IEP plan.. any suggestions/comments etc..

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dme1977
dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
My son is scheduled to his first IEP plan to enter the program for 4 year olds with autism at our local elementary school.

Any moms/dads out there:

have anything you think I should:

1. know about
2. include in his plan
3. ask

or have:
4. any suggestions
5. experiences you think would benefit me in knowing

or misc. things that you know I wont think to ask about, think of.

THANKS!!

Replies

  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I get independent speech evals through my insurance. It only costs me like $20 in a co-pay. Last year I got two of them because I wanted to increase the speech hours. It's harder for them to deny services when some professional with a bunch of degrees after their name says your child needs that service. It's all about data. You have to show your child needs that service and to make a case for it, you can't just ask (I mean you CAN) but it works better if you have something to back it up. You can even take data at home to make a point.

    Read Wright's Law website. Tons of free information there to educate yourself about your rights.

    Don't go alone. You can take a friend or relative or another mom of a special needs kiddo with you. You just have to say they have special knowledge about your child. You're allowed to bring someone who has special knowledge of your child. It's a lot easier to face a large group of educators if you're not there alone. I don't know if you're married or not, but if your spouse can come to the meeting, take him. You may be facing 7-8 people who are on the school's side.
    Don't let them rush you. If they use jargon, make them explain it. Whatever you don't understand, ask them to clarify.

    Make sure things are specific and measurable. Can a stranger measure the goal? "Michael will not display hostile behavior." Well will a stranger know what's considered "hostile". What you consider hostile isn't what I would consider hostile. You'd want to drill down to exactly what is considered hostile (hitting, kicking, punching, etc.)
  • dme1977
    dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
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    thanks.

    I am kinda nervous, because I have never been in this type of situation before.
    I already have an outside speech therapist pushing medicaid to get my son independent speech therapy ((keeping fingers crossed and prayers up on that one))) and the school board has already accepted him into the schools program, but in all honesty,
    1. I'd LOVE for him to be more than semi-verbal... ( speak intelligibly and speak more )
    2. be able to use proper behavior in certain settings/situations ( such as sitting to eat/learn, using inside voice in inside settings ex. at doctors office/WIC,
    3. take himself to the potty and/or let his need be known to use potty
    4. make wants/needs known by using words.
    5. interaction more than side by side play
    6. hi, bye, thank you, excuse me
    7. left/right
    8. dress self without help
    9. colors
    10. pretend play
    11. writing letters/numbers/ etc..


    still working on the rest in my mind... this is my list so far for goals. .

    I know they are pretty BIG goals but they are what I ULTIMATELY want for him to be able to do by the time he gets to kindergarten.. Ive been working WITH him on A LOT of these already but it'd be nice to have the teacher also doing these.

    Im not sure if thats how that works but a woman can dream.
  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I think those are all reasonable goals and goals they should help you with. You have a good mix of spoken language, cognitive, behavioral and social goals. Some of them like say #6, #5, #2, will not be mastered next year or the year afte, but there's no reason he can't start working on them at the level he's at right now.

    I would write up the goals before the IEP so you have some samples for them if they ask how you want it worded. They usually want something like "will do it 4/5 times " or 80% mastery as a measure.
  • dme1977
    dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
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    thanks , I didn't know they'd want percentages... thats really helpful to know.
    yeah, Im a planner, so as soon as I started writing on here what I wanted as goals for him , I also wrote it down to take with me.
    I know him better than anyone and i don't want them making goals JUST based on his assessments because as you probably know your children tend to ACT/RESPOND differently during those tests than they do at home/with you. Im sure after he gets accustomed to being at school with a teacher/in a classroom he will settle down some and they will "see" some of what I see of him :)
  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
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    Certain goals you'll wanted mastered 100% like the potty goal. You don't want him going to the potty correctly only 75% of the time. When my ASD child was little, we had a goal for mastering the safety instruction, "Stop!". It had to be 100% mastery because it's a safety issue.

    YOU are absolutely the expert on him. I used to defer to others now I don't. Not that I'm rude about it but I know that I'm the best expert on what my child's current needs are. It's important his PLEP sometimes called a PLOP..the present levels of performance reflects both his strengths and weaknesses.
  • MissySchwab
    MissySchwab Posts: 529 Member
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    Ask for a speech evaulation and Ot evalution from the school in writing.I just went thru this is my son.Ask for goals to get him ready for Kindergarten like writing his name,knowing his phone number,parents names,counting to 10,knowing his colors,and his address.It sounds like you have an awesome start and plan going.I don't know if you have it in your state but here we have parent mentors to go with you to help you with the meetings.Our local autism chapter set me up with them.You also might want to see if there is a place to get services usually help me grow,health department,autism chapters, development disability boards for your county may have help .It is good to get a lot of resources if you can to help.They have been a great help getting services we needed but had no idea where to go and help at home with things a school won't address. Good luck :)
  • starbuckette
    starbuckette Posts: 78 Member
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    Ok, this is a totally rediculous answer, but good for a laugh when all the IEP stuff wares you down.

    http://www.mostlytruestuff.com/2012/11/ways-to-make-your-next-iep-awesome.html?showComment=1353289893747
  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
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    Ok, this is a totally rediculous answer, but good for a laugh when all the IEP stuff wares you down.

    http://www.mostlytruestuff.com/2012/11/ways-to-make-your-next-iep-awesome.html?showComment=1353289893747

    :laugh:

    I might do this one at our next IEP.

    "Elbow your husband and wink knowingly (but act as if you thought you were being subtle about it and don’t think they’ll notice) at every other, then every third thing someone else says, shifting the pattern every so often, completely randomly. They will go nuts trying to figure out the connection between the statements you’re taking issue with."
  • starbuckette
    starbuckette Posts: 78 Member
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    lol B&B - it`s funny to think about if nothing else!
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    I have a 23-year-old on the spectrum. He was diagnosed at 3 and went through the public school system. In retrospect, I would NOT send him to public school. I figured out too late that he didn't get all the help he needed. Further, I wish I would have hired a professional advocate to help guide me through the system. I had multiple bad experiences with both school districts we were in when he was a child. If at all possible and affordable, have him evaluated independently to confirm anything the school tells you. Don't finalize that IEP until you make sure everything in it is 100% correct. And get private therapy - speech, play group, social skills training - whenever possible. Look into services/monies offered through the state. The laws have changed since I went through this and more is available now. Volunteer at school so you're a visible presence (if possible). Join a parents support group and get involved. I've made life-long friends by doing that. Become well-read on the subject. There are lots of alternative treatments to explore and try - diet, vitamins, chelation, etc. Make sure you're the autism expert at that IEP meeting and keep meticulous records.
  • Cdn_Dot
    Cdn_Dot Posts: 53 Member
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    A big thank you to Starbuckette! I had seen that on facebook and didn't bookmark it. Brilliant stuff.
    OP, your list of goals is great and the suggestions to break them down is great too, lots of great stuff has been suggested. One of the things that was suggested to us by a professional in dealing with these things is to make sure you take a picture of your son with you, so he's not just a number.

    Oh and the best IEP is the one that gets used and has signs of wear and even a coffee stain or too. Good Luck!