[blindkid] New IEP Help Development

[Underwood, Melinda]

Hi Carrie - Don't know if this is helpful, but I was unable to attend
one student's IEP meeting last year (the O&M person was there). Nobody
noticed that my service hours had been cut by 1/3. I didn't see any
mention of it in the minutes so it took awhile for ME to notice. When I
did, and brought it up to the case manager, she said she didn't remember
that happening. She talked to her supervisor and told me that it seemed
to have been a typo. But when I asked for the hours to be reverted, she
said, "Well, it's there now and the parents have signed it so we can't
change it." When the mother complained (many, many months later), the
case manager told her that I could do one of my two direct service
visits at home. This is in a school that provided ZERO time for
inservice trainings of staff and has no regular team meetings. Wish I
could say I've been able to help the family change the situation around,
but I haven't. I did connect them with a family advocate and hope that
will help at the next IEP meeting. mu

Melinda Underwood, M.Ed.
Melinda Underwood
Teacher of the Visually Impaired
VABVI
38 Park Place
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-8761

-----Original Message-----
From: Carrie Gilmer [mailto:carrie.gilmer at gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 4:04 PM
To: 'NOPBC Board of Directors'; 'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for
parents of blind children)'; 'Parents of Blind Children State Presidents
List'; 'Professionals in Blindness Education Division List'
Subject: [blindkid] New IEP Help Development

Greetings All,

 

The NOPBC and the new teacher's division are combining efforts to create
an
awesome new tool to prepare and educate parents and teachers how to get
a
good IEP that is lawful and appropriate, and with all the necessary
accommodations. I am requesting that those of you who have been through
your
IEP's recently or remember well your last ones to send me privately
off-list
at carrie.gilmer at gmail.com written dialogue from the meetings. Tell me
in
quotes what was said and who said it, asked it, concluded it-whatever
"it"
was. I want the good, the bad and the ugly. It will be of the most
practical
help for us to have these real life situations to respond to; many of
the
responses are common too so don't think yours won't be helpful as it is
too
unusual-smile.

I appreciate your help in developing a new and very practical tool.

 

Sincerely,

 

Carrie Gilmer, President

National Organization of Parents of Blind Children

A Division of the National Federation of the Blind

NFB National Center: 410-659-9314

Home Phone: 763-784-8590

carrie.gilmer at gmail.com

www.nfb.org/nopbc

 







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