[blindkid] IEP questions

[DrV]

We have taken a similar approach.
We have a minimal of 2 IEP meeting for each of our boys; 1 within the
first few weeks of school & 1 a few weeks before the end of the school
year.
We also arrange for an additional informal meeting for 1Ž2-1 hour to  with
the gen ed teacher(s) the day before school starts every year with a
handout to provide a brief overview of our child, our philosophy, & to
answer any questions - it has always been well received  - and a relief
for many who you can tell have been wrestling over how they will be able
to teach a blind child. This also sets a tone that we are able & willing
to be part of the process of "making it work." (great title for a book ;-)
The school tries to put off the beginning of the year IEP saying it is too
early to get a feel for things, but the meeting is invariably perfect in
timing to address questions that the gen ed teacher has & to get all team
members in the same room so they can all meet, connect & problem solve.
At the end-of-the-year meeting we try to get a sense of who will be
teaching the following year - or when we can expect to know over the
summer. It gives the TVI a chance to find out what books need to be
ordered & what materials need to be brailled over the summer & we put in
the meeting notes that we request an early IEP the following year as well
as the pre-start of school meeting.
Beyond that we meet as needed when issues come up - & then unfortunately
almost always do.
I think it is important to document parental requests & concerns formally
in writing. For every IEP meeting we provide a parent handout with our
contact info, general background, straight & weaknesses, etc with a
listing of our concerns & requests & we write in the handout that we want
the handout to be included as an official part of the IEP meeting
document. We add pictures (these are great pre&start of the meeting
icebreakers). We make sure the meeting notes include reference to our
handout stating it has been acknowledged & included. We also bring
something for the IEP team to snack on.
There is a lot more access to teachers & other IEP members in elementary
school. Much less so in Middle school & high school.
Best wishes,
Eric

On 2/6/13 11:16 AM, "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org> wrote:

>As previously discussed, you may or may not want to "call out" anyone for
>not following the IEP, but in any case, I would have no hesitation to
>mention in a request memo for an IEP that you have concerns that your
>current IEP is not being followed. There's no point in pretending there
>is no  concern-- this is your child's education. The fact of the matter
>is, anyone involved will pretty quickly determine that if a child has
>only one primary teacher and the IEP isn't being followed, that teacher
>is pretty likely a key person not following the IEP. Your place may not
>be to officially point blame, but you have every right to point out
>shortcomings in your child's education and IEP process.
>
>I agree that all the teachers should have been given (and should have
>read and followed) the IEP. Compliance isn't optional on their part. The
>teacher ought to know this and certainly the principle and administration
>should be well aware of this. If she really wasn't given the IEP, it
>might not be "her fault", except that I suspect we're dealing with a
>child with an obvious special need, so I would think it would go without
>saying, that the child almost certainly has an IEP. Why would she not ask
>the administration?
>
>In other words, I can see how a child with, say, mild autism, might not
>jump out to a teacher as a student for whom they should absolutely have
>an IEP. On the other hand, a student who is in a wheelchair, for example,
>is very like to have an IEP, and a teacher would be quite likely ask
>about a "missing" IEP for such a child. Same thing, I would suggest, for
>a blind child.
>
>I don't know-- the more I think about it, the more I can't really grasp
>how any teacher would't ask about a blind student they were teaching--
>"doesn't this child have an IEP?" Does your child have some functional
>vision which they are trying to over-use?
>
>In any case, we too always have at least two meetings with the "IEP Team"
>every year. The big one is early in the CALENDAR year, for the following
>school year. The second one is a few weeks into school-- just as soon as
>"the dust settles" from the start of the year. If things aren't going
>smoothly we have more as needed.
>
>Have as many as you need to get things running smoothly. If things are
>going pretty well, you may be able to solve the odd small issue with a
>unofficial meeting with just a person or two, or even a phone call or
>memo (emails work great for us), but if quick unofficial attempts don't
>quickly resolve things? Call an official IEP without hesitation.
>
>I suspect that generally, (as in our case) after a while things will
>become more routine and you may require fewer extra meetings (beyond just
>the two a year) but I would expect to have a couple of meeting every
>year. Use the regular parent conferences as well-- use them as informal
>IEP's to the degree that you can gauge when you need an official meeting,
>etc. We find that a casual rapport with the teachers can be developed
>with many brief meetings at events and activities. After a while, this
>tends to head certain issues off before they become significant enough to
>require formal meetings.
>
>I would underscore however, that we find that the extra "early IEP
>meeting" in the school year helps get everything organized and flowing
>for the entire school year, so it can be pretty important. Yet, it cannot
>replace the winter/spring meeting because that's when they have to get
>prepped and organized to order books and other materials for the next
>school year...
>
>Good luck!
>
>Richard
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