Corinne

McCabe
SPED 854
Module 7 Case Studies

Case Study 1
You are having your first IEP meeting with a new family. The records you have
indicate that they are primarily Spanish-speaking, so you have arranged for a
language interpreter. The father states that he understands some English. During the
visit, he chooses to serve as the interpreter and relays the information, as he
understands it, to his wife. As a result, you find yourself being misunderstood,
misinterpreted, and misquoted by the father, and you are, therefore, unable to ensure
that both the father and the mother are receiving accurate information. Holding the
conversation in English seems to hold a special purpose to the father (adapted from
Chen, Chan, Brekken, Lynch, & Valverde, 1993).

Problem & Solution
The largest problem in this case is the ability to check for understanding.
Without an interpreter present at the meeting, there is no way to know what or how
the information is being translated. Keeping in mind and respecting the fathers
preference to translate for his wife, it would still be important to have an interpreter
present to assist in the clarification of inaccuracies. Asking an interpreter to be
present, but explaining that interjection will only needed to clear up something
which may be misquoted or misunderstood would be one way to address this issue.

Doing so would allow the father to translate for his wife, but also allow the school to
know that the information is being relayed correctly.

Case Study 2
You are going to have your first IEP meeting with a Russian family. The family
members speak some English but are not fluent. You want the meeting to go well and
to be a positive beginning to your partnership with the family.

Problem & Solution
First and foremost, I believe it would be important to reach out to the family
previously to find out their communication preferences. If necessary, I would make
arrangements to have an interpreter present at the IEP meeting.
I would begin the meeting by providing an overview of how the meeting will
run, and then asking the parents about their perception of their child at home and at
school. In addition, I would structure the meeting so that time allows for the pre-
teaching important phrases that will be used, presentation of the information and
data, and a check for understanding. Another important aspect of the meeting is
listening to the parents goals for their child so I would be certain to make time for
the parents to speak.
The meeting would include visual representations of data, and would be void
of educational jargon or acronyms, which are so often used during IEP meetings.