BACK TO SChool
I love the start of the school year. The excitement and preparation is unlike any other time of year. Who doesn’t love the smell of crayons, or the fresh pallet of water colors, yet to be immersed with a wet brush! Kids have new backpacks (or maybe last year’s), new supplies, and a fresh outlook!! Until….day 2!
Seriously, at some point between day 1 and 180, some parents of kids with special needs MAY become disillusioned. Here are some tips you can do NOW:
Review the IEP. Services should be given by Day 1. Often service providers may say services start week 2 or 3. By law they should start Day 1. If they say something like….letting the kids get settled….that is crap. Their services ARE part of your child’s routine, so it should be learned from the start, not one routine learned and then unlearned by a new routine.
Ask for a copy of your child’s service minutes. Make sure they match the service minutes page of the IEP. (If you are unsure, it usually looks like boxes, let me know if you have trouble finding it!)
Send an email of introduction about your child, that includes a recent photo of your child, to all service providers (any one seeing your child for related services like social work, speech, health, resource, occupational therapy, etc.) Include any helpful info, DO NOT ASSUME they have read the IEP.
When in doubt, or to be sure, ask for an IEP review meeting 4-6 weeks into the school year or sooner if your kiddo reports anything, like no one is pulling me. I only have 1 teacher, anything that doesn’t sound right.
By week 6, ask for data towards goals. See how your child is progressing. If you get an email back, asking for more information, or case manager doesn’t know what you mean by “data”….HOLD ON! It’s gonna be quite a year!!
