As a mother to a special needs son, I know how hard an iep meeting can be. It can be frustrating and stressful day in and day out, year after year.
Here’s some questions to ask each year (or whenever renewal is up for an IEP evaluation).
- What are your goals?
- What is the child’s strengths and weaknesses?
- How many kids have an IEP in the class?
- How do you deal with non-verbal kids?
- Could you tell me about my child’s day so I can understand what it looks like?
- Can we make a plan for updates about how everything is going? Will there be parent meetings?
- What support will the classroom teacher have in putting his IEP into place?
- What training does the staff have in this specific intervention?
- What does that accommodation/ instructional intervention look like in the classroom?
- How will we measure progress? How will we communicate about this with my child?
- What are the days and times for school?
- What is the student-to-teacher ratio?
- Will he get any 1:1 support?
- Do they support additional support for speech and physical therapy? If so how much does he get and how many times a week??
- Are there any Music and exercise activities?
- What is the class size or learning groups?
I get how hard it can be, but don’t ever give up on your child. You are the best advocate and need to fight for what is best; you know your child best. I know that these questions have helped me each year, and I hope they can help you as well.
Susie Liberatore is a single mother to a special needs child and has successful businesses. She loves evolving and growth with others.
Susie Liberatore is the owner, and Art Director, of Visions2images Creative Services. She helps established businesses grow their brand awareness by using digital marketing and professional branding techniques. With over a decade of agency and corporate experience, she brings businesses’ visions to life, while watching their return on investment increase.