Round and Round

Pervasive Parenting
By Kodey Toney

Round and Round

Last week I tried to give some advice on preparing for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This will be round two of that attempt at helping you get the most out of your plan.
If you are going to ask for what your child needs make sure that you have your ducks in a row. It's best to have some sample goals and objectives written ahead of time. You can do a little research online and find some that fit your situation, but if you have some ideas in hand it can help the team better understand what you want. 
Make sure those goals are measurable. According to "Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives" by Barbara Bateman and Cynthia Herr, there are three questions that can help with this: 

1. What are the child’s unique needs? 
2. What services will the school employ to address each need? 
3. What will the child be able to accomplish as a result of the services?

The following site has some good examples:http://www.attainmentcompany.com/sites/default/files/pdf/sample/WMIEP_Sample.pdf
I've said this before, but it's important that you know your rights. At every IEP meeting you should receive a copy of the parents rights. The Oklahoma Department of Education has a copy athttp://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/SpecEd-ParentsRights. It's a good idea to read these and make sure you understand them. If you don't you should contact either the department of Ed., the Oklahoma Parents Center, or the Pervasive Parenting Center for help.
If necessary you should contact an advocate for assistance. Through the Pervasive Parenting Center I will act as an advocate to help you in anyway I can. If I can't I know people who can. This is what the resource center is about, helping find answers to questions and needs you might have. You can contact me atktoney@pervasiveparentingcenter.org.