[blindkid] Questions for IEP

Sun Sep 10 21:21:08 UTC 2017

Hello Judy,
these are all wonderful suggestions, particularly the one that Carol gave 
you concerning getting a copy of the IEP before the meeting so that you can 
review it, and make additions, deletions etc.. I advise parents with whom I 
work to always get a copy first and to cancel the meeting and reschedule if 
they don't receive the copy.
Staff don't like it when they need to reschedule so they usually make sure a 
copy is forthcoming before the meeting.

The other suggestion I would make regards the level and kind of involvement 
of an aide. If your daughter has an aide assigned to her, and I imagine she 
does, you need to know exactly what the aide does with and/or for your 
daughter and where she sits/stands, how she interacts with your daughter, or 
other students in the classroom, how much time she spends in one-on-one work 
with your daughter and so on.
By this time, your daughter should be working pretty much independently in 
the classroom setting, and her aide should be stepping right back and only 
intervening when your daughter needs assistance with an activity where 
pictures need to be described, or when your daughter signals to her, by an 
agreed signal, that she has a question or needs help.
The aide should mostly be involved behind the scenes, preparing 
materials/resources, finding out what raised-line drawings or diagrams, 
maps, science resources etc. might be needed in upcoming lessons and 
preparing them for your daughter's use in class. Braille transcription is a 
desirable ability for an aide to have, though many don't. It is so helpful 
if the aide can do the bulk of resource prep, thus freeing the TBS to give 
your daughter face-to-face time where needed, rather than having to produce 
resources.

Your daughter needs to be learning to advocate for herself in the classroom, 
learning to try to do a challenging activity before asking for help, 
learning to ask peers for information and assistance, finding her place/role 
in working groups without adult intervention and so on.
If the school still has the aide as involved now as she was in the early 
grades, eg. meeting her at the bus, sitting beside her in the classroom, 
helping her in the cafeteria and standing by watching, walking with her in 
class lines in transit between rooms, etc., then goals for the organised 
"stepping back" of the teacher aide are absolutely essential to have in this 
IEP.

When the time comes for this "stepping back" of the aide, I recommend 
parents purchase a copy of Carol Castellano's really great book:
Making it Work: Educating the Blind/visually Impaired Student in the Regular 
School.
There is an excellent and very comprehensive chapter on the role of the aide 
in the classroom. I recommend that parents give the book, or a photocopy of 
that chapter if teachers express disinterest in receiving a book, to the 
Teacher of Blind Students, student's classroom teacher, the special ed. 
teacher who usually collaborates in preparing IEPs, and to the principal or 
the deputy principal, whichever one usually attends the IEP meeting with 
you.
The teachers mean well and don't want to distress the student by removing 
supports, however, such supports are debilitating to the development of 
student independence in the educational setting if they are left in place 
when the student is capable of learning to function without them. They need 
to be convinced that the process can be empowering and good for the student.
Teachers are usually willing to include goals on increasing student 
independence by reducing face-to-face aide time if they find them already 
written for them in the book, and they are reassured that the student will 
not be adversely affected if they see that the procedure can be done in a 
sequential and organised manner.
.
If you believe it's time for these goals to be part of your daughter's IEP, 
but they don't appear in the draft they give you, I would speak to the 
special ed. teacher or class teacher to ask why not. If they say that they 
don't believe such goals are necessary yet, you must prepare to present your 
argument in the IEP meeting as to why they are necessary. This presentation 
will include providing a handout for the whole group, containing the list of 
goals you've put together, taken from the information in Carol's book, and 
you briefly talking your way through the list explaining why you believe 
they're necessary. It is at times like these that the low expectations that 
some educators hold for blind students will surface, and you can deal with 
them. You must be brave in the face of opposition, knowing that you are the 
expert on your child, and that what you believe about the competence of your 
blind child is based on the reality of what you see in your Federation 
family, who are collectively the experts on blindness.

In all the IEP meetings which I have attended with parents who have followed 
this procedure, teachers have agreed with our presentation and have included 
the recommendations/goals. They are always more willing if the work has been 
done for them and they can simply copy the goals from the handout you give 
them. Teachers are very busy and overworked and this really shows at the 
beginning and end of the school year when so many IEPs must be dealt with. 
Nevertheless, this would be an issue to be prepared to work on and persist 
on getting into the IEP.
Your daughter is fortunate to have parents who understand the importance of 
being equal partners in her education.
All the best with your upcoming IEP meeting.

Warmly,
Heather Field

n
-----Original Message----- 
From: Amanda Nachtmann via blindkid
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2017 11:10 AM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
Cc: Amanda Nachtmann
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Questions for IEP

Ask what technology they are teaching her? How much ti.e she gets in the
classroom? Is there anything you've noticed that's not brailled? Ask them
If she's finding her pages, handing in her homework, etc just like everyone
else. If not ask why? Ask them what other things they are doing for her?
Ask if they are working on expanded core curriculum.

On Sep 10, 2017 11:05 AM, "Judy Smothermon via blindkid" <
blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> I have a nine year old daughter that is visually impaired, she has her big
> IEP meeting coming up in two weeks. Although she is provided excellent
> service, as her parent I don't just want to go into this meeting sitting
> back with no questions to ask. Can anyone offer any good advise on how to
> prepare my husband and I to be our child's advocate, what are some good
> questions to ask?
> Thank you in advance, Judy
>
> Judy Smothermon
>
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