This afternoon I met with Cayden's preschool teacher to go over his progress and discuss various aspects of his education. It went very, very well. We went over his IEP, what his progress has been and what the expectations for the next quarter is. He's going to be doing a lot more OT and continue his speech therapy. I told her about our trips to the museum and aquarium and how proud we were of him and his behavior. I feel it's important for her to know his progress outside of school too.
So what is an IEP?
In brief: IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. This is used to develop curriculum/manipulate the general curriculum, objectives, and create goals to best educate a child with special needs in the least restrictive environment. In order for a child to have an IEP, they must've been identified, assessed, and determined a qualifying candidate for special services. There is a LOT more that goes in to the IEP process and I will be than happy to elaborate on the details if asked. ; )
In my class tonight, we discussed IEPs and determining the need for functional assessments. It led to a lot of interesting dialogue. I keep reiterating the necessity of fighting for kids and their help.
Let me give you a scenario and I'd really appreciate your input -- whether you're a parent, a teacher, or innocent bystander. What is your take on the following situation:
You're a teacher in a classroom. You have a kid that is showing qualities and characteristics that are inconjunction with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and ADD. You call in a social worker or special needs teacher or someone to do an observation of this student. Their observations support your own observations. After much contemplation and dialogue, you decide to talk to the parents. They say that they're child is fine and doesn't need any aid. So, you, being the wonderful teacher that you are, alter your teaching style and try a few interventions to benefit this child. You document these changes in your classroom to back up your attempts. No improvements are made. The behaviors continue. They're distracting to other students and can, at sometimes, present dangerous situations. You decide to talk to the parents and ask them to have their child assessed. They still refuse the intervention.
What do you do?
That's a conundrum. I think I would enlist the help of the principal or the special needs teacher at the school. Have them make their own observations and then ask them to meet with you and the parent to report their observations. Sometimes a second voice agreeing with you can be enough. I would also make copies of my notes about the child's behavior and the steps I was taking to help them in any way that I could and pass those along to the parents as I complete them. Maybe the accumulation of data and the fact that I was doing everything possible to help this child would convince them of my sincerity in seeking help. Finally I would invite them into the classroom to make their own observations on their child's behavior so that they could (hopefully) see the differences between their child's behavior and that of the rest of the students.
ReplyDeleteI think that is beautifully put, Kirsten. I completely agree with you. What if those parents still refuse to acknowledge their child's need(s)? Would you continue on through the state and due process in order to obtain services for that child or let it go at your efforts?
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