The IEP meeting is a big deal. Our kids spend many hours in school, and as parents we want to make sure that our kids are being supported academically, socially and emotionally. When intentional IEP goals are in place, kids thrive in school. As a result, learning in all areas increases! While the IEP Team does their own preparation for each child’s IEP meeting, it helps if parents also prepare. In this post I am going to review exactly what you need as a parent for your child’s IEP meeting to be successful.

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get a supportive iep team

The IEP Team is the group of educators who work with your child during the school day. It’s essential that the members of the IEP Team observe similar strengths and weaknesses in the educational setting. Then, they can come to a solid agreement on the best educational plan to help your child succeed. Depending on your child’s needs, the core members of the IEP Meeting Team consist of: you (the parent), your child’s main teacher, and the special education teacher. Other possible team members include speech therapist, teacher of the deaf, school psychologist, and possibly a physical therapist and occupational therapist.

CREATE YOUR PARENT INPUT STATEMENT

You as the parent are the head of the IEP Team. You drive the meeting! Don’t worry, the rest of the team is there to guide you as well. Think of the parent as the CEO of the IEP Team and the other team members are advisors to the parent. As the parent, you know your child bes. You are best equipped to determine what services your child needs. I want more parents to feel encouraged and empowered at the IEP table. Too many times parents are seen as the least useful part of the team. Their goals for their children are not taken into full consideration. When this happens, an imbalance occurs at the IEP meeting. So I want to encourage you that your voice at the IEP meeting is absolutely essential!

Too many times parents are seen as the least useful part of the IEP team, and their desires for their children are not taken into full consideration at the IEP meeting.

Alaine Jacobs, regularmomblog.com

That being said, your parent input statement for the IEP meeting is important. It drives the goals for the rest of the meeting. Please don’t gloss over this section of the IEP as it is truly the backbone of the IEP document!

Here are some pro tips to creating an intentional parent input statement:

• Address your expectations for your child socially, emotionally, academically (including speech and motor skills)
• Think about what you do as a family at home, and what skills would be essential for your child to learn to fully participate in those activities.
• For example: Do you travel as a family? Part of your goals for your child could be to learn to wait in line. This benefits the child both in school and in the real world. Or maybe you want your child to learn how to play independently at home. Tthat is a skill that the IEP Team can work on at school as well.
• Think outside of the “academic skills” box. Of course kids needs to learn how to read, write and do math. Think more critically about other skills that are needed in the real world when they graduate from school.
• The input statement is an opportunity for you to tell the school what your family likes to do, and who your child is outside of the school setting. You also get to address what your goals are for your child when they graduate from high school.
• Yes, start thinking toward high school. Even if your child is starting Kindergarten! Start working on those skills now so that your child has 12 years to fully prepare for life outside of school!

You are NOT responsible for making the actual goals to go along with this statement! You provide the statement to the IEP Team (ideally before the IEP meeting), and the Team creates the individual goals that address the items in your parent input statement.

Here is a 10 minute video from Catherine Whitcher at Master IEP Coach where she uses the travel example above and helps lay out what a parent input statement is: WATCH HERE

ask the right questions

Now that you crafted your parent input statement, it’s time for the meeting to take place. Ideally the meeting will just address what you wrote in your statement and will progress from there. During the meeting, you are free to ask any and all questions that will better help you understand the IEP document.

Here are some questions that are helpful to ask during the IEP meeting:

• Can I have an agenda before the IEP meeting so that I know topics X,Y,Z are covered?
• Can you describe my child’s day to me?
• Can you repeat that? Can you explain ____ further?
• Have you tried ____at school? It works for my child at home.
• What is the plan if my child completes their goal before the next IEP review? How are you going to move my child onto a different, higher level goal?
• Specific to hearing loss- What is the contingency plan if my child’s hearing aid/ cochlear implant breaks or malfunctions during the day?
• Specific to hearing loss- Who is going to help my child turn on and start streaming their mini microphone in the morning?
• When is a good time to schedule an informal follow-up chat to assess my child’s progress with their IEP?

HAVE THE right mindset

Going into the IEP meeting can be an emotional time. Many parents describe the meeting as the IEP Team telling them what is “wrong” with their child. As a parent, you might even still be coming to terms with the fact that your child needs a specialized education plan in the first place. I’ve been through IEP meetings several times in the short years that my kids have been in school. I know that going into the meeting with the right mindset makes all the difference!

I often tell parents that it helps to switch their thinking. Instead of thinking about how something is “wrong” with your child, reframe your thoughts that the goal of the meeting is to find a solution for your child. So instead of focusing on the deficits, focus on the fact that everyone at the meeting is working to create a better educational environment for your child.

When you come come to the IEP meeting with an understanding of your role as the parent, the IEP meeting can go amazingly well!

If you are just starting the IEP process with your child, read my blog post that gives an overview into the entire IEP process-

How to Rock the IEP Process Like a Pro

What are your tips for a more successful IEP meeting? Comment and let us know!