|
IEP Pot PouriApril 2005
April is the usual month for Individual Education Plan or IEP.
I have talked about the stressful IEP process for many years now.
http://www.hardofhearingchildren.com/ Reid's IEP is very long and complicated because he needed
assistance for many problems at school.
http://www.hardofhearingchildren.com/ Better Education is possible anywherePeople in developing countries can learn a lot from studying the formal IEP process in the US and Canada. As soon as you learn that your child has a special need at school, tell your teacher, principal and school system. If you have a grass roots education system, you still are going to have the edubureaucrat somewhere who is going to make your demands for your child seem ridiculous. Get a lawyer, or an important friend to make the school do what is needed to be done for the child. Do this as soon as possible. Do not hope next year will be better. You must have the creative ideas yourself because there are many people in the world who do not see the importance of education in the first place, and education for special needs kids in the second. Grass roots Class.In a grass roots classroom, if nothing else, sitting where the teacher can be speechread, and the use of a overhead if possible, and special notes for the hard of hearing child who usually has difficulty listening and writing. Using the child's name first, establishing eye contact and then asking a question. If the child is not hearing well, then the teacher should walk closer to the hard of hearing child. There are lots of impressive collections of information about the IEP on the internet. From the US government http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html Links to the Ontario IEP information http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html An IEP for the UK http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/i/individualeducationplan/ For UK Teachers to learn how to write an IEP http://www.learnhowpublications.co.uk/ Should kids go to the IEP?. YES yes. At the begining the child won't contribute much, but unless self-advocacy is not practised, and expected from the child, the older child or young adult will never find a point to start. http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/iep_kids.html LD On Line has many articles specific to learning disabilities and the IEP http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/iep.html Making sure the IEP is Legal By the Wright's , parents document.http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/iep_guidance.html What to say. Pop-up Guide
http://www.nclid.unco.edu/Hvoriginals/Advocacy/Popup/popup.html The sparkling duo teaches special ed advocacy. Thanks goodness they were not working for the school board in my recent suit through the Ontario Human Rights. http://www.wrightslaw.com/ This is my favorite article: a Study of IEP Documentation Alteration, Falsification and Forgery. http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/preliminary_survey.pdf
My daughter was reading my web, no doubt admiring her children. She said "Mom. Your web is excellent. And it is so wonderful that you help all those children with problems like Reid's especially in places where there is no help." In March we passed the number of hits needed to get to a million hits a year. As a slightly saggy middle-aged woman with the power of writing and researching, I am feeling quite smug, especially when I think that 85,000 people around the world are going to read about our IEP problems and arrive better armed at their own schools.
Thanks to all my parents who write me too, and keep me on my toes and inspired. We are all in a circle of learning to help each other. PAM Candlish
|
|
|
