop an appropriate IEP — one likely to produce important progress in important areas.
When writing the questions, make sure they’re both specific and answerable. Below are sample questions for David Enigma, a mythical child with reading disabilities and other disabilities. Although incomplete, the list should give you an idea of what your questions should look like. Read more...
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