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I’m a special education coordinator at a college here in
Sydney and also an advocate for inclusive education. I thought I would write this post about
getting it right in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting. I see the IEP as a plan for the year
ahead. I like to use the Engineer/Architect
analogy when describing my approach to the IEP process. The Architect has the technical knowledge of
the systems and the workers. He/ she will know what will work within the
system. Like all professions you can
sometimes get ridged Architects (special Ed coordinators) who can only work
through one model and you can find remarkable Architects who can create a
harmony between the clients (parents, students and school) and the fruition of
the plan. Therefore I find I get the
best results from parents who come to the table prepared with a clear set of goals
and willingness to problem solve and discuss strategies.
It is crucial that this plan is in place, especially in a
secondary school where students may have up to nine teachers. I find having to deal with so many teachers’
expectations, systems and styles causes considerable stress and issue for
students with Autism.
I find most parents of students with autism are excellent
advocates for their children and are an excellent resource for strategies. For example they know exactly what the best
blockers are for managing their child’s stress; they know exactly what things
will trigger anxieties and what things will inspire their children. In an ideal situation the conversations are
open and look to coordinate the best possible strategies to support the
student. In some cases however parents
come up against that ridged architect (Special Ed administrator) and the IEP
process becomes a dictation of what the school has to offer. Therefore here is a list of considerations
you should raise within an IEP meeting to enable you to be a better advocate.
-
What support
is going to be provided? It is
always important that the student has someone who they can use as a go to should
they feel anxious. Will there be in
class support? What classes are going to
be supported and what classes are not? When
exploring support it is important the student be consulted. Thrusting close support upon a student is not
always the best approach.
-
What
happens when things go wrong? What safety mechanisms are in place when
issues arise? Does the school have a quite
‘safe’ place for the student to go to during break times or when they cannot
cope. What happens when the student has
a meltdown or refuses to come to school?
The plan is never set in stone and should always be open to change if
things are not working.
-
Who do I
contact when things go wrong? I find
that in many cases students with autism will bottle up much anxiety and will
wait until the get home to ‘explode’. A
call from a parent will sometimes be the only indication that something has
gone wrong. It is important the you have
a school contact who is available and willing to listen. A classic example I can think of is a call I had
this year that averted a meltdown when a parent called to tell me her son had
forgotten his apron for cooking. I was
able to catch the boy in the morning and give him one to borrow.
-
How and
what information is disseminated to teachers? This is important as there is nothing worse
than going to a parent teacher consultation to have teachers surprised that the
student they had in their class had Asperger.
Thankfully this is rare but unfortunately I’ve known it to happen. It is also important all teachers are using the same strategies and understand the student.
-
What
curriculum strategies are going to be put into place to support the student? I have a problem at the moment with a number
of the students with autism who also have an intellectual disability. The students love coming to school and the parents
are so happy with the placement as it is caring and supporting pastorally but academically
it does not meet the needs of the student. Whilst as a parent you will not be familiar
with the curriculum it is important to ensure the curriculum sets high
expectations and students are not left sitting at the back of the class.
-
How are outside
agencies incorporated into the program? It
is common for outside agencies such as psychologists, Occupational therapists, counsellors,
Speech Therapists to be present at the meeting.
It is worthwhile exploring how these are connected to the school. If the support is external it is worth ensuring
the school has a relationship with the outside support to reinforce or support strategies.
-
What
other programs are going to be put in place: social skills groups, anxiety management
groups, travel training, school to work transition programs. It is important that these are explored
I’m sure there are other points that are discussed but this
is a good start. As you can see the
meeting can take some time especially if a number of teachers and specialists
are involved. I’ve only been on the
teacher side of the table so I cannot speak for parents so any additional advice
on what works would be a great resource.
I also write a blog called Australian Inclusive Education it seeks to explore research and strategies for promoting Inclusive Education.
