Is it just me, or does it feel like having a child with an IEP is akin to having a part-time job – keeping up with the paperwork, the referrals, the testing?
Sometimes I feel that keeping up with everything has become a maze of coordination that can be overwhelming and at times confusing. It is difficult to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. A parent is not handed an instruction manual on the day that their child is diagnosed with a learning disability.
There are different avenues that lead us to being a parent with a child on an IEP, otherwise known as an Individualized Educational Plan. Sometimes it is the intuition of a parent; sometimes it is the knowledge of a pediatrician; and sometimes it is the experienced and astute educator who is able to pick up on a learning disability that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
There are different avenues that lead us to being a parent with a child on an IEP, otherwise known as an Individualized Educational Plan. Sometimes it is the intuition of a parent; sometimes it is the knowledge of a pediatrician; and sometimes it is the experienced and astute educator who is able to pick up on a learning disability that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Regardless, a child being diagnosed with a learning disability opens the door for parents to enter into a new world of schooling that is not familiar to them.
After a diagnosis is made, an IEP is developed. It is a child-specific educational road map tailored to the child’s learning capabilities. Once put into place, a whole new journey of navigating the educational career of the child begins.
After a diagnosis is made, an IEP is developed. It is a child-specific educational road map tailored to the child’s learning capabilities. Once put into place, a whole new journey of navigating the educational career of the child begins.
The IEP itself is a document that is somewhat like a legal contract between the school and the parent that ensures that the child will receive every educational opportunity despite their inability to learn the way the majority of their peers learn. Every test administered, every visit to a specialist, every consultation with a doctor, all generate paperwork that has significant bearing on the educational career of the child.
I can’t remember if I was ever specifically told how important these reams and reams of papers were. Since I am a member of the organized chaos school of saving things – i.e. I don’t throw anything out – I was able to recently provide a doctor with all the necessary test scores, treatment plans, and evaluations concerning my son.
I can’t remember if I was ever specifically told how important these reams and reams of papers were. Since I am a member of the organized chaos school of saving things – i.e. I don’t throw anything out – I was able to recently provide a doctor with all the necessary test scores, treatment plans, and evaluations concerning my son.
This doctor was very patient with me as I confided to her that I wasn’t quite sure what the paperwork looked like that she was looking to examine. She was very kind and helpful to me as I went through all of the papers to find the pertinent ones that she needed.
It turns out that a TEAM evaluation is very different from the IEP.
Once I figured out what she needed and got all the papers photocopied and sent to her office, I realized that reading all the paperwork and understanding the evaluations, coordinating all of the referrals and specialists visits, and making sure all modifications were being done in the classroom was tantamount to a part-time job. I don’t mind in the least taking on this new job, in fact I am happy to do so, but usually with any new job there is a little on-the-job training.
I know that I am the best advocate for my son, but sometimes I wonder if I am doing everything right. And what would have happened if I had discarded any of those papers. They did not come with a warning: Important Do Not Discard.
A lot of the papers are forms with teeny tiny type interspersed with critical information concerning goals, achievements and directives about the expectations and limitations of the child. Much like any other legal document, they are wordy and difficult to understand.
I know schools have a parent advisory council – a group of those in the know who have already waded through the confusion and have navigated the process – but for those of us who are in the beginning stages of this journey and aren’t quite sure what is needed, seeking advice in a group forum can be daunting.
I know schools have a parent advisory council – a group of those in the know who have already waded through the confusion and have navigated the process – but for those of us who are in the beginning stages of this journey and aren’t quite sure what is needed, seeking advice in a group forum can be daunting.
In the meantime, I have learned that saving everything has been to my benefit, and for those things that I do not have at my fingertips, like medical reports, I have a right to ask for copies. And because I realized that I needed a little on-the-job training, I started asking questions and making phone calls. To my delight, a lot of people were quite happy to assist me and assure me that I wasn't alone in this journey.
Source : http://braintree.patch.com/articles/individualized-learning-can-be-a-job-for-parents