An IEP Meeting To Turn Things Around

 

Discussion of topics to build awareness, increase knowledge-base, and ultimately assist in conquering the challenges of being special parents of kids with special needs, such as those with autism or adhd.

    My son was nose-diving.  It didn't seem to be an emergency to the school, but it certainly was to me.  So, I requested an IEP meeting.  We had to figure out what was going on and correct it ASAP before he crashed and burned.

    I received a "Notice of Special Education IEP/ Placement Meeting" form.  It documented when and where the IEP meeting would be held, who would attend, and the purpose of the meeting.  My son's teacher was scheduled to attend, his speech therapist, the school Principal, the Local Educational Agency Rep, along with another Special Education teacher.  The LEA was one of the Special Education administrators I had spoken to when I expressed dismay about my son being pulled from his previous school even though he was among those there first.  The other Special Education teacher who showed up only seemed to be documenting what was said, she didn't say much besides greeting in the beginning.  No paraprofessionals attended.

    My goal was not to go and rant.  My agenda was to help my son.  I prepared and put much thought into what I'd like to say at the meeting because I wanted this to be a turning point.  I didn't want to waste any more precious time.  My list of questions  included:

    *  What is done for positive behavior?

    *  What is done for negative behavior?

    These questions were on my list because I was concerned about the rapport my son had with the teacher and paras.  I wondered if they encouraged good behavior by rewarding or praising him sufficiently?  Were they playful and positive with him, or were they cold to him because they were so frustrated with him?  Did he sense that they didn't like him?  I was assured that everyone had good rapport with him, of course.

    I discovered that on occasions when my son had been sent to an administrator's office, he was given a tablet to watch Paw Patrol.  He was nice and calm when they let him watch Paw Patrol.  My understanding was that he could be out of the classroom watching cartoons for probably an hour or more.  Now, this was something that would definitely cause an escalation in bad behavior for him.  It was reinforcing his bad behavior, as in, they were actually rewarding him for bad behavior.  He had figured out that by his bad antics, they would just remove him from the classroom, he wouldn't have to do work, and he could watch his favorite cartoon all day.  I explained to them that that had to stop.  If they could find no other way to calm him down, I preferred that they call me to come get him.  However, I did suggest that they give him books to look through, particularly Pete the Cat.  Pete the Cat is my son's favorite book.  He has a big book that he is constantly flipping through at home.  The cartoons are too addictive and increase hyperactivity in him.

    I also asked:

    *  When could my son get a Functional Behavioral Analysis?  We needed to figure out why he behaved the way he did at school.

    *  What is a typical daily routine or flow of activities in my son's classroom?  I wanted to know how structured they were there.  The more structured, the better for him.

    *  When does he go to Speech Therapy?  I asked out of curiosity and so I would know if he missed Speech Therapy if he were sent home early or suspended on a given day.

     *  Is he still getting his Occupational Therapy?  He was supposed to be getting Occupational Therapy as well, however, I was informed at the meeting that he currently was not getting it.  The LEA made a note about it so it could be started up again.  You definitely need to be aware, keep your eyes open, and follow-up with the school to make sure your child is getting the services he/she is supposed to be getting.  Don't take it for granted that everything is happening the way it should be.

    *  How long is recess?  I was interested in knowing how much physical activity he got all day at school.  A mere 30 minutes a day at 10am, weather allowing.  It used to be two 15 minute recess periods daily.  Sufficient exercise is necessary for managing my son's hyperactivity.

    *  What type of alternative placement options are available for him?  I asked this question because I was feeling like they had already given up on my son and deemed him too difficult to work with.  I wanted to know and be prepared for what might be in our near future. 

    *  I asked for more details about what caused my son to be suspended from school the previous day.  I truly don't enjoy hearing about bad things my son does, but if I'm going to help him I do need to know as much as possible about what was going on, like what the setting and circumstances were, what exactly he was doing, and how people responded to him.

    *  Is it possible for me to sit in on a class?  I was told that I could come and view from the door for 30 minutes with an administrator present, but I could not sit in the classroom.  I could call the school and make arrangements to do that.

    *  If homeschooling becomes necessary, what supports does the school system offer?  The only support mentioned was Speech Therapy.

    These were questions I had on my mind.  I do believe that thinking about things ahead of time to prepare for the meeting will make it more productive and beneficial for a parent.  Look here, for an IEP Meeting Checklist for Parents from Brain Balance.    

    Thankfully, it was a respectful meeting. We had exchanged information and ideas with each other about what might help the situation. I was looking forward to the Functional Behavioral Analysis which I was told would take 3-4 weeks to complete.  To my dismay, the LEA said that they wanted to "temporarily" reduce my son's schedule to just 2 hours a day, from 9:30am to 11:30am.  I don't know why I didn't see that coming.  I didn't like it, but I didn't argue either because obviously being there 6 hours was too much at that point in time.  He wasn't being managed well so that time was not productive anyway.

    I found out that the Speech Therapist had contacted my son's previous Speech Therapist while he was in Pre-K to get suggestions on how best to work with him.  I liked that she was doing something pro-actively like that to try to improve the situation.  They also were going to put together a visual schedule for my son.  They asked me to send a pic of myself and a couple other things.  I know that they already used visual schedules in my son's Pre-K class, so I wasn't sure why they had not already implemented that in his Kindergarten class. I signed off on the sheet they told me to sign, agreeing to have the FBA completed and his schedule reduced to 2 hours temporarily.  I was prompt in providing the things they requested and completing the multi-page questionnaire for the FBA.

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HonorPraiseThank someone at hptsomeone.com.

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