Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2

Online IEP Learning Module Go to this website: http://www.unco.edu/cetl/TracyMueller/IEP/ IEP

Activity: Imagine you are a parent of a child with a disability. You were just handed a piece of paper that describes the IEP using the same language as the law (see IEP- What the law says section). 1. Would you understand what an IEP was? 2. What kinds of questions might you have about the IEP process? 3. How might you feel about the IEP? Your Task: Create a one-page document that describes the IEP (according to the law), in parent friendly and understandable language. You may use visuals, examples, and any other supplemental material that would make this information easier to understand.

Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2

By Kari Sparks SED 3650-2

Part#1- A description of your childs academic strengths, weaknesses and functioning in the classroom will be made. The description will go into detail about how your childs specific issue affects their performance in the classroom. If your child has already taken alternative assessments associated with alternative achievement standards there will be a description of goals and academic targets for your child to reach.
Part #4-A description of your childs current special education, special services and aids (like interpreters or noise quieting headphones) and additional special education, services and aids recommended for your child. Part#2-A description of yearly goals with is made for your child in classroom education, independence and behavior. The goals will be specifically created to meet the needs of your childs difference in ability.

Part#3-A description will be given on how your childs progress towards reaching their yearly goals with be measured; like giving out extra progress reports.

Part#6 Details the possible start dates of services, how often your child would get those services, where the services will be located and how long your child will be offered the services.

Part#7 Details the length and level of your childs inclusion in mainstream classrooms and extracurricular activities.

Part#5- This section describes post-high school possible plans and solutions for your child if he or she is 16 years old or older. First, there will be goals made related to your childs specific needs and abilities. The goals will be related to your child obtaining training, education, employment, and independent living skills (if needed) into adulthood. Second, there will be specific information about courses of study and transition services to help your child reach their goals. Finally, the post-high school plans (post-secondary) will be finalized before the age of majority (in our state that is 18 but Alabama its 19, Mississippi and Washington, D.C. its 21).

Part#8- Describes the steps that will be taken to help your child complete and achieve on State and district-wide tests (consistent with IDEA 2004). It can also be determined by the IEP staff that your child may take different assessments in place of the State and district-wide tests if that is what is needed for your child.

Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2

Strengths
Thinks on feet Patient Observant Sparks Congenial By Kari Compassionate SED 3650-2 Assertive Communicator Well organized office

Needs
Time awareness/manag ement Occasional trouble with focus Need for structured environments Ambient noise needed to study Need for physical breaks every 6090 minutes Too blunt

Activity: Complete a one-page information sheet that describes your own Strengths and Needs. After completing this paper, reflect on what it says and answer the following questions: 1. What does this information tell you about yourself? The listing of my strengths and weaknesses diagnosis of having mild attention issues as a 1st grader is still present. 2. How might the information affect your own life planning and goal setting? The information is clarifies my need to allocate additional time to plan and complete tasks. 3. How could such information assist any of your family members, friends, coworkers, children, or students who work with you? It would be an explanation (especially to my husband) for my issues with time management and might assist others it allowing me to allocate the time to complete tasks. 4. What are some strategies you could use to assist the parents of your students with completing a Strengths and Needs page prior to participating in an IEP meeting?

Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2 Id make an idea generating dialogue, introduction and checklist for them. We can be our Childrens biggest fans or biggest critic: Think about your childs favorite activities? How your child behaves out in the world with you or with friends? What came easiest to your child during the toddler years? What are some of the issues you have at home? How does homework time go?

I would then get into the more legal emphasis of my line of questions like: The concerns of the parents for bettering the education of their child The results of the initial or most recent testing/evaluation of the child The academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child

Home-School Connection
Activity: After hearing what Anna said about promoting the home-school partnership, develop an action plan of how you plan to maintain regular communication with the families of the students you work with. In this plan, identify what kind of information you will communicate regularly, how often, and in what form. Also, identify specific plans for discussing any potential problems (e.g., conflict) that may come up between you and your student's parents. Parent/Teacher Communication Action Plan Communication journal to be taken home and signed daily/weekly (per childs specific issue) with specific comments of behavior and academic progress during the day. Bi-Monthly phone calls if needed per concerns or positive improvements Open Hours afterschool or during lunch breaks at least monthly to meet with parents if applicable. Conflict Resolution Plan Transparency with parent and supervisory staff. Full disclosure of parental rights and detailed records of all communication . Mediation available with special educator co-worker, administrative staff and district coordinator.

Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2

Setting Goals
Activity: Refer to the earlier Strengths and Needs list you created and write 3 annual measurable goals. Be sure to directly link your goals to your needs. 1. Using a timer to manage time and plan physical breaks. 2. Completing assignments a day before they are due 3. Daily agenda in addition to checklist

Module Assessment
Directions: Read the following case scenario and then complete your answers to the following 5 questions. Type your answers in a Word document (or word processing document), save that document, and then print it out and bring it to class with you next week. Answers to the questions should reflect that you have read and viewed the content of this module and have taken the time to answer each question thoroughly and thoughtfully. Case Scenario Amy is a first grade student. She is observed to be very social and is a good reader. Her parents actively support her learning outside of the classroom by taking her to the library every week, reading to her every night, and setting up frequent play dates with children in the neighborhood. Amy began receiving early intervention services when she was diagnosed in her first year with cerebral palsy, resulting from birth complications. She received physical therapy and occupational therapy as part of her early intervention and later communitybased preschool experiences. Amy has state-of-the-art adaptive equipment to promote independent mobility and use of her hands. Amy's parents appreciated the family support received in her early intervention program, which also continued to a lesser extent in the preschool special education program. They were accustomed to a familycentered approach in which services were designed largely around their own family resources and priorities. The transition to first grade brought a new approach to individualized planning. Amy's mother Jill confided to Ronda, Amy's new teacher, that she felt uncomfortable at her first IEP conference in the new school because she felt too separated from the process.

Kari Sparks-SED 3650-2 Jill appreciated the work that school personnel had put into preparing for the conference but was surprised that the IEP seemed to have been fully developed before the conference. She was not asked to give her own suggestions on goals for Amy as she had been in the past, and worried that the school's pre-determined goals did not take all of Amy's current skills into account. Most of the conference was spent by Ronda, the OT, and the PT reading their reports, which seemed to emphasize Amy's limitations with writing and getting around the classroom and playground. It seemed that these limitations were all about Amy and less about how aspects of the school environment might contribute to her learning or to the challenges the professionals described. Although Jill had brought some notes herself, there did not seem to be a good time to share them. Before she knew it, the conference was over and she left with the unsettled feeling that she had somehow betrayed Amy by not celebrating her accomplishments or advocating for goals that would challenge both her cognitive as well as her physical development. Jill also felt that even though she knew Amy much more intimately than anyone else at the conference, her wealth of knowledge was wasted in this planning process. Questions 1. What concerns arise from this description of Amy's IEP conference? Refer to Anna's comments about the IEP, strengths and needs, the home-school connection, and setting goals. Also consider the 10 steps for an effective IEP meeting. Jill felt uncomfortable, separated from the process, not asked to give suggestions (imput). Jill used to family-centered approach utilized by early intervention services. Jill felt the IEP emphasized Amys limitations not Amys current skills and cognitive abilities. 2. Now that Ronda is aware of Jill's feelings about the IEP conference, how do you suggest that the team reorganize for a better outcome in the future? Who should be involved in these changes? Due to the parents specific complaint of not being heard and feeling uncomfortable, I would incorporate 3. What are three suggestions for Jill to consider in future IEP meetings? 1. To plan out what specifically what she would like to express prior to the meeting. 2. Let her views be heard even if she has to interrupt. 3. Considering bringing an advocate to better help and assert Amys needs.